Piercing Size Guide

What size should I pick for my piercing?

When it comes to piercing jewelry, there are 2 main measurements involved. The 1st measurement refers to the gauge size or thickness of your ring/barbell. And the 2nd measurement refers to the diameter size of the ring / length of the barbell. 

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Gauge Size

Gauge size refers to the thickness of your ring / barbell. For septum piercings and cartilage piercings including helix, tragus, and daith piercings, the standard gauge size / most common gauge size used is 16g (1.2mm). 

However, sometimes a piercer will decide to use a lightly thicker needle size for your initial piercing such as 14g (1.6mm). Or if you have gauged up your piercing to a slightly thicker size, then it is likely 14g. 

For belly / navel piercings, tongue rings, nipple rings, industrial piercings, and VCH piercings, 14g (1.6mm) is the standard / most common gauge size used. For traditional earlobe piercings and nostril/nose studs, the standard / most common gauge size used is 20g (0.81mm). 

If you are unsure what gauge size your piercing is, it is often best to reach out to whoever did your piercing initially and ask them to confirm, or to default to the standard gauge size for your piercing. 

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Diameter Size & Length

When it comes to the diameter size of your ring, or the length of your piercing barbell, unfortunately there is no one-size-fits-all. Everyone's jewelry will fit a little differently depending on your specific piercing placement, body anatomy, etc. 

With that being said, there are certain diameter sizes and lengths that are considered "standard" / the most commonly used for each piercing. These measurements can be found below:


Standard Piercing Sizes
Piercing Standard Gauge Standard Length
Belly / Navel Ring / VCH 14G

3/8" (10mm)
Nose Piercing 20G , 18G 1/4" (6.4mm)
Tongue Piercing 14G 5/8" (16mm)
Cartilage Piercing 16G  1/4" (6.4mm) or 5/16" (8mm)
Eyebrow Piercing 16G  5/16" (8mm)
Industrial Barbell 14G  1 1/2" (38mm)
Labret Lip Rings 16G 1/4", 5/16" or 3/8"
Monroe Piercing 16G 1/4", 5/16" or 3/8"
Nipple Piercing 14G 1/2" (12mm)
Tragus / Helix / Rook / Conch / Daith 16G , 18G 1/4", 5/16" or 3/8"
Septum 16G 

3/8" (10mm)
Earlobe 20G

1/4" (6.4mm)

 

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How do I confirm what length I need for my barbell?

The length of your body jewelry refers to the wearable length of the barbell that goes through your piercing. You will need to grab a ruler to measure your current, well-fitting barbell(s). The useable / measurable length of the barbell does not include the ball endings or charms, as shown below:

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How do I confirm what diameter size I need for my horseshoe ring or CBR piercing?

Diameter is used to measure the size of round barbells such as rings, hoops and CBRs. It refers to the length across the center of the ring (the inner diameter) as shown below:

 

  

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Gauge Size to Millimeters
Gauge Millimeters
22G 0.64mm
20G 0.81mm
18G 1.0mm 
16G 1.2mm 
14G 1.6mm 
12G 2.0mm 
10G 2.5mm 
8G 3.0mm 
6G 4.0mm 
4G 5.0mm 
2G 6.0mm 
0G 8.0mm 
00G 10.0mm 

Length & Diameter Inches to Millimeters

Inches Millimeters
3/16" 4.7
1/4" 6.4
5/16" 8
3/8" 9.5
7/16" 11
1/2" 13
9/16" 14
5/8" 16
3/4" 19
7/8" 22
15/16" 24
1" 25
1 1/2" 38

 

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