Templates / Face piercing chart: Placements, gauges and healing times

Aesthetics & Beauty

Face piercing chart: Placements, gauges and healing times

Free PDF • 2 pages, print-ready • Clinician-reviewed

Monika Lazarevska Last updated November 10, 2026 Reviewed by Dr. Vanja Kitanova

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A face piercing chart names each facial piercing and shows where it sits. It lets you and the client agree on a placement before anything gets marked. Clients often arrive with a screenshot and the wrong name, and the chart settles that in seconds.

Ours lists 14 numbered placements, from the septum and bridge to the medusa, anti-eyebrow and tragus. Each one carries a typical gauge, an initial healing range and a note on what to watch. It also includes a pre-piercing checklist and a procedure record.

Template details

Template type

Chart

Format

Printable PDF, 2 pages

Sections

5 sections

Fields to complete

2 fields

Best for

Aesthetics & Beauty

Key takeaways

The chart numbers 14 placements, each with a typical gauge, an initial healing range and a note on what to watch.

Cartilage placements like the nostril and tragus take four to eight months to heal, about twice as long as most lip piercings.

Eyebrow and anti-eyebrow placements carry the highest migration and rejection risk, so discuss it before you mark.

Fit a longer post on lip placements and book a downsize once the swelling settles.

The 10-point checklist and the procedure record make each piercing traceable if a client returns with a problem.

The chart covers 14 placements, from septum to tragus

Each numbered placement on the sheet comes with a typical gauge, an initial healing range and one note on what to watch.

The PDF asks you to “mark the agreed site on the diagram” (its wording), but the file has no diagram. The face map below fills that role, so every number points at a spot on the face.

For marking on the day, print a plain face outline to go with the sheet and circle the agreed number on it. Some studios mark the placement on a photo the client has approved instead. Either way, the marked copy goes in the client’s record.

Here is the full reference table, with the same numbers, gauges and healing ranges as the PDF.

The tragus isn’t strictly a face piercing. Clients often book it in the same session, though, so the sheet keeps it in view.

Nose placements need measuring, not eyeballing

Three nose placements sit on the sheet: the nostril, the septum and the bridge. They heal on very different clocks. A nostril goes through cartilage and takes four to six months, while a septum often settles in six to eight weeks.

Paired nostrils fail on symmetry more often than on technique. Mark both sides, step back, and have the client check them in a mirror before you pierce. If a client asks what 16g or 18g means in millimeters, our body piercing gauge chart converts every size.

Lip placements need room for swelling

Six of the 14 placements involve the lips, so swelling is the problem you’ll plan for most. The sheet’s advice is to fit a longer post first and downsize once the swelling settles. A post that’s too short in those first days can embed in the tissue.

That swelling note also mentions tongue piercings. The tongue isn’t one of the 14 charted placements, so this note is the only place it appears on the sheet.

Lip jewelry also rests against teeth and gums. Flat-back discs reduce that contact, and a quick look at the gum line at each check-up catches wear early.

Four lip names overlap, so record the number

Strictly, a labret is the central piercing just below the lower lip. The PDF uses the word more loosely, so several rows describe close neighbors. Read the lip numbers like this:

• #6 and #7: One piercing below each corner of the lower lip. Done together, they make snake bites.
• #9: The center of the lower lip, which is the standard labret spot.
• #11: Also central, but lower toward the chin. The tissue is deeper there, which is why its note asks you to check depth before choosing a post.
• #10: A single piercing to one side of the lower lip. It’s the same kind of piercing as #6, so note which number you used.
• #8: The philtrum, or medusa, centered in the groove above the top lip.

The PDF also spells #10 the UK way, as “off-centre”. Write the number in the procedure record, and the overlap stops mattering.

Eyebrow and anti-eyebrow carry the highest rejection risk

The sheet flags both as surface placements, where the jewelry sits in flat tissue rather than through a fold. That makes migration and rejection more likely, and rejection can leave a scar. Name the risk before you mark, then note in the record that you discussed it.

The PDF’s note for #12 calls the anti-eyebrow a “surface anchor”, which blends two techniques. Depending on technique, it’s either a surface piercing or a dermal anchor, so record which one you used.

Healing time follows the tissue, not the name

Group the 14 placements by tissue and a clear pattern appears. Soft tissue settles in weeks or a few months, and cartilage takes the longest. The ranges below come straight from the chart’s reference table.

Treat every range as typical, not a promise. Healing shifts with anatomy, jewelry, aftercare and the client’s general health, so let the piercer set expectations for each client.

Jewelry choice matters as much as the timeline. For initial piercings, the checklist allows implant-grade titanium, implant-grade steel, niobium, or solid 14k gold and above. Implant-grade titanium is made to ASTM F136, and implant-grade stainless steel to ASTM F138. Hand every client written aftercare, such as our piercing aftercare instructions, and tell them who to contact if something changes.

