Ever since middle school I've wanted my nose pierced, but my sister beat me to that piercing and I've spent 4 years getting other parts of my body pierced/tattooed, trying to fill that void. Then one day a girl I'm friends with at college mentioned she really wanted to go get a piercing, but was nervous. I told her that I would go with her and get a piercing to show her it's not as bad as she thinks. So we made a plan to meet after my last class and go to the Blue Lotus and get pierced. I had heard really good things about the Blue Lotus and felt comfortable the few times I've gone in to look at jewelry.
At A Glance Author geekrocker Contact geekrocker@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist John Studio Blue Lotus Location Madison, WI I walked in there and filled out the paper work like a pro. I met John, my piercer. At first, I was a little nervous because he seemed younger than most people who have pierced me. He also made a joke about not piercing too many left nostrils. Eeep! But I figured you have to get experience somewhere, and just hoped he was joking.
I picked out my jewelry, which was very important to me because the last piercing I got I didn't ask much about the jewelry and ended up picked something that actually holds bacteria and was a very low grade metal. Not wanting to deal with infection again, I asked lots of questions about what they recommend, what's easiest to keep clean (I had heard that CBRs are easier to clean because you can move the soap through the piercing), what would be best for me... It's REALLY important to ask questions about the jewelry because the right jewelry for you will help you heal faster, lessen your chances of infection, lessen the appearance of scars, etc. You're paying for it, so don't chicken out about getting your money's worth.
I picked out a CBR with a minty green ball (I'm very partial to green and St Patricks Day was not too far away). Let me tell you, I got back to my dorm room and realized that I had a minty green ball hanging from my nose... green probably wasn't the best choice of a color in the area of my nose.
The piercing itself was fine. John led me into a little room and let my two friends who came with me stand in the room and hold my hand. He showed me the tools and explained the process. He cleaned my nose with a q-tip, inside and out, which tickled. And he placed a dot on my nose. I looked in the mirror and was very pleased with the placement. He placed a little metal file up my nose so that there was no chance that he'd push the needle too far and give me an extra piercing. He did the normal song and dance about deep breaths, which actually reduces the pain in my opinion (I have had piercings just done while I was talking to the person and I think breathing relaxes the body better). The piercing was over quickly and John continued to tell me that I was sexy and took a picture of me for his portfolio.
The pain was nothing. I always make it a point to expect that whatever piercing I'm going to get is going to be the worst pain yet. Also, I've broken my femur and had metal rods throughout my right leg for over a year, so I always try to think about that before I get a piercing... if I can handle breaking the largest bone in my body and extensive physical therapy, I can certainly handle yet another piercing. I've heard that a lot of females think about how piercings can't be worse than childbirth. Basically, I think it's a good idea to think about some other pain before hand, or expect the worst. That way you can give a sigh of relief when it isn't as bad as you thought.
The worst part for me was that when I was alseep I would think there was something up my nose and rub it in my sleep, which of course would wake me up and I'd feel like an idiot. After awhile I got used to it (plus it got to the point where I can rub my nose without noticing the piercing). The other problem I had was that I got a cold not long after getting pierced and had trouble blowing my nose. Once it healed, blowing my nose was no problem. But there was a time where blowing my nose became a huge task.
My nose healed very fast, at about the same rate as a lobe piercing. I didn't clean it besides right after I got out of the shower with a q-tip. I twisted it a few times a day. The nose isn't really as dirty as most people think.
I would certainly encourage anyone who wants to get their nose pierced to go ahead and do it. After it heals, if you don't really like it, just take it out or downsize to a small screw. My mom actually loves it and is thinking about getting her nose pierced this summer! And I say, more power to her.
I also would recommend John at Blue Lotus to anyone in the area. He was very friendly and funny. I was extremely comfortable with him (and for that, I gave him a big tip). I am thinking about going there sometime in the next few weeks to have him give me yet another ornament. It's important to find someone you are comfortable with and trust... John is definately the piercer for me. And I suggest you find someone you are comfortable with for all your piercing needs.