Forward Helix Piercing: My Experience

Hello, sweet readers. Time for something completely different here on 'Truth About Cosmetics'. 3 weeks ago, I got my first piercing. Nothing too special or daring, I choose a forward helix piercing. I thought it would be interesting to tell about my experience with this piercing and how I take care of it.

The piercing shop
I went to 'Body Design' in Ghent, which is a well-known piercing and tattoo shop. They have a very detailed website and I had only heard good things about this place. I was pierced by Cindy, a very sweet woman. I went by to make the appointment and I instantly knew I would be in good hands over there.

The piercing
I decided to get a forward helix piercing. A friend of me has one and I thought it looked so beautiful on her. It's is the piece of cartilage that connects your ear to your head. If you google this piercing, you often see that people have two of three piercings here. It's a beautiful effect, but I decided to just get one. 
Cindy gave me three options for the earring: 3mm, 2,5mm or 2mm. I choose the middle size, not too big and not too small.

The placement 
We went into the piercing room, where I had to sit down on a chair. She drew a small dot on my ear and I had to say if I wanted it higher of lower. I wanted it a bit higher so she drew another dot. It looked great to me so it was time to pierce!
Now, a question everyone asks: 'Did it hurt?' 
Yes, it hurt. But only during the actual placement. I can't exactly describe how it felt but I would compare it with a getting a sting from a bee or something. Cindy said that I would feel a 'vicious pain' and she was right. But when she put in the jewel and clean up my ear, the pain was over. Also, I heard a stronge 'popping' sound when the needle entered my cartilage. 

The aftermath
After getting the piercing, I wasn't allowed to touch it for the rest of the day. The day after, I had to start cleaning it daily. The first couple of days, I would often forget I have a piercing and would accidentally touch it. This was a bit painful. 
Three mornings in a row, I woke up and noticed my piercing had been bleeding a bit. It hasn't been bleeding anymore now, which is good. I also couldn't sleep on that ear, because it felt very uncomfortable.  

Last monday, a week after getting the piercing, I woke up and my ear hurt a bit. It started swelling during the day and it started hurting more. I went home, looked in the mirror and my ear was extremely red. Not kidding, it was almost purple and I could feel it throbbing. I filled my sink with luke warm water and soaked my ear in it for about 5 minutes. After that, I really took the time to clean it very well. I think I needed about 5 cotton swaps to get it clean. My ear instantly felt better and when I woke up the other day, It was painless and the swelling/redness was gone.

After that, I haven't gotten any problems with it. I try to leave it alone as much as I can, I only touch it when cleaning it. I can sometimes sleep on my ear, for a short while. It's currently healing pretty well, let's knock on hard wood and hope it stays this way.
I don't know when the piercing will have healed completely. Cindy said 3 - 4 months, I've read different healing times online, some people even said 9 months or a year. I think it will be different per person and will depend on how well you take care of it.

More piercings?
I don't know yet if I wil get more piercings but I find that my other ear looks so 'empty' now. Who knows, maybe this won't be my last piercing. First of all, this one needs to heal properly! 

I'm so in love with this piercing. I love how subtle it is, yet so beautiful. 

Do you have any piercings? Or plans to get one?
xx,
Astrid