Exclusive | New Yorkers are making thousands to style their ears: ‘I want each ear to feel different’

They pierced their ears – and pierced their pockets too.

New Yorkers are shelling out thousands to ear stylists to open up their lobes and dazzle their earlobes with baubles specially curated to complement the curves of their ears.

“I probably spent about $4,500 on piercings. My most expensive piece was about $800,” J’nelle Agee, of Edgewater, NJ, told The Post. “I want each ear to have a different feel.”

Agee, 36, has three piercings in her lower lobe, plus one in an upper lobe, a concha (inner ear cup) and a cartilage (upper cartilage) — and said she’s only halfway there wants to be.

That’s why she sought out an ear stylist, professionals who help trendsetters create the perfect “ear story” by arranging gems to match the wearer’s fashion sense, personality and ear anatomy.

“You can really design your ear the way you want,” Agee explained. “Each ear is unique.”

All ears

Ear piercing dates back to ancient times, but popular piercings in recent decades have gone beyond the lobes, including the tragus (sharp cartilage in front of the ear), daith, conch, helix (upper curve), forward helix (section of front upper curve) and rook (the highest ridge of the inner ear).

In the world of ear styling, there is no exact method to determine which ear type best suits a particular piercing, although size, length and curves do matter.

Ear stylists analyze each person’s ear shape to select the ideal piercings, depending on their “ear look” or appearance and size.

Since no two lobes are the same and not everyone has all the structural features of the ear, this limits what jewelry they can wear, V Pellegrin, a stylist and ear piercer at Soho store Wildlike, told The Post.

“It’s about the anatomy of your ear,” explained Pellegrin, 21. “It’s not even how big your ear is. Someone can have an ear that’s the same length from top to bottom as yours and they’ll have the anatomy for that part, while your shell just bends in a different way.”

At Wildlike, jewelry starts at $25 and can go up to $1,695 for more elaborate designs, but that doesn’t include the price of piercing and styling, which runs between $50 and $150.

Although ear stylists want to ensure customers leave with a well-styled lobe, they’re not afraid to turn down requests.

During one of Danielle Meyers’ many visits to Wildlike, she wanted to get her coil pierced, but the ear designers wouldn’t give it the green light.

“I have really small ears and [staffers] were like, ‘No, we can’t do that,'” Meyers, 29, told The Post. “But then they helped me pick out a really cool yin-yang earring to go in, like, get my inner ear pierced to give me the same vibe I was going for.”

“This is a great alternative,” Meyers added. “I was very happy with the result.”

“We try to put the pieces where they would work best on their ear, or find pieces that would match that vibe and also work well with whatever piercings they already have.,said Pellegrini.

The stylists at Wildlike—Wicked actress Cynthia Erivo and Broadway star Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer had their ears styled by studio glam specialists—are adept at minimalist looks with one piercing or maximalist looks with over twenty gold hoops.

For more complex arrangements, designers use marking mechanisms and calipers to measure the distance between the piercings to prevent the pierced holes from merging into one – and to see how it will “sit in your ear”.

“If you already have three lobe piercings and we want to make sure the fourth one is perfect… we’ll make sure any jewelry you put on fits,” Pellegrin noted.

Of course, piercings are forever, so stylists give a rough idea of ​​the final product by holding the earrings to the ear frame with tweezers during styling sessions.

And convenience is also essential. There may be safety issues if the jewelry is pressed against the skin, which can cause “pressure and irritation.”

It is not played by ear

Pellegrin said ear styling is “really just about choosing the perfect piece of jewelry,” but also “setting up for future ear projects.”

“People can bring in that inspirational photo and already have the piercing they want,” she said. “Or it’s planning for that next piercing.”

Agee often comes to the storefront curious about how they can fix her ears next.

“I’ll always go to the store and be, ‘You know, what about this?’ Or can I do this? Or what’s this going to look like?'” she added. “The options for to have this really beautiful piece of jewelry and to be able to really show off your individuality is what I love.”

Sure, anyone can go get a piercing or add a new earring to their heart’s content, but Jamie Nayor, founder and CEO of The Ear Stylist by Jo Nayor, said it takes a seasoned professional to make history. better to hear.

“What’s most important to me is the flow of the ear,” the self-proclaimed head of ears told The Post. “It really depends on the shape of one’s ear [and] the distance between their actual bores. We look at whether someone is looking to add a new hole or if there’s enough space or if it’s going to be crowded.”

Nayor sees ears as a “blank canvas where people can express themselves and their personal styles through their earrings.”

“I play with texture and I like a bit of contrast,” she explained. “I always like something hanging on top of my last piercing. I like to create some length with earrings. And I always have an ear cuff. This is kind of my signature.”

In addition to matching piercings to one’s personality, designers also offer ways to coordinate jewelry with your outfits.

“Someone came to their wedding recently and they had pearls in their veil, so they wanted to have pearls in their ears, too,” Shawna Athy, 41, Wildlike’s store manager, told The Post.

“It’s been fun to go and actually use the styling services to make it fit really well and just look nicer,” said Meyers, who has 11 piercings.

“I’ve probably spent a total of $2,500 over the years on ear styling, and the most I’ve ever spent on jewelry would be $500,” the Brooklynite confessed.

“It was a new concept for me,” Agee added. “The experience from the first time I was there has drawn me in.”