Inside: Snug Piercing 27 Ideas for Faux and Real Hoop Jewelry.
If you pinch your earlobe, you’ll feel a triangular piece of cartilage at the top of the lobe, called the anti-tragus. If you pinch the antitragus and follow the line of cartilage between the rim of your ear and your inner cartilage, you’ll discover the anti-helix. This is where the snug piercing takes place.
The snug piercing, also called the anti-helix piercing, is a newer piercing type. While it sits in a similar location to the auricle ear piercing, the entrance and exit points of the snug piercing both appear at the front of the ear, so it’ll be more aesthetically similar to a rook piercing.
Not everyone’s anatomy will allow for this piercing type, so there are a few things to think about before you plan to add the snug piercing to your cartilage party.
Here’s everything you need to know about the snug piercing.
What is a Snug Piercing?
A snug piercing is a horizontal piercing that sits right above the anti-tragus (or the inner ridge of the cartilage part of the ear).
Something unique about a snug piercing is that its entrance and exit points are visible from the front of the ear, rather than going through to the back.
There is a caveat to this type of piercing though: not everyone’s ear is able to accommodate it.
Be sure to check with your piercer before beginning the process to ensure that it’s safe and comfortable to do so.
Snug Piercing Pain
Because the cartilage on the anti-helix is tougher, it takes more force to pierce it—meaning more pain.
It feels like a very heavy push of pressure.
There’s no real way to know which part of the piercing process will be the most intense, though some feel more pain when the needle is pushed through (which takes one second or less) versus those who feel it during the insertion of the jewelry. It’s painful, sure, but it can’t be too bad or else there wouldn’t be so many people willingly getting a snug piercing.
How Long Does a Snug Piercing Take to Heal?
Snug piercings are in line with other cartilage piercings when it comes to healing time: about four to six months.
However, because everyone’s body reacts differently to the process, you should prepare for that one-year timeframe.
You can tell that a snug piercing is fully healed when no part of it is sensitive anymore and there is no crust building around the area for a full consecutive two weeks.
Snug piercings are easily re-traumatized, though, so it’s important to take good care of the area even after it’s healed to ensure you don’t irritate it and return to the healing process.
Snug Ear Piercing Ideas
4. Cute Diamond Snug with Ear Stack
7. Balanced Ear Piercings with Snug
8. Classic Snug Barbell Piercing
Faux Snug Piercing
“Faux Snug Piercing” is a great alternative to the conventional Snug. It is basically two separate piercings: a conch piercing positioned parallel with an outer helix piercing, to give the illusion of a regular Snug, but without the troubles of massive swelling and anatomy dependency.
Snug Piercing Jewelry
What Type of Jewelry Is Used for a Snug Piercing?
Curved Barbells: A curved barbell is a small, curved metal piece of jewelry—typically with a fixed ball on one end and a removable one on the other. With a snug piercing, curved barbells are threaded through the hole immediately following the needle.
16. Golden Fire Opal Claw Prong Set
19. Golden Classic Star Steel Curved Barbell
Snug Piercing Hoop Inspiration
25. Classy Ear Stack with Snug Hoop
Side Effects of a Snug Piercing
You may experience pain for a few days after your piercing, along with swelling, bleeding, redness, or discharge from the area. However, here are the side effects of a snug piercing to look for specifically to signal that something is going wrong:
Infection
As with any piercing, the main unwanted side effect is an infection. If you see intense and persistent swelling, a bright redness that doesn’t go away, skin cracking, soreness, fluid build-up, or a discharge around the piercing site, it would be best to see a medical professional right away.
Pustule
A blister or pimple filled with pus, potentially caused by a piercing being irritated while healing. Continue to clean your piercing as directed, adding salt soaks to your routine up to three times per day to flush the pustules out safely.
Keloid
A thick scar that can form randomly, especially if you are genetically predisposed to them. Keloids are hard to care for once formed and have to either be removed or cared for in a way that reduces their appearance. Keloids can be surgically removed or have medication directly injected into the site to make it appear less visible. However, if you choose to leave them be, keloids will exist on your skin forever, so make sure to properly care for your piercing to avoid them in the first place.
Rejection
This is the process where your body believes your new piercing is an unnatural threat and forces it out of your skin. As with most piercings, the only way to remedy rejection is to have the snug piercing professionally removed to hurry up the process.
Migration
Like rejection, this is when your body pushes around your piercing. However, migration occurs when your snug piercing moves but isn’t completely pushed out. This is a rare occurrence in a snug piercing, but is typically caused by improper aftercare or having an ear not meant for it in the first place. If you see this happening, talk to an experienced piercer about getting the jewelry changed or other ways forward.
More Cool Piercing Ideas You’ll Love
If you like these cool snug piercings then check out more ear piercing inspiration and aftercare tips.
- Cute Piercing Combos: They always say two is better than one, and that also applies to ear piercings. Check out a few of our favorite ear piercing combos and learn everything you need to know about combining your favorite piercing styles. You are guaranteed to find your favorite combo with these cool ideas.
- Industrial Piercing: An industrial piercing is two holes connected by one piece of jewelry—typically a barbell. With so few guidelines, the possibility for customization is endless. You can go for an ornate bar or something super minimal. You can choose to include gemstones or go for smooth steel.
- When Can I Change My Ear Piercing? – If you’ve paid to have your piercing done, chances are you don’t want it to close up, and you’d be surprised how quickly this can happen with new piercings. the longer you have a piercing, the longer you can leave it without wearing an earring/piece of jewelry.
