I got my right snug pierced about 3 months ago when I was visiting a friend in Santa Barbara. She wanted to get her rook pierced, and since I had been wanting my snug for a while (and had made a cash withdrawl from the ATM to go on the trip anyway....!) we headed over to the place where had gotten a tattoo a few months prior. (So sorry!....I don't remember the name of the shop!!) Her tattoo had turned out really well, and a few of her friends had been pierced there, and were happy, so I was happy.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When Three months ago Location Santa Barbara, CA The shop was really clean, and the piercer was great....I feel bad that I don't remember the name so I can give them due credit! But anyway....I went first, because I was the one with more "piercing experience," and because I volunteered. I wasn't really nervous, as I have had 14 piercings, including 5 other cartilage piercings, so I had a pretty good idea of what I was in for. I knew that the snug was supposed to be quite painful, but I was prepped, and mostly really excited to get my new earring!! So I hopped up on the bench, and he cleaned and marked my ear. It wasn't quite what I was envisioning, so I had him move it lower and change the angle a little bit. I was ready, he was ready, and the needle, fresh from it's package, was also ready. The standard "breathe in.....breathe out" ensued, and.....I'm not gonna lie, it hurt quite a bit. It wasn't unbearable, but it was worse than my other cartilage piercings (inner conch, rook, outer conch, and 2 helix piercings). It was more of a battle to get the needle through the flesh, and it took (what felt like) forever to get the needle to make it all the way through. The barbell went in really easily, and then I was done. I ooohed and aaahed over it in the mirror, and then my friend got her rook done and we were out.
My choice for the initial jewelry was a 16 g curved barbell, and I'm happy I chose a barbell instead of a ring because I have heard that rings can cause extra problems that this already-angry little piercing doesn't need. However, I should have told the piercer that I swell like mad, especially in cartilage, because, while the barbell was long enough for a normal person, I'm pretty sure it was too short for my body's ridiculous swelling. I was really worried about the balls interfering with the piercing's drainage, and so I pumped myself full of ibuprofen for at least 2 weeks. I also did a lot of salt soaks, and CAREFULLY cleaned it with dial in the shower in an attempt to fend off infection. It was pretty sore for quite a while, but three months later, I finally thought I was in the clear.
Then, I went home to CO for vacation, and, living 20 min from a ski resort, I tried to get in as much snowboarding as possible seeing as I rarely get to go out here in CA. Well, after the fourth day of my hat, goggles, and hair mashing up against the piercing, it was THOROUGHLY pissed off.
It was really swollen, red, tender, hot, etc. etc. The skin on my ear looked really gross too, mostly from being so swollen. I returned to the soaks/dial cleaning, but after a few days, I noticed a lump on the back of my ear. It was really strange, as it was not related to either of the openings of the piercing, but instead was a bump, almost the size of a pea, on the BACK of my ear right behind the barbell (perhaps an abscess?? gah!!). It continued to swell, and I was really worried that the infection was going to cause my cartilage to collapse or something, so i decided to take off one of the balls to let it drain better. As soon as I removed the ball, a huge glob of bloody pus came out of the piercing (I know...that is really disgusting...sorry) After I took the ball off, the swelling SLOOOOWWWLY (over the course of a week) started to go down, and eventually the lump was mostly reapsorbed.
Flash forward to today, a month after the infection incident. It is still very sore, and I haven't put the other ball back on yet. It occasionally produces some funky goo, and it is still swollen, so I'm wary of putting the other ball back on. It's still slightly swollen, so only the threads are poking out of one end of the piercing, so I think putting the other ball on would plug it up. (I can't get a longer barbell because the rim of my ear would put outward pressure on it that would probably make it reject.) I'm still babying it, and hoping that soon it will finally be happy so I can put the ball back on!
On a happy note, I really really love the way it looks (when it's not gross!!). I wouldn't really recommend it as a first cartilage piercing, though, as it is quite painful compared to other piercings, and I think it's also good to know how your body reacts to cartilage piercings before you embark on one that is as hard to heal as this one, and to have a bit of practice in the aftercare/damage control areas of piercing. Mine's been a bitch, but a lot of that is my own fault, so I think if you are nice to it, it will be nice to you. Good luck!! Let me know how it goes!