If 2026 is 2016 all over again, the spontaneous girl who’s been dormant in me for a decade couldn’t be more thrilled. I’ll set the scene: It’s a Wednesday evening on the Lower East Side, and my best friend, Rochelle, and I are leaving our favorite dive bar. As I pocket a pen on the way out, a neon-lit piercing studio catches Rochelle’s eye. She saunters in and asks for a lobe piercing. I follow her lead with a tragus piercing, channeling Evan Rachel Wood’s bravery in Thirteen.
Little did we know that Rochelle’s stacked earlobe and my tragus would still resonate a decade later, especially when paired with updated jewelry or a coordinating piercing. “With so many different metals and stones to choose from, it’s hard not to want everything pierced,” says Christine Swaim, a piercer at Oak & Poppy Tattoos and Piercings in Los Angeles. “The evolution of body jewelry has really changed the industry, and each piece gives clients freedom of expression.”
Regardless of your thoughts on the 2016 renaissance, piercing trends have continued to expand and evolve. Between the red carpet and your For You Page, there’s no shortage of inspiration if your 2016 self won’t shut up about getting a new piece. That’s why we turned to professional piercers for their takes on the hottest trends right now. The good news? There’s something for everyone to love, from delicate, barely there effects to dramatic throwbacks.
Double tragus
Riding the momentum from 2025’s stacked lobe trend, Starr Ellis, a piercer and the owner of New York City’s Nine Moons Piercing, says the stacked aesthetic will move to the tragus. “Clients are loving stacked studs in areas that aren’t just the earlobes, and a double tragus piercing is a fun way to do that if your anatomy is suited for it,” she says. “There needs to be enough of the small triangular or rhomboid structure in front of the ear canal (that’s your tragus) to be able to pierce and heal more than one stud.”
Incorporating mini hoops, which can be worn solo or stacked, is also a popular approach to styling your tragus, says Maria Tash, jewelry designer and founder of Maria Tash Fine Jewelry and Luxury Piercing in Los Angeles. “Clients often point out the small hoops many of our staff wear, which is an option they hadn’t previously considered, since most associate tragus piercings solely with studs,” she says.
Because the tragus area is prone to swelling, Tash recommends switching to a mini hoop once the piercing has fully healed, which can take anywhere from 6 to 12 months. “It is important to mention to your piercer that you want your tragus piercing designed to wear a small ring when it’s healed, as this request can shift how the piercer angles the depth of the piercing,” she adds.
Paired nostrils
If a nostril piercing is a way to flatter the shape of your nose and draw attention to your face, consider the paired nostril trend a full spotlight. “Nostril piercings allow for a surprising amount of creativity, from paired and double placements to elegant, stacked configurations,” Tash says. “It seems that today’s modern nose piercing sees the whole plane of cartilage as pierceable, not just the traditional small area halfway back on the side of the nostril.”
According to Swaim, paired nostril piercings—whether two piercings on one side or one piercing on each side of the nose—have become increasingly popular, with many clients opting for the ladder effect. “The ladder involves placing a stud on each side, with a chain laying across the bridge to connect them,” she says. Depending on the thickness of the chain you select, the result can be as delicate or dramatic as you’d like.
