Types of Eyebrow Piercings: Vertical, Horizontal, Center, and Forehead Surface Piercings/Vertical Bridge Piercings

The eyebrow piercing was once considered a 90s staple. The punks introduced it in the 1970s as a counterculture statement. In the 90s, everyone from boyband members to nu-metal and grunge fans had one. While it waned in popularity during the early 2000s, between Jacob Elodi’s eyebrow piercing in “Saltburn” and Gen Z’s obsession with Y2K, it slipped into body art trends and became back in fashion again.

Learn about the different types of eyebrow piercings you can get, where they’re placed along the brow, and styling tips for jewelry.

Understanding Eyebrow Anatomy

As the name implies, eyebrow piercings consist of piercings anywhere along the brow. The brow is composed of different parts. The sprouts are the hairs that occur closer to the bridge of your nose. They are part of what is called the front or beginning of the brow. Next comes the arch, which is where the brow typically starts to curve. The brow’s tail, or end, is the part closer to your ear.

The most common placement for an eyebrow piercing is anywhere from the arch to the tail end of the brow. According to Elayne Angel, author of The Piercing Bible, the “standard spot is the outer third or quarter of the brow.” It’s less common to see an eyebrow piercing at the beginning of the brow or too far into the tail end, where the skin is thinner and not as easy to pinch.

That’s because eyebrow piercings are anatomy-dependent. You must have the proper anatomy to get an eyebrow piercing. In other words, you need thick enough tissue to pierce and a protruding enough brow ridge to support the jewelry.

Those assigned male at birth (AMAB) and have been affected by testosterone during growth tend to have more prominent, more protruding eyebrows, which makes them more suitable for piercing. Estrogen affects those assigned female at birth (AFAB) and causes their facial features to be softer, resulting in less protruding brows and a more vertical brow ridge.

Therefore, it can be more likely that females or those assigned females at birth do not have suitable anatomy for an eyebrow piercing. It also means you may have more issues healing your piercing than those assigned male at birth.

When you get pierced, the piercer needs to physically assess your eyebrow to determine whether you have the proper anatomy or not. Once you've been evaluated, they will discuss where they think the best placement is for you and whether you have suitable anatomy in the first place. While you need to have enough tissue, this does not mean you have to have brow hair to get an eyebrow piercing. If you shave your brows or have issues with hair loss, you can still have the proper anatomy for the piercing.

Vertical Eyebrow Piercing

A vertical eyebrow piercing is considered one of the more standard placements. It is typically placed along the brow's arch, not too close to the tail end or too far. It is a type of surface piercing that goes through a surface layer of skin at the top of the eyebrow and exits along the bottom of the eyebrow.

While it is called a vertical eyebrow piercing, it's more commonly pierced at a slight slant that mirrors the angle from the eye's outer corner to the brow's outside edge. This makes it more aesthetically appealing; if it’s pierced too vertically, it can look awkward.

Vertical eyebrow piercings take anywhere from 3 months to 12 months to heal. While the average time ranges from 3 to 6 months, some people experience slower healing times.

The initial jewelry for a vertical eyebrow piercing is a curved barbell. Curved barbells need ridges of skin to hold onto, which is also why having proper anatomy is so important when getting this piercing done. Once it fully heals you switch to a ring.

Regarding the size of the jewelry, many piercers don’t recommend going smaller than 14g for eyebrow piercings. The jewelry needs to be thick enough to support the piercing. Anything smaller than 14g is just too thin and increases the risk of migration and/or rejection.

When you’re getting pierced, the piercer will mark the top and bottom of the piercing after consulting with you on your desired placement and assessing your anatomy. Once you agree on placement, you’ll be asked to lay flat on your back. With a quick, deep breath in and out, the piercer will push the needle through the top and out the bottom holes, use a jewelry transfer to insert the jewelry, and then clean the area from any blood.

Some of the pros of vertical eyebrow piercings include:

• They’re easy to clean
• They aren’t extremely painful to get done
• There are versatile jewelry options

Some of the cons of vertical eyebrow piercings include:

• They are prone to migration and rejection, which can leave scars
• They are prone to bruising and irritation bumps; it’s not uncommon to look like you have a black eye after getting pierced
• It’s easy to snag your jewelry on a towel or shirt, so you have to be extra careful
• They are not easy to hide or conceal; using bandaids, makeup, or long bangs to cover the piercing, especially while it’s healing, will irritate the piercing and can lead to scarring

As far as an aftercare routine goes, you’ll want to avoid sleeping on the piercing, which puts unnecessary pressure on it and irritates it. You’ll also want to make sure your pillowcases and sheets are clean. Putting your face on a dirty pillowcase at night introduces bacteria and can cause an infection, prolonging healing.

