Most people booking an ear piercing find out what it costs when they are already standing at the desk. I would rather you knew before you got here, so this is the whole ear menu with every price on it, what each piercing actually involves, and how long each one takes to settle down.
I am Natasha. I do every piercing at House of Glam HQ myself, in a private treatment room in Southsea, and I am registered with Portsmouth City Council for skin piercing. Every price is published, where most Portsmouth clinics quote only after a consultation.
How much does it cost to have an ear piercing?
An ear piercing here starts at £35 for a single lobe. Cartilage piercings are £40 each, whichever part of the ear you choose. If you want both lobes done in the same appointment that is £50 rather than two singles.
| Ear piercing | Price |
|---|---|
| Single lobe | £35 |
| Pair of lobes, one in each ear | £50 |
| Helix, the upper outer rim of cartilage | £40 |
| Flat, the inner shelf of cartilage above the ear canal | £40 |
| Tragus, the small flap in front of the ear canal | £40 |
That is the whole price. Titanium or surgical stainless steel jewellery is included in every one of those figures, so nothing gets added at the desk on the day.
Which ear piercing should you pick?
If this is your first one, the lobe is the sensible place to start. It is soft tissue, it heals in weeks rather than months, and it is forgiving if you knock it. It is also over in seconds, which matters if you are nervous.
Cartilage is a different proposition. A helix, a flat or a tragus sits in firm tissue with a poor blood supply, and that is the whole reason it takes so much longer to heal. It is not more painful in any dramatic way. It just asks more of you afterwards.
The other thing worth saying out loud: not every ear takes every placement. A tragus needs enough of a flap to sit a bar through safely, and some people simply do not have one. A flat needs a reasonable shelf of cartilage. I will look at your ear before I mark anything, and if a placement is not going to work on you I will say so and suggest what will. I would rather tell you that than put a piercing somewhere it will fight you for a year.
Can I have more than one done in the same appointment?
Lobes, yes. A pair is £50, done in one appointment.
Cartilage, I would rather you did not, and here is the honest reason. A healing cartilage piercing is sore to sleep on for the first few weeks. Put one in each ear and you have no comfortable side to lie on for a month. Put two on the same ear and you have doubled everything that can go wrong in one spot. One at a time, a few months apart, gives you a much better result. If you want a stacked ear, build it.
How long does an ear piercing take to heal?
Longer than most people expect, and the gap between a lobe and a piece of cartilage is enormous. These are the healing guides published by the Association of Professional Piercers. They are guides, not promises, and yours will depend on your own body and on how well you leave it alone.
| Piercing | Healing guide |
|---|---|
| Earlobe | 6 to 9 weeks |
| Ear cartilage: helix, flat or tragus | 6 to 9 months, sometimes longer |
| Nostril | 3 to 6 months |
| Navel | 6 to 9 months |
| Nipple | 3 to 9 months, sometimes longer |
A piercing that looks settled on the outside is often still healing underneath. That is why the jewellery stays put for the full period rather than until it stops being interesting.
What an ear piercing will not do
It will not heal to a deadline. If you are getting a helix done for a wedding in eight weeks, it will still be a healing piercing on the day, and you will not be able to swap the jewellery for something prettier beforehand.
It will not stay trouble-free if you change the jewellery early. Swapping a cartilage piercing at six weeks is one of the commonest reasons one that was doing fine turns angry, and it is far more often the cause than an actual infection.
And it will not fix itself if you keep touching it. Most irritation comes from hands, hair products and the side of a phone rather than from anything that happened in the chair.
Do I need a consultation first?
No. A piercing is booked directly as a piercing, and the chat about placement happens at the start of that same appointment at no extra cost. There is no separate consultation fee and nothing to pay before the day.
That is not true of everything here. Filler and anti-wrinkle injections do need a proper consultation first. Piercing does not, so book the one you want and we will sort out the details when you are in the chair.
What happens at an ear piercing appointment
We talk first. I look at your ear, ask what you are after and check the anatomy will take it. Then I mark the spot and you look in the mirror and tell me whether it is where you want it, because that is the last easy moment to move it.
I set up in front of you so you can see everything come out of its packaging. For cartilage, sterile forceps line the tissue up, a single-use needle goes through, the jewellery follows it, and it is over in a few seconds. Then I talk you through aftercare properly rather than handing you a leaflet.
A lobe appointment is quick. Cartilage takes a little longer because the marking matters more.
Needle or gun?
Cartilage is always a needle here. A helix, a flat and a tragus are all done with a sterile single-use needle, and so are the nose and body piercings. The needle is hollow and sharp, so it takes out a small core of tissue and leaves a clean channel for the jewellery to sit in. It is used once and it goes in the sharps bin in front of you.
A gun works differently. It pushes a blunt stud through by force, which is a different kind of injury for the body to repair, and it is not something I will do on cartilage at any price.
Lobes are the exception. Soft tissue takes a gun reasonably well, so if that is what you would rather have for a lobe, say so when you book and I will do it that way. If you have no preference, I will use a needle.
If you want an honest read on how much any of this hurts, I wrote a body piercing pain chart with my own ratings on it.
Do you do walk-in ear piercing in Portsmouth?
No. Piercing here is by appointment only, booked on Fresha or arranged over WhatsApp.
I work on my own and see one client at a time, so a walk-in either interrupts somebody else’s appointment or gets turned away at the door, and neither is a good afternoon for anyone. If you are stuck for timing, message me and I will tell you honestly what I have free.
Can under-18s get their ears pierced?
Yes, from age 14, with a parent or guardian in the room to consent and photo ID for both of you. That is not limited to lobes, so a 15-year-old can have a helix done on the same terms.
Nipple piercing is 18 and over. Every other treatment on the menu here is adults only, so a piercing appointment is the one booking a teenager can make.
Aftercare, the short version
Sterile saline twice a day, nothing else. No alcohol, no tea tree, no antiseptic cream, no twisting the jewellery, and hands off it for the whole healing period. Sleep off it if you can, and be careful with hair ties, headphones and the side of your phone.
The longer version, including what is normal and what is not, is in my guide to cleaning a new piercing.
The rest of the piercing menu
Ears are most of what I do, but not all of it. These are the other piercings I offer and what they cost.
| Piercing | Price |
|---|---|
| Nostril | £40 |
| Double nostril, women only | £70 |
| Navel | £40 |
| Single nipple, 18 and over | £50 |
| Both nipples, women only, 18 and over | £85 |
Intimate piercings are not offered here. Everything I do is on the list above and on the ear, nose and body piercing page.
Why every price is on this page
Because it is the first thing anyone wants to know and it is rarely on the page. Every price is published here, where most Portsmouth clinics quote only after a consultation, and a piercing is not the sort of thing anyone should have to ring up about.
It also means you can work out a stacked ear before you commit to it. Two lobes and a helix is £90 across two appointments. A helix now and a flat in six months is £80. You can see the whole thing without me.
Where I am and when I am open
The clinic is at 1A Auckland Road East, Southsea, Portsmouth PO5 2HA, with free street parking nearby. Clients come from across Southsea, Fratton, Cosham, Havant, Fareham, Gosport and Waterlooville.
Tuesday 10am to 5pm. Wednesday 12pm to 7pm. Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10am to 4pm. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Book an ear piercing in Southsea, Portsmouth
Single lobe £35, a pair £50, and helix, flat or tragus £40 each. Pick the one you want and it books straight through to that service:
If you would rather ask something first, message me on WhatsApp or call 07831 846273. I answer these myself.
