Is my cartilage piercing infected?

Two weeks ago, I got my cartilage pierced for my 18th birthday. Lately the skin around the piercing has gotten sort of flaky and looks almost like a sunburn peeling. The area is slightly red and warm to the touch, and it hurts when I touch it. These all sound bad to me but I'm not sure if its infected or just a normal thing – I hear that it usually hurts for several weeks after a piercing. I got it done with a needle at a professional parlor (hoop earring, not stud) and have cleaned it twice a day with the ear care solution religiously, as one of my other lobe piercings got infected last year after I didn't clean it enough. Does this sound like an infection? If it is, what should I do? I really don't want to remove the earring, it hurt so much to get I don't think I would be able to do it again. Should I have done anything differently?