Ah, the septum piercing ! Just for starters, this was one piercing I was afraid of even after having my nipples and hood pierced.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon IAM lilsprite When It just happened Artist John Studio Black Hole Body Piercing Location Portland, OR My girlfriend and I happened to be wondering around Downtown Portland area. Passing time at Powells bookstore and Djengo's cd palace. I decided I wanted some nice pretty plugs for my lobes and what better place to look than Black Hole Body Piercing in Portland. I have an interview coming up on Thursday I have to go to I figured I better find something other than these huge claws to wear, considering I have to dress proffessional. Ick !
We headed up to the shop and were instantly greeted hello when we walked in. I have 1g acrylic plugs in my ears and need to step down to a 0g or 00g in order to get the plugs I really want. Some pretty ebony inlaid plugs with stars. Yummy! They have a really great selection of jewelry and ear weights. One day when I have one hundred and twenty dollars they will be mine oh yes...they will be mine.
My girlfriend looks at me and tells me she's going to ask how much a 10g septum retainer would be. Her wanting to scale up from the 12g retainer she had in. Wow, fifteen dollars and they'll gauge up for her for free. Right On! She decides to go for it. She then looks over to me and asks me if I want to get poked. Do I want to get poked ? Yes, please ! May I ? She first suggests a bridge piercing which I've been contemplating. But, right now we're staying with her family and anything seen would just bring criticism and bullshit. So I'd have to go with something that could be hid. She asks me what I think about getting my septum pierced...
I'm thinking my septum, hmm...septum=cartilage...OUCH!! PAIN!! Out of all the peircings I figured this one would hurt the worst. I begin to poke and prod at my nostrils to see if the 'sweet spot' (thin membrane of skin right in front of your cartilage at the inside front of your nose) could be hit without the needle having to go through any cartilage. I then asked the guys behind the counter what they thought.
John, the piercer there, said everyone has that sweet spot in their nose, its just a matter of finding it and lining up the placement of the jewelry so everythings aligned. Also informed me that placement with the septum piercing is not always accurate because it is a blind piercing. Meaning, it doesn't get clamped and the piercer can't see well were the needle will be exiting because of the placement. He assured me that regardless of placement or cartilage either way its going to feel about the same. Awesome...but I'm still kinda scared. My girlfriend grabs me and tells me that after getting my hood pierced I could do anything. I agree ! My hood piercings a whole other experience. Lets Do It !!
We all head upstairs to have our lil septum party. John prepped the room and began getting out the sterilized receiving tube, needle, and jewelry. Also getting out a bit of ink and toothpick to mark the spot to pierce. He then proceeded to thoroughly clean my nose inside and out with cotton swabs, alcohol, and a soap mixture. He was in fact gloved the whole time. I remember him changing his gloves twice before doing the actual piercing.
My girly came out of the other room with her 10g retainer in and stepped beside me to hold my hand. (aaawww!) The 10g looked a little more dramatic than the 12g. I really liked the look of it ! I always admired the septum piercing but was always just scared it would be more trouble than its worth. My girly assured me once again that healing time is quick and it hardly hurts to get pierced. I took a deep breath and smiled.
He then used an captive ring to mark the placement of my peircing. He asked me how it looked and had me lay back with my head slightly tilted towards the edge. He set the needle inside of my nose and placed the receiving tube on the other side. He then had me inhale deeply and as I exhaled pushed the needle through. He pierced it sooo quickly it was done and over with before I knew it. My eyes had watered a bit because it went through my nose but it was done!! My retainer was in place and he cleaned up the little blood that escaped and I was out the door !!
What an excellent experience !! I didn't even feel it and compared to all my other piercings this was the least painful ! For those of you in the Portland Oregon area I would advise on getting pierced at Black Hole. They make you feel comfortable and everyone their is really knowledgable if you have any questions about piercing.