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A Beginner Guide to Getting A Second Piercing And Styling It
Ready to up level your ear candy with a crawler or extra stud? Learn how to get a second ear piercing and style double piercing earrings with ease.
Sam Bailey
As a young girl, getting your ears pierced for the first time is often a rite of passage. For some, it involved waiting out til a certain age when allowed, for others it's a cultural ritual performed in the early years of life. But when it comes to a second piercing, be it a double lobe piercing or an upper ear piercing (known as a helix piercing) it’s a little more edgy and often evokes a more style conscious vibe. However even if a second piercing is something you’ve been feeling into or have admired being repped well by celebs like Sienna Miller, Jennifer Lawrence and Beyonce, actually knowing how to get down with the process and pull it off effectively can be a little nerve-wracking. With that in mind, we believe a change is as good as a holiday and getting a second piercing is one of the best on-trend ways to spice up your daily look at little cost. While changing your hair with a bold cut or colour can be one fun, it’s higher risk and more fixed, whereas getting a second ear piercing is low risk and has more mutability - allowing you to change earring styles or remove a second piercing whenever you need. To help inspire a confidence boost to live on the wild side and join us with a second piercing, we’ve compiled a useful guide to prep you, soothe nerves, answer common q&a’s and give you style cues on ways to wear a double piercing. Read on for our guide to getting a second piercing and what earring styles will suit a double pierced look best.
4 Ways To Pull Off A Second Piercing
1. Find inspiration first
Before you dabble in the dark art of double piercings (sorry not sorry mum!) make sure you have a few visual references you can draw from first. Just as you’d make a mood board for a hairdresser or look to Pinterest to style your wardrobe for a new season, you want to ensure you have sourced all the hottest second ear piercings available. For double ear piercing style inspo that will have you craving ear candy we love looking either direct to celebrities own Instagrams (such as Bella Hadid, Beyonce, Sienna Miller) or looking to curated edits from acclaimed online fashion sites such as Elle, Refinery 29, Byrdie for all the hottest earring trends.
2. Decide on the double ear piercing location
As we alluded to earlier in the blog, a second ear piercing can really be made anywhere along the ear from the lobe to the upper cartilage. For those looking to bling up their earlobe with multiple earrings, a double lobe piercing above your first piercing may be the most natural choice. In fact you can layer up to three or four piercings along the lobe - just look to Scarlett Johannson here who has seven in total along her left ear. Alternatively, if you’re more edgy and don’t mind a small degree of pain, then a helix piercing in the cartilage at the top of your ear may hit the sweet spot. To suss if a helix piercing will suit you check out For more intricate details on where you can get a double ear piercing we love this ear map as seen here on InStyle that covers the whole spectrum of piercing locations and their official titles.
3. Know what styles you’re into
With a second piercing it can either be the main feature or act as a complimentary stud or hoop beside a main earlobe piercing. With second ear piercing styles, while the sky's the limit, we would say there are commonly three earring types most chosen and all are of the small to medium variety, think hoops (or huggies), studs or crawlers. Huggie earrings are definitely a vibe right now with gold and diamond encrusted varieties the go-to. A smaller style of hoop earrings for second piercing, the huggie earring inspo we’re loving right now include: Eden Huggies, Reese Huggies, Fern Hoops. Alternatively, stud queens may prefer to infuse their own personalities into their look with studs that either forms a story (such as a constellation of stars) up the ear or act as random mix and match tokens that are symbolic of their personality or unique style preferences. Stud earrings we love as double piercing options right now are: Ren Studs or Bea Studs for the fashion forward, Jessie Studs or Hettie Studs for the astrology lovers or Lulu Pearl Studs, Nicole Studs (or any diamond studs or pearl studs) for the conscious and conversative. In contrast, crawlers are designed to creep up the ear, kind of like a caterpillar, but more diamond encrusted and chic. Crawler earrings are a favourite when it comes to choosing a second ear piercing earring style because they work the curve of the ear, kind of like how some dresses cling in the right places to show off beautiful hourglass curves. Crawlers work the same, they make ears look sexy and as such are often designed with added bling. Currently in our crawler collection we’re loving these styles: Haze Studs, Darla Studs, Petal and Karli Studs. Even better, at Francseca we have designed earrings for double piercings! Our new Tara Chain Studs look amazing for this trend. Thread earrings collection - good for looping through two piercings - Evie and Amy are our faves!
4. Fake it til you make it
Still sceptical about getting a double piercing or pulling it off well? Then fake it til you make it instead with a huggie earrings style that looks like you have a second piercing even if you don’t. Who doesn’t love a faux earring set?! At Francesca we have a whole range of huggie earrings and hoops that allow you to give the impression you have a double earring piercing but at no risk. Current favourites we love are: Eden Huggies (a double earring set) and Azalia Hoops (a triple earring set).
Still Nervy? We Answer Your Common Q&A
Q. Does getting your seconds pierced hurt?
What may feel painful for some may not for others, it’s subjective. However, if getting a double ear piercing on your lobe it’s safe to say it’ll hurt less than a helix piercing which can be more intense due to it going through cartilage. The good news is either way it’s a relatively small pinch, over in a few seconds and is only likely to throb for the first few days if at all.
Q. How much does it cost to get your seconds pierced? It depends on where you go, what city you’re in and what piercing you get (lobe, helix etc) but on average expect to pay between $25-100. One consideration to keep in mind too is whether you choose a needle or stud gun, as a needle can be more expensive.
Q. How long until you can change your second ear piercing? As a general rule of thumb, you need to allow earlobes 6-8 weeks and 12 weeks for helix piercings. For more on styling double piercings see our blog on how to style multiple piercings here or for a round up of fun earring combination trends we love see here.