Inner Conch Piercing
The inner conch piercing is a piercing through the innermost shell of the ear, next to the ear canal itself. Piercings through the outer shell are called Outer Conch Piercings. Historically it was performed by the Mangebetu of Zaire and the Gorakhnathis.
While this piercing is often done as a standard piercing, a great many people choose to Dermal Punch this piercing immediately to a larger gauge. It should be noted that making significant changes to the structure of the conch can cause minor loss of hearing.
Most people pronounce this piercing with a soft "ch" (ie. as in "cherry"), although the "official" (and less common) pronunciation is "konk" with a hard "k" at the end.
Alternative Names
The following were named by Blake Perlingieri to commemorate the Gorakhnathis and their use of large gauges of the piercing:
- Sadhu piercing
- Kanphati piercing
The positioning is also referred to as an ear bowl piercing.