Anti Tragus And Snug Piercing

Happy Friday! Today we’ll be taking a closer look at two of the most anatomy-dependent and complicated to heal cartilage piercings in the world – The snug piercing and Antitragus piercings. So what are they? What anatomy are we looking for? Why are they so tricky to heal? And why are they so dang popular?

Antitragus piercings are complex cartilage piercings that pass through the ‘ball’ of cartilage that sits opposite to the flat plate of the tragus. These piercings are performed with curved barbells, often with plenty of room to allow for initial swelling as these can swell quite a bit!

Snug piercings are another complex cartilage piercing, that often sit higher up the ear, parallel to the conch. These are pierced through the ridge of cartilage between the conch and outer helix.

The Ultimate Guide To Ear Cartilage Piercings

The above diagram doesn’t quite do the antitragus and snug anatomy justice, however it is important to know that these are not flat plates of cartilage like the helix, conch, or tragus. The snug and antitragus are actually folds of cartilage with a fluid-filled void in the middle. I recommend you feel your snug and antitragus to see what I mean. Pinch your snug from the front and back, and you should be able to feel the little space in between the fold. Pinch your antitragus from the front and back, and you should be able to feel the squishy void!

– We are piercing through the front, and back, of the cartilage. This, plus the fluid void, make these extremely difficult to heal.

We often tell clients that these piercings are highly anatomy dependent… But what does that mean? What anatomy are we looking for? Here we will place some photos of ideal, and unsuitable anatomy and explain our reasoning for each.

New Anti Tragus And Snug Jewelry. What Do You Say To A Daith Snug Combination?

Anatomy. There are as many shapes of snug as there are ears on the planet! Even on the same person, one side may be more suitable than the other. So what are we looking for?

Snug piercings require a very sharp, steep ridge. This steepness means that there is not a huge void between the two cartilage plates. The smaller the void, the easier your healing process. The ridge needs to be well-defined, so that the jewellery has only a short distance to clear. Finally, there needs to be good room either side of the ridge to support the jewellery. Some people have very tight outer helix ridges, which would compress the jewellery and minimise the chances of a good heal.

We are looking for similar things when it comes to antitragus piercings! Again, we need a sharp, well-defined ridge to support jewellery. The sharper and thinner the antitragus ball is, the smaller the fluid void and the easier your healing process is going to be.

Least To Most Painful Ear Piercings Ranking

There are as many examples of perfect and imperfect anatomy as there are ears on the planet, so please always have your anatomy checked by a trained professional piercer!

Snug and antitragus piercings are reknowned for experiencing heavy swells during their first few weeks of life. This is because the void between the two cartilage folds can fill with more fluid during the initial swell, and this fluid takes a long time to drain away! This means that the initial swell can be a little more excessive, and take longer to go down than other piercings.

This also means that you may be pierced with what looks like a silly-long curved barbell! Do not fret, this additional length is necessary to accommodate that initial swelling phase. We

The Least To Most Painful Types Of Ear Piercings, Ranked

E, as snug and antitragus piercings are quite fragile and are more susceptible to damage caused by snags and knocks. Your new snug or antitragus may require more than one downsize, as the swelling take take a longer time to fully diminish and it is impractical to wait until the full swelling is gone before downsizing. It’s highly likely that you can cause a new swell by not having the intermediate downsizes!

The main takeaway is that these are not beginner piercings! They can take a long time to heal, and can be fairly problematic when fresh. That being said, if you have already had a few cartilage piercings and have healed them well, then we would say that a snug or antitragus is definitely within your skill set to heal!

Book in for an anatomy check with a reputable, skilled piercer before getting these piercings! As they are more challenging to heal, it’s super important that you start off on the right foot by having good anatomy for the piercing.

Faux Snug Piercing

If you have any questions about antitragus or snug piercings, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us via instagram or email!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 anti-tragus 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.

Its location makes it one of the more painful piercings you can get. Additionally, 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.

Fire Opal Eyebrow Ring Ear Anti Tragus Helix Rook Bridge Piercing Curved Barbell

Snug piercings are commonly considered the most painful cartilage piercing, and some say that it ranks as one of the most painful piercings you can get. Ear cartilage is sensitive to begin with, and the cartilage in the anti-helix area is thick and strong.

Some claim that the actual puncture offered the most pain, while others say that their pain experience came when the piercer inserted the jewelry. Either way, even veterans of the piercing world can expect some substantial pain.

Your piercer’s experience will contribute to your pain level, and you can take steps on your own to try to minimize the pain. The most important thing you can do is take deep breaths, relax, and remember that the pain will be momentary.

More Towards An Antitragus Or A Snug? Curious To See What You Think!

Like most cartilage piercings, the snug piercing will take around 4 - 6 months to heal. Since cartilage often sees healing complications like cartilage bumps, you need to make sure that you adhere to proper aftercare practices throughout the entire healing process, and don’t change your jewelry until your piercer says you can.

Your ears tend to see a lot of buildup caused by dead skin cells, ear wax, and bacteria from headphones, clothing, and phones. Because of this, you need to make sure that you take good care of your piercing to avoid infections and scarring.

Since the snug piercing has entry and exit points at the front of the ear, the jewelry types are fairly limited. However, within those jewelry types, you have some room for creativity and individuality.

Do I Have The Right Anatomy For A Snug And/or An Anti Tragus? Any Other Piercing Recommendations?

Small curved barbells are by far the jewelry style of choice for the snug piercing. Since the anti-helix is so small, your jewelry will be, too. However, the double beads of the curved barbell can create a double-pierced look, making the tiny piercing extra bold. Some choose a larger barbell that will stick out a little more, or you can choose a shorter barbell that makes the ball ends sit flush with your skin. You can also find curved barbells with ball ends made from pearls, diamonds, opals, and more.

Depending on your ear anatomy, you might be able to make a straight barbell or circular barbell work. These will offer a similar style to the curved barbell, but with more or less of a curvature. However, you should talk to your piercer before choosing these options; if these snug piercing jewelry types don’t properly fit your piercing, they could press against the entry and exit holes, encouraging issues like piercing rejection.

Your anti-helix needs to be able to accommodate a snug piercing. If it’s too flat, they you might want to choose another piercing type. The rook piercing offers a similar aesthetic toward the forward helix area of the ear, while the auricle piercing pierces the area right next to the snug piercing.

Encyclopedia Of Body Piercings: Anti Tragus Cartilage Piercing

If you’ve had issues healing cartilage in the past, then you might want to reconsider this piercing. It punches through a thick piece of cartilage, so the healing process for this piercing type won’t be easy. Instead, you can pierce the upper lobe, which will be in a similar location, but the fleshier skin will heal more easily.

You can expect to spend around $35 - $70 for the snug piercing. Since this piercing tends to be more painful than other piercing types, it would behoove you to choose a piercer who has experience with the snug piercing. Never choose a piercer who uses a piercing gun; it uses blunt force trauma to shove the jewelry through the cartilage, which can cause serious complications like cauliflower