Ear cuffs have been all the rage in jewelry recently, and with good reason. These jewelry box staples are the most versatile styles to give you the trendy stacked earring look without the hassle and pain of getting your ears pierced. They are also a great way to experiment with your style and change up your earring placement to see if you want to make a permanent decision to pierce your ear.

If you aren't too familiar with this style of ear jewelry, there's no need to stress. We are here to give you information about these style staples and provide you with some tips on incorporating them into your style.

What are Ear Cuffs?

Ear cuffs are a style of ear jewelry the quite literally cuffs around your ear. Most commonly, you will see them as a simple circular piece that has an opening and is worn around the outer edge of your ear. They are made to slip over the cartilage and look similar to a helix or snug piercing.

One of the biggest questions associated with ear cuffs is whether or not you have to have your ears pierced to wear them. Well, the answer is absolutely not! While you can have your ears pierced and rock these styles, it's not a requirement and is treated as an alternative for piercings—so no need to worry about it. 

If your interest in ear cuffs are now peaked, then let's talk about what types of cuffs you can typically find.

Classic Ear Cuff

The classic ear cuff is what you are the most used to seeing in fashion and on your favorite style icons. The shape is simple and circular, with an opening that allows you to slip it onto your ear with zero hassle. They can come in different thicknesses and can have embellishments like sparkling stones or interesting shapes like these spiked beauties you see here. 

Chain Ear Cuff

A chain ear cuff is when an earring, in the traditional placement at the bottom of your ear, has a chain attached to it that leads to an ear cuff at the top of your ear. This style is of ear cuff is an excellent option if you already have your ear pierced and are looking for a cool and interesting way to incorporate ear cuffs. Even if you don't have your ears pierced, there are for sure options that utilize clip ons as that bottom earring piece. 

Ear Wrap

An ear wrap is different from your standard cuffs because they are created to wrap around multiple parts of your ear as their namesake entails. These styles are the statement pieces of the ear cuff category and can come in some fantastic designs. Take this serpentine ear cuff, for example! It uses its design to wrap your ear from top to bottom and provide a visually exciting addition to any outfit. 

How to Put on an Ear Cuff and Placement

Now that we've covered a couple of styles that you can consider, the next question is how to get these on your ears. For a classic cuff, the steps are pretty simple:

1. Begin by standing in front of a mirror and holding the ear cuff parallel to your ear.
2. Slip the cuff on the thinnest part of your ear, and then slide it down to adjust.
3. The ear cuff should securely hug your ear and feel comfortable.
4. You'll know that it's the right size when you can gently tug on it, and it doesn't come off.

For ear wraps, you can follow these steps as well, but just know that since these are a bit intricate in design, it may take a bit of extra maneuvering to master getting them on.

For placement of your cuffs, you have a couple of options in where to place them. Because traditional ear cuffs are often adjustable, you can place them anywhere, but we have a few standard placement suggestions for you. 

• Antitragus & Antihelix: These lie right above the standard part of your lobe, where you would usually get your first piercing. 
• Scaphoid Fossa: This part of the ear is in the top middle below the helix.
• Helix: This is the most popular ear cuff and earring placement and is at the very top of the ear. 

Styling Your Ear Cuffs

So now you have all this information about ear cuff types, how to put them on, and where you can out them, but what about styling? Well, there are plenty of ways to pair ear cuffs together:

• Mix and Match - One of our favorite ways to wear ear cuffs is to mix and match them with one another. For example, you can pair a simple gold cuff with a stone-studded one.
• Hoops - The most popular way to style ear cuffs are with hoop earrings. This combo is honestly a match made in heaven and can be rocked in multiple ways. You can keep it dainty with thin hoops and cuffs or lean into the wider hoops and carry this into the ear cuffs.
• Stacked - Another popular way of wearing ear cuffs is stacking them on top of one another. This gives the illusion that you have multiple piercings and is a great way to give a little edginess to your fits. 

Whether you are just now exploring ear cuffs and other non-piercing styles or just looking for a way to spice up your jewelry box, ear cuffs are for sure a go-to for you!