Eyebrow piercing jewelry: which style, size and material to wear, and when

The right jewelry for an eyebrow piercing is a 16 gauge curved barbell in implant-grade titanium, with small, smooth ends. That answer does not change for a new piercing or a healed one. Everything else on this page is about size, what to avoid, and when other styles become possible.

The reason is structural. An eyebrow piercing is a surface piercing: it passes through a pinch of skin rather than through a fold or a flap of tissue. The body can gradually push a shallow channel like that toward the surface, and the jewelry you choose either slows that down or speeds it up.

Photo by Lukas Stavek via Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

The styles compared

The ring styles guide explains the differences between the ring types if you plan to move to one later.

Gauge and length

Gauge: 16 gauge, which is 1.2 mm. It is thick enough to be stable in skin and thin enough to suit the piercing.

Length: The right length depends on how much skin your piercer took and how swollen it is.

• A fresh piercing starts on a longer bar, around 10 to 12 mm, to leave room for swelling.
• Once the swelling has gone, the bar is downsized. The lengths most commonly sold for a healed eyebrow are 8 mm (5/16 inch) and 10 mm (3/8 inch).

Those are typical, not rules. The Association of Professional Piercers says jewelry must be of appropriate length for your unique anatomy. Have the first downsize done by your piercer, who can fit it to your brow.

How to tell if it fits

Look at the skin around the ends:

• Too short: the skin puffs up over the ends, the ends leave a dent, or the piercing looks tight and red.
• Too long: the bar swings, sticks out from the brow, or catches on towels, hair and glasses.
• About right: the ends sit on the skin with a small gap, and the bar moves only slightly when you touch it.

A bar left too long is a common cause of a snagged eyebrow piercing. That is why the downsize at four to six weeks matters so much.

Material

The Association of Professional Piercers publishes standards for jewelry in a new piercing. For an eyebrow, that means:

• Implant-grade titanium, certified to ASTM F136 (Ti6Al4V ELI). The usual choice.
• Niobium or platinum.
• Solid gold, 14k or higher, nickel- and cadmium-free.
• A polished, mirror finish, free of nicks, scratches and burrs.

What to avoid in a piercing that is still healing:

• Plated, gold-filled and vermeil jewelry. The gold layer is extremely thin and can wear or chip off.
• Steel that does not state its standard. Only specific grades are suitable, and “surgical steel” on a listing does not tell you which.
• Unlabelled metal of any kind.

The materials guide covers what each standard means, and nickel allergy and piercings explains how to recognise a reaction.

Threading

Choose internally threaded or threadless ends. With internal threading, the part that passes through your skin is smooth and the threads are on the removable end. Externally threaded jewelry drags a screw thread through the channel every time it goes in or out. Threadless vs threaded explains how the two work.

What to wear and when

Looking healed does not mean being healed. How long an eyebrow piercing takes to heal covers the stages, and the healing time guide sets out the four tests that apply to every piercing.

Ends, gems and weight

Keep the ends small, flat and lightweight. Large gems and spikes catch on towels, hairbrushes, hoodies and glasses, and every catch pulls on the channel. Weight does the same slowly.

Once the piercing has healed, you can wear more decorative ends. Choose low-profile ones, and keep heavy or dangling pieces for occasions rather than every day.

Signs it is the wrong jewelry

• Redness, itching or weeping after a new piece goes in. It can be a reaction to the metal.
• The visible distance between the ends getting shorter, or thin, shiny skin over the bar. That is migration, and you should see your piercer. See piercing rejection.
• Repeated snagging. The bar is too long, or the ends are too big.

An eyebrow piercing that has migrated can leave marks. Eyebrow piercing scar explains what to expect and what helps.

Buying jewelry

A trustworthy listing gives you:

• Gauge and length in millimetres, not small, medium or large.
• The exact alloy and standard, such as ASTM F136 titanium.
• The threading, internal or threadless.
• A polished finish.

Be wary of multipacks and bargain bars that state none of this. The Association of Professional Piercers runs a Body Jewelry Verification Program for suppliers, and buying from a studio you trust is the easiest way to be sure.

Cost

$25 to $80 for a titanium curved barbell, plus the piercing itself at $30 to $70. Solid gold costs more. Ask whether your studio includes the first downsize. How much is an eyebrow piercing adds up the first-year total, the eyebrow piercing guide has the full picture, and piercing prices compares every placement.