Laura Ljaze
Body Piercing

The Snug piercing, also know as the Anti-Helix piercing is considered a modern piercing with no known ties to ancient culture.  The Snug is a horizontal piercing that frames a profusion of vertical cartilage.  This piercing depends a lot on your individual anatomy, many people do not have the right ear structure for this piercing, due to unpronounced cartilage, and even if the tissue does protrude it must be solid.  This piercing is not a phone or pillow friendly piercing, check it suits your lifestyle first.

Will it hurt? This is a moderately painful piercing due to the thickness of tissue. This piercing can be more painful than other ear piercings as on well developed anatomy this can penetrate some of the thickest cartilage tissue there is in the ear.  The piercing procedure itself will include some discomfort and a feeling of pressure as the hole is created as well as soreness after the jewellery is inserted. Of course, the pain experienced as with any piercing, will vary between individuals and a variety of other factors. 

Healing? Because the Snug piercing goes through a thick piece of tissue, the healing time is approximately 6-12 months, which is longer than other ear piercings. Infection rates can be slightly higher for the Snug piercing because of the fact that it is close to the hair and can come into contact with oils, ear wax and dirt from the scalp and the piercing is positioned in a exposed area.  This piercing can be a difficult one to heal and can cause issues sleeping on this piercing. Good aftercare is so important to heal this piercing well.

When caring for your Snug piercing, ensure that you:

• Refrain from touching the piercing to allow the tender tissue to heal and to reduce the risk of inflammation and pain.
• Sleep on your back to reduce pressure on your ears.
• Avoid applying lotions, moisturisers, perfumes to the area.
• Avoid swimming until after your piercing has healed.
• Try to keep your hair tied up and away from the piercing wherever possible during initial healing.
• Clean both exit holes of your piercing twice a day.
• You should not remove your jewellery during the healing process. The jewellery must be kept in at all times or you can risk the piercing closing over.
• Regularly remove any build up of ear wax from the opening of the ear canal

You can dramatically reduce your risk of any problems by following this advice.

Jewellery:  There are plenty of jewellery options for your new Snug piercing, we recommend a curved barbell for the healing period as this is the least obtrusive jewellery for healing this piercing.  All of Our Titanium Body Jewellery is made from Ti6-Al4-V ELI Medical Grade Titanium, the only grade conforming to ISO 5832-3:1996 and comes from UK suppliers direct, only the best available for our clients. 

DISCLAIMER: Each body is unique and healing times vary considerably. If you have any questions, please contact your Piercer. These guidelines are based on a combination of vast professional experience, common sense, research and extensive clinical practice. This is not to be considered a substitute for medical advice from a doctor.