Helix piercing... how painful?

[optimisticpessimist01]

Thinking of getting my third lobes and helix pierced, the idea of the needle going through cartilage goes through me a bit and I am concerned about it, I just have a few questions :D

1. How painful is it initially having it done?
2. How painful is it when its healing/how was sleeping with it?
3. How long did it take to heal/do many people have infections etc with it?

Disclaimer: I am an absolute whimp with pain!!

Thank you!

My advice is get it done on the opposite side to the one you like to sleep on. Or a poster on another thread advised getting a travel pillow which I think is genius! I have two helix piercings and I guess the pain can't be too bad or I wouldn't have done the second one!

1. I have a higher pain tolerance, but out of all my piercings it was one of the least painful (like a 1 out of 10) second only to lobe piercings. My rook, snug and body piercings were the only ones that actually hurt.

2/3. It’s sore, you need to be careful not to snag it when brushing your hair, getting dressed etc but again it’s a basic piercing that is easy to look after and not very painful. How long it takes to heal and infections etc depend on you and how diligent you are with aftercare really. Some people are lax and it shows as they develop bumps etc.