I pierced my cartilage the day before yesterday and it's still kind of red. Its sore to touch and twist the stud. I don't know if this is normal or if it is infected. I know I just put a hole through my skin so it's going to take a while to heal but I don't want to get any infections. When should I be able to twist it and it not hurt?

Stop twisting it. That's why it hurts. Did you pierce with actual piercing jewelry or just regular jewelry? Chances are you weren't even close to sterile. Don't worry.. . Buy or mix up a saline or sea salt mixture and do soaks, 2-3 times a day for two weeks. And LEAVE IT alone. Don't sleep on it, don't touch it, etc. And stop twisting it. It could be anywhere from two weeks to 3 months before the redness and swelling is gone and you're healed completely. Try the saline soaks, for a week or two, if it doesn't clear up, then GO to a professional reputable piercer and ask them what you should do. Any doctor will tell you to take it out and sometimes that makes it much worse.

Well its been almost 2 weeks and it has stopped being red and swollen. I wash it with this Saline wound wash and antibacterial soap every night. Its got crusties around the earring and I didn't know if I should remove the crust or if it was part of the healing process and just leave it... Oh and I used a brand new stud that's surgical steel

Just warm water and a qtip will remove the crusties. Picking them off will only slow the healing time. Use sea salt rinses and do not touch or turn the piercing unless you are cleaning it. Healing time for cartilage can be around 2-3 months if done with a needle. A lot longer with a gun, which is very harmful.

Yeah I did it with a needle. Thank you though! My mom wants me to take it out cause she said it looks nasty cause of the scabs but Im not! Haha I told her its still healing

Surgical steel is not the best thing to be putting in your ear. It contains nickel which a lot of people are allergic to. I myself made the mistake of using a surgical steel stud in my piercing and ended up at the hospital with an infection so bad I needed antibotics. Not to mention that I had a hole in my ear the size of Texas. I recommend taking it out. Not worth it.