What Are the Names of the Different Face Piercings?
Facial piercings run from the brow to the cheeks and cover far more than the familiar nose stud. This face piercing chart names every placement across the face, explains where each one sits and rates the pain and healing for each, then points you to the dedicated nose and lip charts for those areas in full detail.Face Piercing Names and Chart
Face piercings are named for the feature they sit on or near. The eyebrow is the classic brow piercing, usually placed as a vertical bar through the outer end of the brow. The anti-eyebrow sits on the cheekbone below the eye as a small surface piercing. The bridge crosses the flat skin at the top of the nose between the eyes. The third eye stands upright in the centre of the forehead just above the brow line. Cheek or dimple piercings sit in the hollow of the cheek to echo a natural dimple.
Some face piercings pass through soft skin as surface piercings, which sit on flat tissue rather than through a fold. Surface placements such as the anti-eyebrow and the third eye ask more of your anatomy and your aftercare because flat skin naturally tries to push jewellery out over time. This is why an honest consultation and a flexible surface bar matter so much for these looks. The nose and lip belong to the face too, so this chart links out to their own dedicated guides where every placement is covered in full.
Every Face Piercing by Zone
The cards below name each face piercing and describe where it sits. Brow placements are well established and heal reliably. Surface placements on flat skin are bolder and need careful aftercare. Cheek piercings are striking and slow to settle.
How Much Does a Face Piercing Hurt?
Face piercings span a wide range. A soft eyebrow through a fold of skin is one of the gentler placements, while a cheek piercing through firmer tissue and a bridge across the top of the nose feel sharper. Surface piercings on flat skin sit in the middle for pain yet ask more during healing. The chart below rates each face placement out of ten so you can compare before you book.
How Long Does a Face Piercing Take to Heal?
Healing depends on whether the piercing passes through a fold or across flat skin. An eyebrow settles in a couple of months, while surface placements such as the anti-eyebrow and the third eye take longer and need steady care to heal well. A cheek piercing sits deeper and is one of the slowest on the face. The chart below shows the typical full healing time in weeks.
The Complete Face Piercing Chart
This table brings every face placement together so you can compare position, pain, healing and jewellery in one view before your consultation.
| Piercing | Placement | Pain (out of 10) | Healing time | Typical jewellery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eyebrow | Outer brow, vertical | 4 | 6 to 8 weeks | Curved barbell |
| Horizontal eyebrow | Along the brow line | 4 | 2 to 3 months | Surface bar |
| Anti-eyebrow | Upper cheekbone | 5 | 3 to 4 months | Surface bar |
| Third eye | Centre forehead | 5 | 3 to 4 months | Surface bar |
| Bridge | Between the eyes | 7 | 8 to 12 weeks | Straight barbell |
| Cheek or dimple | Hollow of the cheek | 7 | 8 to 12 months | Labret stud |
What Jewellery Suits a Face Piercing?
The right jewellery depends on whether the piercing passes through a fold or sits on flat skin. Fold piercings such as the eyebrow wear a curved barbell that follows the natural shape of the brow. Surface piercings such as the anti-eyebrow and the third eye need a flexible surface bar shaped like a staple, which lies flat and moves with the skin to reduce the pressure that leads to rejection. A bridge takes a straight barbell sized to sit level across the top of the nose.
Material and fit are what keep a face piercing settled. OSCO London fits implant grade titanium as standard because it is light and well tolerated by fresh piercings. Surface placements in particular rely on the correct bar and honest advice about whether your anatomy will hold the piercing long term, which is something your piercer will talk through openly at your appointment before any decision is made.
Comparing how much each placement stings across the whole body? See the full Piercing Pain Chart by Type or browse every chart on the Piercing Charts hub.
Book your face piercing at OSCO London
Every piercing is just £10. Expert placement, a private studio in Northwood, flexible surface bars where needed and honest advice on what your anatomy can carry.
OSCO London is a professional piercing studio in Northwood, London where every piercing is priced at £10. To choose your face placement in person and have your anatomy assessed by an experienced piercer, visit the OSCO London homepage and book a consultation before you decide, especially for surface placements.
How to Care for a New Face Piercing
Clean the piercing twice a day with a sterile saline solution and pat dry with clean kitchen paper rather than a towel. Wash your hands before you touch the area and leave the jewellery in place throughout the healing window. Keep make up, foundation and facial products away from the site, take care with glasses around a bridge or eyebrow piercing and be gentle with a pillow so a healing surface piercing is not pressed or snagged during sleep.
Surface piercings on flat skin need extra patience because the body naturally works to push flat jewellery out, so consistent saline care and leaving the piece undisturbed give the best chance of a settled result. Watch for the jewellery sitting higher than it did or the skin over the bar thinning, since these can be early signs of rejection. If you notice either, see your piercer promptly rather than waiting, because early action can sometimes save the piercing.
This face guide is the central map of the OSCO London Piercing Charts collection. For the areas covered in their own dedicated charts, read the Nose Piercing Names and Placement guide and the Lip Piercing Names Explained guide or plan your ears with the Ear Piercing Chart and Names.
Face Piercing Questions
Away from the nose and lip, the eyebrow is the most common facial piercing. It passes through a soft fold of skin, rates around four out of ten for pain and heals reliably in six to eight weeks, which makes it a popular first face piercing.
A surface piercing sits on flat skin rather than passing through a fold, so both ends of the jewellery exit the same flat plane. The anti-eyebrow and the third eye are surface piercings and they use a flexible staple shaped bar to lie flat and move with the skin.
Fold piercings such as the eyebrow are quite stable, while flat surface piercings carry a higher chance of rejection because the body tends to push flat jewellery out over time. The right bar, good aftercare and honest anatomy advice all lower that risk.
The cheek or dimple piercing is one of the slowest on the face at around eight to twelve months because it passes through deeper tissue. Surface placements also take longer than a simple eyebrow, as shown in the healing chart above.