For general infection prevention, the CDC publishes guidance on hygiene and wound care. A client with spreading redness, heat, swelling or discharge should see a healthcare professional.

Surface and dermal piercings are built differently

A surface piercing uses a barbell that enters and exits the skin on the same plane. A dermal piercing uses a single anchor with a base under the skin and a visible top, so no jewelry passes through.

The Association of Professional Piercers (APP) publishes safety and educational materials for the industry. APP educational materials describe the anti-eyebrow as a surface piercing with a rejection risk. Placed with a single anchor instead, it becomes a dermal piercing, as with the teardrop and chin below.

Clients will also ask for names the sheet doesn’t number. Add these to your own copy if your studio offers them.

• High nostril: A nostril piercing placed higher up the side of the nose.
• Vertical eyebrow: The jewelry runs up and down through the brow instead of across it.
• Forehead: Typically placed as a dermal anchor.
• Teardrop: Sits just under the eye, as a surface or dermal piercing depending on anatomy.
• Chin: Surface or dermal, depending on anatomy and the piercer’s assessment.

Dermal anchors shouldn’t be removed at home. Tell clients up front that removal is a studio appointment.

A consultation runs better with the chart in hand

The chart does its best work in the first few minutes of a consultation. A typical run looks like this.

1. Ask what the client wants. A photo helps, but match it to a numbered placement rather than the name they used.
2. Walk through the row. Point to the placement and talk through its gauge, healing range and note.
3. Assess the anatomy. If the tissue won’t support the placement, say so now and offer an alternative.
4. Run the checklist. Work through the ten checks, then have the client sign your piercing consent form.
5. Mark and confirm. Mark the site, circle its number on your face outline, and have the client confirm it in a mirror.
6. Fill in the record. After piercing, log the placement, gauge, length, material, needle lot and your initials.

Step six is the one studios skip when the queue is long. It’s also the one you’ll need if a client comes back with a problem three months later.

Before you pierce: Tick all ten checks

The sheet’s checklist has ten points, and each one prevents a specific problem.

• Age: The client is 18 or over, or a parent or guardian is present where state law permits.
• ID: You’ve seen photo ID and recorded it.
• Medical history: You’ve taken it and read it.
• Contraindications: None present, from anticoagulants and diabetes to immunosuppression, keloid history or recent illness.
• Food and sobriety: The client has eaten and isn’t under the influence.
• Anatomy: It suits the requested placement.
• Marking: The placement is marked and confirmed in a mirror.
• Jewelry: It’s implant grade, such as ASTM F136 titanium or ASTM F138 steel.
• Aftercare: You’ve explained it and handed it over in writing.
• Consent: The client has signed the form.

Seven mistakes that trip studios up

Most of these cost a minute to avoid and a lot more to fix after the fact.

Saying no is part of the job

The sheet tells you to decline when the anatomy won’t support the placement, the client can’t consent, or a medical condition makes healing unsafe. Explain why, and offer another placement where one exists. Refer anyone with signs of infection to a medical professional.

Licensing rules for piercing studios vary too. In the US, each state sets its own body art rules, and counties often add their own. In the UK, local councils handle registration. Check yours before you open or add a service.

How Pabau keeps consent, records and reminders together

Pabau is an all-in-one practice management system for aesthetic and healthcare teams, covering bookings, client details and forms. Piercing studios use the same tools to keep one record per client.

On paper, the chart, the consent form and the procedure record end up in three places. With Pabau, clients complete intake and consent forms on their phone before they arrive, and the signed copy lands on their record.

The client record then holds the placement, jewelry, needle lot and your notes, so a follow-up starts from what was done. Studios that also offer spa or wellness treatments run the same setup through our spa software.

Automated appointment reminders then bring clients back for their downsize, which every lip placement depends on.

Keep every piercing record in one place

Pabau sends consent forms before the appointment, stores each client’s placement and jewelry details, and reminds clients when their downsize is due.

Book a demo

Conclusion

A face piercing chart earns its place when it settles the conversation before the needle comes out. Agree the numbered placement, name the risk and the healing range, then write down what you did.

Skipping that saves a minute on the day and costs far more later. A client who returns with a migrating eyebrow bar or an embedded labret will want to know what was agreed. The signed checklist and the procedure record answer that for you.

Book a demo to see how Pabau keeps consent forms, piercing records and downsize reminders on one client record.

Continue your research

Planning the next piercing after a face session? Ear piercing pain scale ranks ear placements by how much they tend to hurt.

Running a studio that also does tattoos? Tattoo aftercare instructions gives clients a printable healing routine to take home.

Choosing software for a spa or body art studio? Best software for spas compares booking and record systems built for spa teams.

Frequently asked questions