Measuring your daith piercing at home is trickier than other locations but it can be done. You can only take an estimated size, it won’t be precise like measuring a nostril piercing.
You will need a strip of paper, a ruler, and a fine-tip marker to measure your daith for body jewelry. Eyeball how far you want the hoop to extend into your ear, then hold the strip of paper up to your ear and mark where this is using a vertical line. Next, measure the distance from the end of the paper strip to the marked line. This is approximately the inner diameter that you wear comfortably in your daith piercing. If you are purchasing something that isn’t a plain hoop, then you will need to add half of the design height to this measurement.
Table of Contents
- What is the standard size for a daith piercing?
- How do I know what gauge I wear in my daith piercing?
- How do I know what inner diameter hoop I wear in my daith piercing?
- Are there other ways to measure your daith for a hoop?
- How can I measure a daith earring I already have?
- Can the hoop size make it harder to put in a daith ring?
- How can I make putting in a daith earring easier?
- What kind of jewelry is worn in a daith piercing?
- What is the best metal for daith jewelry?
What is the standard size for a daith piercing?
The most common size gauge worn in a daith piercing is 16 gauge (approximately 1.2mm thick). There are always exceptions to this, and your piercer may have selected a different gauge. If you don’t have the correct tools to measure gauge at home, then you will need to ask what gauge you were pierced with. Most daith piercings can comfortably fit a hoop inner diameter that ranges from 8mm (5/16”) to 10mm (just over ⅜”).
How do I know what gauge I wear in my daith piercing?
The gauge refers to how thick the jewelry is. You will most likely find this measurement listed in millimeters. To measure the gauge at home accurately, you will need to have either a caliper or a micrometer. If you don’t have either of those tools, then you cannot accurately determine how thick your jewelry is. The best you will be able to do is estimate how thick it is based on a gauge card.
The gauge cannot be measured with a ruler because the increments in between the gauges used for body jewelry are very tiny. If you were to use a ruler, 18G, 16G, and 14G would look nearly the same. You would only know that 18G is approximately 1.0mm, 16G is approximately 1.2mm, and that 14G is approximately 1.6mm if you measured each gauge with a caliper.
Different wire gauges ranging from 12G (left) to 22G (right):
Tools that are used to accurately measure the gauge of body jewelry:
How do I know what inner diameter I wear in my daith piercing?
The supplies you need for measuring your daith for a hoop earring are a piece of paper, a ruler, and a fine-tip marker. The measurement you’re taking will only be an estimate, you may be able to go up or down an inner diameter size from the number you get using the method described.
First, cut the paper into a strip so that it’s easy to fit inside of your ear. Next, approximate the spot where you want the hoop to extend to in the ear starting from where your piercing is. Use the marker to mark where that is on the paper.
Now, measure the marked portion of the paper against a ruler by counting how many millimeters there are from the edge of the paper (the part that you held up to your where your daith piercing is) and where the line is marked (the spot where you estimated you want the hoop to sit). Round up to the next whole millimeter if you’re slightly over one of the marks on the ruler.
This measurement would be the smallest inner diameter you can fit using a plain hoop, but not necessarily the inner diameter that will feel the most comfortable or be the easiest to work with.
If the jewelry you’re purchasing has a design attached to it, like the jewelry that I sell, then you will need to take the design height into account by adding back some of the height to the measurement you got above. To make sure that a piece you’re buying from my jewelry line will fit comfortably, you need to find where I’ve listed the height of the design in my product description (I always list the width + height for my designs).
I place the coils on my captive beads approximately in the center of the design, so you will need to add half of the design height to the smallest inner diameter you can fit to ensure the entire design will fit comfortably in your ear. In my example above with the silicone ear, the first measurement I took was 5mm.
My octopus design is approximately 9.6mm tall, so I divided that number in half to get 4.6mm. If you add the minimum hoop inner diameter (5mm) to half of the design height (4.6mm) you will end up with an inner diameter that is approximately 9.6mm.
Since you always round up if you’re in between sizes, the hoop inner diameter that you would use based on these measurements is 10mm. I’ve included a picture of how the octopus would sit in the ear on a 10mm hoop when the ear is measured using this method.
This is how my octopus design looks on a 10mm hoop, which was determined using the measuring method I explain above:
Alternatively, if you know the outer diameter of the entire piece you can measure the total available space in your ear (my jewelry is listed using inner diameter, so this doesn't work for my pieces):
Are there other ways to measure your daith for a hoop?
If you don’t want to take the measurement at home, then your best bet is to ask your piercer for help. Make sure you tell them the measurements of any designs attached to the jewelry so they can help you figure out if it’s going to fit well.
Alternatively, you can measure a piece of jewelry that already fits in your daith piercing. If you don’t have a piece of jewelry to measure, then the only other option besides measuring your piercing or asking your piercer for help is to just buy an assortment of sizes to try on knowing that you will be tossing the rejects.
How can I measure a daith earring that I already have?
It’s super easy to measure the inner diameter of a piece of jewelry that already fits you well. You can use a ruler for this or a caliper. Take the measurement from one inside edge to the other inside edge in a straight, horizontal line. This is the inner diameter.
Make sure you are not measuring from outside edge to the other outside edge because this is not typically how body jewelry is measured. To measure the inner diameter of a hoop with a ruler just place the hoop on top of the ruler and count how many millimeters are inside of the ring.
Can the hoop size make it harder to put in a daith ring?
Smaller hoop inner diameters are more difficult to work with. If you’re struggling to insert jewelry with an inner diameter that’s 9mm or smaller, consider sizing up to see if that makes it easier for you. Curved barbells that fit the piercing closely will also be more difficult to get closed.
How can I make putting in a daith earring easier?
As long as your piercing is healed completely, then you can change out your daith jewelry at home if you want to. Most 16G jewelry is easy to manipulate by hand. Keep in mind that changing your jewelry can irritate your piercing if you don’t know what you’re doing. Sometimes, it’s best to have your piercer change out the jewelry for you, especially if you think you’re going to struggle.
If you’re comfortable inserting your own jewelry, then try wearing nitrile gloves with textured fingertips. The textured tips will give you better grip on the jewelry that you’re working with making it easier to open and close it. This includes both hoops and barbells.
Additionally, make sure your fingers and the parts of the jewelry you’re trying to hold onto are cleaned up from any creams or lubricating jellies. Never try to change your jewelry at home before your piercer tells you that you’re fully healed.
What kind of jewelry is worn in a daith piercing?
You can wear various styles of body jewelry in your daith. Hoops are one of the most common types, and you’ll often see people wearing captive bead rings, segment rings, and seamless rings in their piercing. Clickers can also be used, as can horseshoes and curved barbells.
What’s the best metal for daith jewelry?
The best metals that you can wear in your daith are ones that won’t need frequent cleaning and are highly compatible with the body. For example, titanium and niobium both make excellent metals for daith jewelry because they are bio-compatible and they do not discolor. Solid gold is also a great option for daiths.
While silver is perfectly fine for the design (the part that does not go inside your piercing), any part of the jewelry that goes directly through the piercing should not be made out of a metal that tarnishes because you will have to frequently remove the hoop or barbell for cleaning.
