Piercing Slang Terms

Piercing slang terms! For as long as piercing has been around, different people have used different terms to refer to the same piercing, piece of jewelry, or concept. In modern times, with the internet, regional slang, and different subcultures, this has become more common. It also sometimes creates a communication issue where a client thinks they are saying or asking for something, and they are in fact asking for something entirely different. So today, let’s break down a bunch of piercing slang, and the proper terminology for each one.

Conch Vs Orbital

There is one mislabeled ear piercing diagram floating in every nook and cranny of the internet and if I knew who made it I would yell at them. It incorrectly labels a conch wearing a ring as an orbital piercing, and this singular diagram has been a cause of confusion and miscommunication between clients and piercers in studios around the world. An orbital piercing is a piercing with a ring or custom bent piece of jewelry, that passes through two separate piercings. Orbitals can be done all over the ear, from lobe orbitals to conch orbitals, to conch-to-helix orbitals. These piercings tend to be advanced piercings that are difficult to heal. Meanwhile, a conch is usually a pretty easy piercing to heal, and does heal much better with a stud than a hoop.

Plugs Vs Gauges

This is an age old one. Gauge is the unit of measurement that we use to measure the thickness of jewelry (you can read more about this here). Plugs are the jewelry worn in stretched piercings, most commonly stretched lobes. Many folks accidentally call plugs gauges. This used to be something hotly debated but fortunately folks have calmed down about that. This miscommunication isn’t as big as some others because most folks generally understand what you mean. That being said, the proper term is in fact plugs for the jewelry, gauge for the unit of measurement.

Snake Bites Vs Paired Labrets

A labret piercing is any piercing through the lower lip. It can be centered, off to one side, closer to the lip or lower down. Paired labrets therefore means any paired set of lower lip piercings. A more central placement, a more spaced out placement, and everywhere in-between. Somewhere along the line the internet decided this was too vague and made a million different nicknames for different lip piercing placements. Snakebites became arguably the most popular. The issue is some people say snake bites and mean paired labrets spaced out, some mean paired labrets centered, some people mean two on one side. The meaning changes regionally. It’s much easier for us piercers to simple tell us you want paired labrets or two labret piercings, and either point to your desired placement or show us a photo.

Cyber Bites/Dolphin Bites/ Canine Bites/ Angel Bites, any form of bites Vs Paired Lip Piercings (upper or lower)

Just like snake bites but arguably more confusing and the source of miscommunication are all of the different “bites” folks ask for. And again, terms mean different things on different diagrams and regionally, so someone asking for angel bites one day may mean paired Monroe piercings, and the next may be asking me for an aligned Monroe and labret. For the ease of communication with your piercer, please just either show us a photo, point to where you want, and use more literal terms. Paired upper lip piercings, Paired labrets, a philtrum and a labret. This is much easier for us, and prevents miscommunication over the location and placement you are looking for.

Medusa Vs Philtrum