It is often difficult to know exactly what size hoop to purchase when trying to buy it for a specific piercing or to achieve specific look. In attempt to aid and ease your shopping experience, we have put together this Piercing Jewelry Sizing Guide just for HOOPS!
Let's get started!
First it is important to know the terminology when it comes to the sizing of a hoop. The measurement you see in inches (") or millimeters (mm) when applied to hoops is the internal diameter of the hoop. The gauge is the thickness of the metal where it will be going through the piercing itself. And for you visual learners, here is a picture:
Now let's take a look at a bunch of different hoop sizes, and we will talk about the differences and which fits best in different piercings!
Here they are for our U.S. customers beside a ruler in inches:
And here beside a ruler in Centimeters for our customers in the rest of the world:
The hoops pictured here are our Seamless Hinged Rings and one Emma Captive Bead Ring on the left side in the middle!
Lets start with gauges.
A standard lobe earring is 20 gauge. The lower the number of the gauge, the thicker the metal is! For example, a 0 gauge is BIG. and 22 gauge is very thin, like a small wire. Most cartilage piercings are 16 gauge, and industrials are usually 14 gauge.
Now onto diameter!
Please keep in mind that these are general guidelines as far as placement, everyone’s ear anatomy and piercing placement is different, so the size that fits most *may* not fit you the same!
A ¼” (6mm) hoop is going to give you a snug-fitted look for tragus piercings, cartilage piercings, forward helix piercings, and is the best choice hoop for rook piercings, as it will not get caught on everything like a larger hoop.
A 5/16” (8mm) hoop is a great size for cartilage piercings if you want the hoop to hang down just a bit. This size is also good for tragus piercings if you want a looser fit! This is the most common hoop size to place just about anywhere, including the lobes- as this size leaves a nice amount of room and creates a moderate hoop earring look.
A 3/8” (10mm) hoop is a good size for visibility in a daith piercing, as well as large enough to fit most conch piercings. These can also be used for cartilage piercings, or in the lobes as hoop earrings!
A ½” (12mm) hoop may be needed for conch piercings that are deeper inside the ear. This size is also ideal for some daith piercings on people with larger space inside the ear, and makes for nice hoop lobe earrings.
A 9/16” (14mm) hoop is ideal for nipple piercings! I would not advise using this size on the cartilage except if you have a super deep conch piercing or lots of room for your daith, OR you have a large orbital through any part of your ear. With that being said, this is still a great size for lobe piercings!
You can easily browse our Hoop selection by Gauge or Diameter by clicking the “Filter” Button on any collection page! You will then see a dropdown where you can select the size you are looking for 😘
I hope this is helpful to you when searching for hoops to best fit your piercings and style!
There will be more size guides like this one coming in the near future to teach you how to size curved barbells, horseshoes, labrets, and more!
It's important to note that all sizes stated here are merely estimates, and every individuals ear will vary in shape and size.
Leave us a comment below letting us know if this has been helpful to you or not.
Much love,
Kourtney 🖤