You should also avoid submerging the piercing while it’s healing. This means avoiding lakes, baths, pools, oceans, jacuzzis, hot tubs, and other public bodies of water.

It also means that you shouldn’t submerge your piercing in a saline solution to clean it. Instead, purchase saline piercing spray such as the ones sold by NeilMed or H2Ocean. Spray the piercing once or twice daily and pat dry with a clean towel.

You’ll want to avoid waxing, threading, or sugaring the area while the piercing heals, too. Once your piercing is fully healed, you can return to your brow maintenance routine. Just avoid the area where the piercing is and resort to using clean tweezers to pluck the hairs in the area.

Vertical eyebrow piercings performed on ideal anatomy, with proper aftercare and jewelry, can be permanent. However, not everyone has ideal anatomy. Some people fall into a gray area where their piercer informs them of the risks and lets them choose whether to proceed with the piercing.

Vertical eyebrow piercings performed on anatomies that fall into the gray area are typically not permanent but long-term temporary. How long they last depends on your specific habits, anatomy, and body; if properly cared for, they can last anywhere from a few months to several years.

However, because they go through a flat layer of skin, most gray area eyebrow piercings will “grow out” or make their way to the surface. For more scar prevention, go to your piercer to remove your jewelry if you notice any of the following: the skin around the jewelry is thin, red, shiny, or peeling, you can see the jewelry through your skin, or if hair stops growing.

The sooner you see a piercer to remove it, the better your chances at scar prevention. In fact, if you remove the piercing while it’s healthy instead of waiting until it’s starting to migrate or reject, you’ll be at less of a risk of scarring.

Horizontal Eyebrow Piercing

A horizontal eyebrow piercing is a surface piercing that goes horizontally through the skin above, below, or within the arch of the eyebrow. Sometimes, the piercing is placed at a slant to match your brow structure and facial anatomy.

Unlike a vertical or "standard" eyebrow piercing, a horizontal eyebrow piercing should be pierced at 16g rather than 14g. The type of jewelry worn is also different. Piercers used to attempt to do these with curved barbells, but they realized this caused more problems during healing and had higher rates of rejection. Thus, the surface bar was created to sit perpendicular to the tissue to be more secure.

A surface bar, also known as a surface barbell, is a type of jewelry that looks like a straight barbell bent into a staple. It has two posts, or uplifts, with ends that screw onto them and a straight bar connecting the two uplifts. There are flat and round surface bars, and while either can be used, flat surface bars have a lower profile, so the center bar won't be visible. The gems are also forward-facing if you use a surface bar.

Horizontal eyebrow piercings are relatively pain-free. Compared to plucking eyebrow hairs, people who have gotten the piercing reported it felt "warm and fuzzy" instead.

One thing to consider is how the piercing will affect your appearance. Depending on the angle of the piercing, it can make it look like you're permanently expressing one emotion—angry, sad, happy, excited, etc.

However, it is less commonly done than vertical eyebrow piercings and thus more unique. They're rare because you need to have thick enough tissue to pierce, making them highly anatomy-dependent piercings.

This piercing also takes longer to heal than a vertical eyebrow piercing. Because it is a surface piercing, it takes a minimum of 6 months and up to a year for it to fully heal. While it heals, you will want to wear flat tops as opposed to balls or gems to prevent movement as much as possible. Once it heals, you can wear any tops you like, but be conscious of ends that may increase the chances of something snagging on it.

The unfortunate thing about this piercing is that your body can still reject it even if it heals completely. It's best to think of this piercing as long-term temporary. A good run for this piercing is 1-5 years, but you can always get it redone.

Center Eyebrow Piercing

A center eyebrow piercing is a vertical eyebrow piercing done towards the center of the eyebrow. These piercings are typically done in pairs to keep symmetry between the brows.

Like a vertical eyebrow piercing, there must be enough tissue to pierce through. This means they are anatomy-dependent. The initial jewelry for them is a 14g curved barbell. The healing time is the same as a vertical eyebrow piercing.

However, when healing a center eyebrow piercing, they are more prone to ingrown hairs and discharge due to the thicker hair growth in the area.

