4 Interesting Facts About the Stylish Daith Piercing

In the last three to five years, daith piercings have become increasingly popular. Unfortunately, the reason for their popularity is misinformation. A Buzzfeed article went viral and stated that the daith piercing could cure headaches, especially for migraine sufferers.

Since then, people have been flocking to piercing shops and requesting that this miraculous piercing be performed to relieve their headaches and migraines. Before you drop everything to rush to your local piercer, it’s best to understand all you need to know about the daith piercing, including if it really can help alleviate headaches.

In this article, we’ll discuss whether daith piercing has health and wellness benefits and the reasons for its popularity besides these benefits, aftercare, and jewelry options.

Historical Origins and Cultural Significance

The first daith piercing was performed by piercing and jewelry pioneer Erik Dakota in Santa Cruz in 1992. He co-created the piercing with the client, and its name comes from the Hebrew word “da’at,” which means knowledge.

Photographs of the newly invented piercing were published in Fakir Musafar’s magazine Body Play #4 that same year.

Anatomical Significance and Placement Technique

The daith piercing is a cartilage piercing that goes through the ridge of connective tissue between the opening of the ear canal above the tragus and below the forward helix. This connective tissue is also known as the helix crus.

While a straight needle and a receiving tube can be used to perform the piercing, a curved or bent needle is easier.

The daith ear piercing is typically performed at a 16 or 14-gauge. While rings are more often used, a curved barbell can be used in a healed daith piercing. Curved barbells won’t work well for initial jewelry because they can flip inward toward the ear canal and cause pressure irritations.

In terms of the healing process and aftercare, it takes, on average, six to nine months for a daith piercing to heal completely. Some piercers say that daith piercings are easy to heal because it’s protected by the ear anatomy surrounding them. However, others argue that because you can’t see the entrance and exit of the jewelry, it makes it more difficult to notice if the piercing is irritated or has crusties in need of cleaning.

To keep the piercing clean and as healthy as possible while it heals, clean it twice daily with a saline spray, such as the ones made by NeilMed or H2Ocean. You shouldn’t rotate the jewelry either, nor should you remove the jewelry too soon.

If you need to touch the piercing or jewelry for whatever reason, wash your hands thoroughly first. Be careful when placing a phone up to your ear; a dirty phone can quickly introduce bacteria to the healing fistula and cause infection.

Check out our guide for complete daith piercing aftercare and healing instructions.

Health and Wellness Benefits

As mentioned above, part of the reason for the daith piercing’s explosive popularity is due to a Buzzfeed article noting that the piercing could cure headaches and migraines. The thought is that the daith piercing’s placement is aligned with an acupuncture pressure point that is said to help with headaches.

However, it’s essential to know that there is no scientific proof that a daith piercing can grant a person these benefits. A lot of the information about this is purely anecdotal. Additionally, each person’s anatomy is unique, so there’s no guarantee that the piercing will go through a specific pressure point.

Other health and wellness benefits the daith piercing is rumored to contribute to include:

• Eases or eliminates anxiety
• Aids in weight loss

However, no medical or scientific studies can prove any of the benefits. Scientists and doctors attribute any relief felt to a placebo effect.

Piercers often warn clients not to expect miracle cures from piercings, especially the daith piercing. Some even argue that agreeing to perform the piercing to get these health-related benefits goes against a piercer’s moral and ethical responsibilities to their clients.

Personal Experience

I got my daith piercing in 2016 at Laughing Buddha in Upland, CA. While I knew not to expect any relief, I did suffer from headaches and anxiety and wanted to see if the piercing would benefit me at all. I was pierced at a 16 gauge and had a captive bead ring with a black CZ gem placed in it. At the time, my piercer was telling me how many people were coming in and asking for the piercing in hopes it would help them with their headaches and migraines and that the piercers would have to educate each client on the improbability of it happening.

The piercing didn’t hurt much at all, but I also have a high pain tolerance. I also had zero issues with aftercare and healing. I hoped that I would begin to experience relief once it fully healed.

I’ve had the piercing and have kept jewelry in it ever since, but I can say that I haven’t noticed any fewer headaches or reduced anxiety since getting the piercing.

Style and Fashion Trends

Even if the rumored health and wellness benefits can’t be guaranteed, there’s no denying that the daith piercing’s popularity can also be attributed to the stars who have been photographed with said piercing. Celebrities such as Rhianna, Kylie Jenner, Bella Thorne, and Zoe Kravitz have all helped make the daith piercing so popular.

However, just because the celebrities are all female doesn’t mean this piercing is only for females. With so many styles of jewelry to choose from, this piercing can suit anyone. Plus, the piercing is one of the only ones where rings are appropriate as initial jewelry.

Because of the placement of the piercing, any ring worn is forward-facing. This means that gem-embellished rings make great options since the embellishment is easily visible and framed by the surrounding ear anatomy.

Other popular daith jewelry options include rings shaped as hearts, crescent moons, cats, or cobwebs.

For ease of insertion and removal, you may opt for seamless rings, hinged rings, or clickers instead of captive bead rings. However, even these can be tough to insert and remove. It’s always best to go to a professional piercer for help rather than irritate your piercing trying to switch out jewelry. A professional piercer can also help you select a ring with the perfect diameter size for your ear.

While it may be disappointing to learn that the daith piercing cannot cure headaches or anxiety, it still is an incredibly versatile piercing that looks good on almost anyone. While you’ll have to avoid headphones like Airpods or in-the-ear headphones while the piercing heals, the end look is worth it. Plus, with the amount of jewelry out there, you can find a ring or curved barbell to match any outfit, event, holiday, or aesthetic.