Let’s get real about helix piercing pain. So whether you’re piercing the top end or somewhere just above the midpoint of your ear-if it’s middle, then it’s a “midi”-you’re still a part of the helix-adorned club. A snakebite piercing on the helix is when you have two piercings along the ear close to each other. A flat helix lies on the flat part of the inside of your ear, while a forward helix is on the cartilage closest to your face. “Anatomically, the term helix describes that area of the ear.” However, there are names for different placements along that curve. “A helix piercing is any piercing along the upper and outside cartilage ridge of the ear,” says Studs piercer Shannon Freed. You may have seen some piercings placed in slightly different locations along the ear and wondered if they all qualify as the helix. Find out everything you need to know about helix piercings, below. Most important, you’ll learn about essential aftercare from the team at Studs, the millennial’s go-to jewelry brand and piercing studio. Read on to learn what, exactly, a helix is and whether a piercing there is actually more painful than one in the rest of the ear. Maybe this is the first you’re hearing of it, and you want to know what’s so hot about this placement. Maybe you’ve been thinking about getting a helix piercing for a while to complete your earscape.

And like a piercing in the lobe, the helix piercing is on its way to becoming a classic. Whether it’s a dainty detail or a bold statement, it’s always perched toward the top of the ear and gives you an easy way to switch up your look.

You’ve probably seen a helix piercing around.

Helix earrings