Once they're fully healed, you can switch to a ring.

Forehead Surface Piercing or Vertical Bridge Piercings

While pop culture has popularized the terms "third eye piercing" or "bindi piercing," these terms are actually offensive to the members of the cultures to which these terms belong. POC folks and POC piercers have come forward to denounce these terms as cultural appropriation.

Forehead adornments have a long history and span multiple cultures from East Asia and India to South America, Christianity, Catholicism to Paganism, and even Eastern European to indigenous cultures.

Instead, the proper terminology for these piercings that is also culturally sensitive is either a forehead surface piercing (if it's done with a dermal anchor) or a vertical bridge piercing (if it's done with a surface bar).

Before you decide to get either of these piercings, it's important to know that they are not designed to be permanent. Instead, they are referred to as long-term temporary (around 5-7 years), meaning that they will need to be removed at some point. These piercings do leave some visible scars, which is why it's important to do your research before you get them. However, you can always get them redone.

Since these are both surface piercings, curved barbells should never be used as jewelry.

Forehead Surface Piercing

As previously stated, a forehead surface piercing is a piercing anywhere along the surface of the forehead, but typically in the middle. It is also known as a "unicorn piercing."

The jewelry for this piercing is a dermal anchor, also known as a microdermal or surface anchor. When you get pierced, your piercer will use a needle to create a space for the base of the jewelry to sit. The base is a small rectangular shape with a post sticking out of one end. Once the base is inserted, the only time it should be removed is if you're retiring the piercing entirely.

The bases also come in different sizes depending on the thickness of your forehead tissue. The thicker the forehead tissue, the thicker the base of the dermal anchor will be. Make sure your piercer uses the correct size base for your forehead tissue.

The other part of the dermal anchor is the top that screws into the base. While it heals, it's best to have flat discs. Once it heals, you can select any gems or designed tops. For some, you can switch out the ends at home. However, see a piercer if you're having issues doing it yourself. It's better to have a professional do it than to irritate the piercing and cause it to be prematurely rejected.

You also don't have to worry about coming back in to downsize the jewelry, as it is optional with this type of jewelry and piercing.

Vertical Bridge Piercing

A vertical bridge piercing is done between the eyebrows using a surface bar. It is an anatomy-dependent piercing, meaning you need to have thick enough tissue in the center of your forehead.

Depending on your piercer and preference, you can get this piercing done as two dermals.

Regardless, it is a surface piercing, so it's best to consider it a long-term temporary piercing. Because of its more central nature on your face, it is not recommended if you're worried about visible scars.

Popular Jewelry Choices

When you're initially pierced, your piercer should use implant-grade titanium or steel eyebrow piercing jewelry to avoid any reactions to the material. Lower-quality jewelry, like stainless steel, is unsuitable for piercing as it heals. There also is no such thing as "surgical steel." That's just a marketing buzzword.

Low-quality jewelry also contains common irritants, such as nickel. Should any of these piercings become irritated, it can lead to rejection sooner.

Vertical and central eyebrow piercings need to be healed with curved barbells. These can be anodized in a particular color, or you can choose specific ends from various colors, gemstones, shapes, and designs. Once they have fully healed, you can switch to eyebrow rings, which can be captive bead rings or seamless rings.

Every other piercing uses a surface bar or dermal anchors. While you should not attempt to switch out the bases or bars used in horizontal surface piercings or vertical bridge piercings, you can switch out the tops.

While they're best healed using flat discs, the options for tops are virtually endless. You can select from various colors, gemstones, shapes, and designs. You can keep them the same or choose one end for each side of the surface bar.

Styling Tips for Eyebrow Piercings

While there are numerous ways for you to style your eyebrow-piercing jewelry, two main ones come to mind.

First, you can always match the ends of your eyebrow piercings or the rings to your makeup. You can even incorporate them into the overall design of your makeup look, especially if you're going for more of a fantasy look.

You can also match the jewelry to your outfit or personal style that day. You can incorporate the jewelry into your vibe from chic to business, sleek to flashy. Some people even opt for a monochromatic look and keep all their jewelry within one color scheme.

Regardless, eyebrow piercings are versatile and are experiencing a comeback. Although most aren't permanent, you can continue to get them redone if you're okay with the potential of going through scar tissue. They can be more temperamental and take longer to heal than other piercings, but the payoff is well worth it.