Daith Piercings 101

Lets talk about Daith piercings! These piercings have exploded with popularity in the last 3-5 years. And with good reason- these piercings are super fun. They fill the middle bowl of the ear with a beautiful ring, anything from simple and snug to bold and flashy. And in the days of covid, they are unaffected by mask straps, making them a particularly popular choice currently. They are a unique addition to any ear project, and the jewelry choices they offer with forward facing rings are unlike pretty much any other ear piercing. Theres a world of gorgeous rings for them these days. But, these piercings are tricky to heal, and can be even trickier to preform correctly. There also a lot of misinformation about daith piercings out there, so let’s break down everything you need to know before getting your daith pierced!

Wait….where is it going again?

If you’ve seen photos daith piercings or seen them in photos, you know you can see the jewelry, but you usually can’t see the piercing itself. It’s sucked away behind the tragus and forward helix on most ears, so the ring seems to magically float in the center of the ear. The daith actually is pierced in the connective tissue, the little ridge between the bottom of a forward helix and a tragus. Often confused with rook piercings, these are more tucked away in the ear. This can make them tricky to preform, and only a piercer with experience in the placement should be offering them. Daiths, if the angle is even slightly off, won’t heal easily. They can also migrate and reject if pierced too shallow, or angled too high. They ideally should sit evenly between the conch and tragus, and tucked into the ear. While this effect is part of what makes daith piercing awesome, it also makes them a huge pain in the ass for many to heal. You can’t see what you are cleaning! You just kinda hope you clean away all the crust and debris, and its hard to see if the piercing is irritated or grumpy. Many folks don’t catch irritations till it’s too late and they have gotten bad, because it’s so hard to see. This factor definitely makes a daith a more advanced heal then some other ear piercings for many clients. You have to be more on top of checking things to make sure you are getting them clean, and keeping and eye on the piercing as it heals. Making sure not to sleep on this piercing is also essential, since you can’t see when it’s irritated easily. Asking a friend or family member to peek for you and make sure things look clean is also a great idea. Or you can take photos on your phone to check. I also suggest against wearing earbuds or in ear headphones while this is healing. Once it’s healed, that’s totally fine.