My sister, Kelly and I were living in Steamboat Springs, CO. at the time, and were visiting Boulder on a whim. Steamboat Springs is a tiny ski resort in the Rocky Mountains and we needed a road trip! We were also looking forward to finding a place for new body mods'- we both crave them, and while we weren't sure what we wanted to start with this time around, I had done some pre-emptive studying of the piercing and tattoo shops in the area. We were set!
At A Glance Author khep Contact grrrlpirate@hotmail.com When A year ago Artist Michael Studio K & K Piercing & Jewelry Location Boulder, CO. We arrived at our hotel that night, drank some of the complimentary champagne, and started calling studios in the area. "What sort of mod' do you want?" Kelly asked, on the phone with a piercer. I answered "septum" to get a price range. Thinking of me always as the younger, more sensitive, sister- (haha) she filled them in with "14-12 gauge." when they asked to clarify pricing.
I had wanted a septum piercing for a while. When I was little it was hard for me to imagine- the piercings I had seen reminded me of the sort of rings placed in the noses of bulls in cartoons, being fought by really thin matadors. I was always a bigger kid, and the last thing I wanted was for anyone to compare me to "Ferdinand the Bull."
"Why would anyone do that??"
As I have grown up though, I have gotten a lot better about how I see myself. I am extraordinarily body-confidant and it has taken a lot to get me here. There are too many negative influences out there that shape the way women (as well as men) view themselves. In any case, a couple years ago I saw a woman with a septum piercing, and it was very beautiful to me, and I was delighted when I got this reaction out of myself. It really marked a point in my life. Imagining what other people might think didn't phase me, and I no longer saw any grounds (though I am a voluptuous woman) to think negatively (or bullishly) of my body.
After calling about five studios we were left with very little to go with. Some weren't going to be open at the hours we were looking at, others were full of appointments, some didn't have the jewelry we were looking for, and still others just sounded sketchy (and when I say that, I mean my sister who embodies a throw-back to Studio 54- and who took me to get my first tattoo in New York, would hang up the phone with a quick "I don't think so.").
We got a late start the next day, unsure of what we were going to do with our time after the studio idea fell through. But while hanging out in the hills we came by K & K Body Piercers. Their lights were on, and they had a wide array of body piercing jewelry. Michael asked from behind the counter if he could help us, and we learned via some light discussion that they would be closing soon, but that if we liked he had enough time for us if we'd like to get pierced that night. He asked what sort of piercings we were looking at, and Kelly answered (remembering the phone calls from the night before) that I would like a septum piercing, while she was still making up her mind. My stomach flipped. Yes, I had wanted the piercing, and had been very excited about the idea- but I am also afraid of needles, and being in the store knowing what might happen in the next hour made me really nervous. I tried to hold it in, and continued to look through the cases of jewelry.
As Kelly and Michael continued to chat however, I couldn't hold it in. I told Kelly I would be right back, and walked out of the studio to have a cigarette in front of the store. Kelly came out a little later and laughed. "Are you scared?" "Yes!" "Do you want to do this?" "Yes..." "You don't have to..." After smoking a cigarette with me she explained that she had told Michael that I was probably just nervous, and that I would need a minute. We talked for a bit, and she went back inside, trying to decide on what sort of piercing to get herself.
"What sort of jewelry are you looking at for your piercing?" Michael asked after I had returned, gesturing towards the more septum-related items. I had decided that there was no way I was backing down. I wasn't going to chicken out when I had the opportunity to go through with it.
I told him that I liked the rings with captive beads, but that I was also looking for office work, and that I had heard from a friend that if you have a circular barbell you could flip it up and out of sight during work hours. He agreed, though he added that depending on the gauge, the jewelry could be cumbersome in hiding, and that if I wished to remain with smaller jewelry (as Kelly hinted to him), that it would narrow down the selection. At 14 gauge, there were a couple options, both looked much smaller than what I was originally going for, but he brought out more from the case, (the same gauge but at different ring sizes), and demonstrated how far out each would hang from my nose. I liked the bigger, but in order to flip it up it would have to be the smaller, and though it didn't seem as impressive, it would have to do considering my concerns.
Sitting me down in one of his chairs in the back, he had me lay back and relax while he worked with the jewelry. He let Kelly sit with me for support, and he kept talking to me and joking- admitting that he was doing do to make me more relaxed. It was very nice of him.
He spent a lot of time measuring the jewelry against my nose, opening up the open part of the circular barbell further, and working it against my septum to see if it was wide enough to comfortably flip up past it. He also checked out the inside of my nose to see how far up he would need to pierce it, so that if the piercing were to be flipped up, you would not be able to see the metal of the jewelry when looking at me from the side.
The piercing hurt. Not nearly as much as I thought it would though. He held up the needle to the point in my nose he had decided on, and pushed through quickly- a couple of layers of cartilage at a time. The last push-through was the most surreal, I could feel the needle in my septum, with it's point pricking the next layer- and with a pop- it was done. He left the tube in my nose for a moment as he leaned over to pick up the jewelry for insertion, and as he did I opened my eyes. It looked to me like a metallic porcupine quill, the sort of thing you would see on an urban shaman, and I closed my eyes while he pushed the jewelry in, and twisted it around to the correct position. My eyes were watering, but I don't remember making a sound. I remember he told me to take a deep breath in when he started, but I don't remember exhaling. My eyes were watering, and my adrenaline was geared up, but I was fine- and it made me laugh when I spoke to him. "How are you doing?" Michae l asked, turning away to put things back on their shelves. "I feel okay.." he told me that I could remain lying for a couple minutes if I felt I needed it, and I thanked him. I was a bit shaky. "So it wasn't too painful?" he asked, again turning away. "No, you did a great job," I said, trying to sit up "are septums' known for being painful?" "Oh yeah," he replied, "most painful." I looked up. "Most painful? You mean they are painful, or they are THE most painful piercing?" "They are the most painful. Of course, it's different for everybody."
I was very proud exiting the shop. I had gone through with it, and it was something reputed (apparently) for it's pain-factor. I felt very hard-core ;)
Walking to the car was funny. I wobbled a little when I walked from the adrenaline, and once outside in the cold air, I noticed that my teeth really hurt- not all of them, just the row of my top front pallet. Getting into the car and trying to drink from my Slurpee made me realize why- apparently your septum and teeth are connected nerve-wise. We must have struck something. What didn't help was that forming my lips into the shape needed to suck on the straw really hurt, it tugged at my septum via my upper lip, but holding the cold Slurpee drink in my mouth helped a lot- and I found that if you roll your tongue around the straw that lip-movement isn't so much of a problem.
It's been a year and I haven't had any problems with my piercing. People are amazed that I have a piercing when I ask about their employment policies concerning piercings during interviews and inform them that I have a septum piercing. (Yes, I can hide it- but I don't want to if I don't have to.) Also, I have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of employers that are okay with my having a septum piercing, and have not asked me to hide it.
Children are the funnest though, and strangers on the street "Did that hurt??" "Yes it did." But it's a part of me now, and I wouldn't dream of taking it out.