It is said that the average adult makes over 30,000 decisions a day. Whether or not to have another cup of coffee—small decision. What piercing you’ll get next? A bigger one. It is, after all, a hole you intentionally poke into your body.
Choosing a piercing—whether it’s your first or 21st—can be daunting. That’s why we spoke with professional piercers for their take on the biggest trends of 2025. These experts are bursting with inspiration for ear curations, facial placements, and body modifications, but have narrowed their selections down to the seven trends (including facial piercings in unexpected places and at least one ’90s revival) that are now booming in popularity among the masses and in their own shops.
Meet the experts:
In this story:
Conch
Courtesy of Brian Keith Thompson/@bodyelectrictattoo
Courtesy of Brian Keith Thompson/@bodyelectrictattoo
“The conch will dominate 2025,” says Roze Rahim DeJesus, a piercer at Nine Moons Piercing in New York City. Year after year, the cartilage piercing—which Rihanna and Kylie Jenner have both added to their ears—has proved to be popular, and the trend shows no signs of slowing down. “It’s a piercing that looks great on anyone, and a majority of people have the anatomy for it,” explains DeJesus.
The conch is particularly easy to style, she adds: “I have noticed people are interested in getting larger pieces of jewelry in their ears, and the conch has a lot of surface area to put those bigger pieces in.”
Courtesy of Starr Ellis/@ninemoonspiercing
DeJesus also foresees people will update the look for 2025 with chains instead of the usual ring or stand-alone stud. “The chain will give the illusion of a ring,” she notes, “while also having a statement stud [going through the actual hole].”
Stacked lobe
Courtesy of Brian Keith Thompson/@bodyelectrictattoo
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Courtesy of Studs
Courtesy of Brian Keith Thompson/@bodyelectrictattoo
The stacked lobe, a piercing placed above another on the earlobe, is taking over piercing studios from coast to coast: Both Brian Keith Thompson, owner and piercer at Body Electric Tattoo in Los Angeles, and Starr Ellis, owner and piercer at Nine Moons Piercing in New York City, are seeing more requests for this look in their shops.
Adding a stacked lobe is an easy way to update an existing ear curation. “We are still seeing a lot of clients sprucing up their old, misplaced, or random-feeling earlobe piercings by adding and stacking,” says Ellis. “This can really bring an intentional and cohesive look to a wonky piercing.”
High lobe
Courtesy of Studs
Not sure what to get after your second (third… fourth…) lobe piercing? Why not another lobe piercing? “I have noticed an influx in high-lobe piercings,” says DeJesus. “It’s usually placed in a little nook in the ear that is a transitional area between the lobe and cartilage.”
Hidden helix
Courtesy of Studs
Courtesy of Robbie Milian/@nyc.piercing
Robbie Milian, a piercer at Refinery7 in New York City, predicts that unique helix piercings, particularly the hidden helix, will become more popular in 2025. Milian says the hidden helix “allows for larger jewelry pieces and pairs nicely with the consistently favored forward helix, rook, daith, and conch piercings.”
