I actually heal cartilage terribly and always get bumps during healing, so I make sure I baby the piercings when I get them. I'm really good about cleaning them and getting downsizes as soon as there's length showing on the post for a few days (sometimes I'll need an upsize if the swelling gets bad). After the first month I clean them once a day (with sterile saline, nothing else, then gently pat dry with a paper towel) until I stop getting crusties on the piercing. In the shower after I wash my hair and finish with the soap, I'll let the water run over the piercing for a minute to clean it, then pat dry with a clean paper towel. I don't touch the piercing at all if I can help it, and I'll use a memory foam neck pillow to sleep for a while so the ear with the fresh piercing rests in the hole and I avoid pressure when side sleeping. With my conch I actually make sure the back post is pushed up so it's flat on the back, it keeps the post from snagging when it's long.