A captive bead ring is usually made of surgical stainless steel, but may also be made of titanium, niobium or gold. These rings are C-shaped and use pressure to hold an indented bead in the opening. Captive bead rings smaller than 14 gauge can usually be removed by the wearer without special tools, while those larger than 14 gauge may require ring-opening pliers. Cartilage piercings in which captive bead rings are acceptable jewelry include the nostril and the rim of the ear.
A nose cartilage piercing is also called a nostril piercing. The two most common styles of jewelry worn in nostril piercings are nostril screws and captive bead rings. Nostril screws get their name because they twist into the piercing. A bend in the wire holds the jewelry in place inside the nose. On the outside, a nostril screw usually looks like a discreet bead or jewel. The piercer bends the nostril screw to fit the exact shape of the wearer's nose.
An ear cartilage piercing known as an industrial requires a long surgical steel barbell, usually 12 or 14 gauge. Industrial piercings go through the upper cartilage of the ear and are actually two separate piercings that share a single piece of jewelry. One bead of an industrial barbell sits outside the top front of the ear and the other outside the top back. Barbells are either internally threaded, with the threads sticking out of the beads and screwing into a hollow post, or externally threaded, with hollow beads and the threads on the post itself.
Those who prefer more dramatic body modifications may choose to have sections of cartilage removed using a dermal punch, a type of circular scalpel. One of the most common dermal punched cartilage piercings is the conch, the cupped piece of cartilage just above the earlobe. The initial plugs are usually surgical steel, but once the piercing is healed you can wear plugs made of glass, wood, bone, horn or acrylic. Nostril cartilage can also be dermal punched, and plugs made of the same materials are acceptable.