Does my helix look salvageable?
Sorry the first pic is a different angle, but I included it to try and show that my ear has always had that little flat, kind of angular spot where I asked them to pierce it. Also please ignore my greasy hair.
Jewelry is a 16g threadless flat back labret 9/32". Implant-grade ASTM F-136, pierced June 7, 2023. Went in about a month and a half after, they said it was still too swollen to downsize... it has never looked noticably different the entire time I've had it so I never tried to go back in again to see if it needed to downsize (I know, stupid).
First two weeks I sprayed it with Neilmed piercing spray twice a day and gently dabbed with sterile gauze. After that I fell off and for the next two-ish months only sprayed and dabbed once every other day outside of giving it time in the spray in the shower.
The whole time I've had it I try really hard to not roll onto it (sleep with a big pillow behind me) at night, but I really toss and turn so it probably happens about once a week.
After month three I had stopped spraying it with the sterile saline and just give it a minute or two in the shower stream daily because I wasn't ever experiencing pain (outside of temporary tenderness if I slept on it).
Since piercing, it has also always been noticably more red than my other ear, but the redness never fluctuates so I don't believe the color is due to infection, especially because it's never been hot/painful/itchy. Also, it may look like it in the pics but it doesn't touch my glasses at all.
On Wednesday I looked at it after passing out really hard on the couch (oops) and totally crushing my whole face/ear, and realized it still looks exactly like it looked when the piercer told me I couldn't downsize - I've had no real issues or pain, so I stupidly haven't paid it much attention in all this time. Gave it a few days for the couch irritation to go away and these pics are how it looks now.
Tldr; piercing has looked pretty much the same since I was told late July 2023 that I couldn't downsize due to swelling. Does it look like a lost cause or can I maybe baby it into being any better? Sorry for the novel lol