I decided one night on an impulse that a nose ring would be a totally cute addition to my already cute face. ;) So I made my way to my local tattoo/piercing parlor, the same place that did my navel a few years ago. I was very pleased with my first piercing so I was pretty relaxed going into my second one. I wrongly assumed that my nose would be less painful than my navel, however.
At A Glance Author Jenna Contact Jenna@bme.anon When A year ago Artist Jason and Annie Studio Artistic Skin Design Location Bloomington, Indiana As I lay excitedly on the piercing table, the piercer placed the test dot and brought out his cleaned piercing accessories. He repeated felt the walls of my nostril, as if he was unsure about something, but I wasn't sure what and I didn't ask any questions. Right before he pierced me, he did the typical "inhale, exhale", then he quickly pushed the needle through upon the exhale. It hurt quite a bit, but it was quickly over. The hard part came soon after when he attempted to place the ring in my nostril. He was literally forcing the stud into my nose, and I became a tad bit worried when he exclaimed "uh oh" and called for back-up from the other piercer. This is not typically what you want to hear from the person that you are trusting to thrust large needles through parts of your body. It turns out that my nose width was too big for the ring, so they had to redo the whole thing. This involved me lying there with the needle stuck through my nose...while actually watchi ng the blood trickling up to my eye. Both of the piercers were whispering and at this point I just asked them to forget it. Luckily, they were persistent and made me suck it up, and after re-sizing the ring, they were finally able to slide the stud through without too much pain.
The biggest downside to this is the fact that I will not be able to switch nose rings without taking them to get resized, which is really annoying. Because of this, I have kept the same stud that I was pierced with.
A few months later I returned to the parlor with my friend and then piercer told me that nose piercings are "a bitch" because all the studs come pre-sized, which doesn't fit many people. So in the parlor's defense, it definitely wasn't their lack of expertise, but the simple fact that everyone's nose is different! In fact, I still firmly support their work and I will continue to go to them for all my piercings and future tattoos. I highly recommend them!
A year later, I am 100% satisfied with my nose ring and I receive lots of compliments on it. I can't imagine looking in the mirror and not seeing it! So the pain and suffering was well worth it.
Here are a few personal tips on nose rings:
Be sure to wash the area once or twice a day for the first few months, or the piercing will become crusty and red, which needless to say, is NOT a good look for your face. I used Dial soap on mine, which I find works well.
Be very careful with washcloths and body poofs in the shower, I cannot stress this enough. These rings can very easily snag on things with loose threads, and before you know it, your stud has popped right out and gone dowwwwn the drain.
Try not to touch it too much, especially with unwashed hands. You really have no idea how many germs there are on your hands that can infect your piercing!
Take good care, and wash it a lot! It's very unattractive to have an infected nose, especially when you have a job where your supervisors will notice and possible chastise you for it!
My next body modification venture will probably take place in two weeks when I am on spring break in Miami Beach, Florida. I am searching for the perfect cross to get tattooed on my lower back. I'm also considering the chinese symbol for "strong" put on my left hip. Any comments or suggestions??? I'm also going to get a few more ear piercings. I'd like to get the eyebrow done as well, but unfortunately my office job won't allow it! I was lucky that they let the nose ring slide. ;)
Lastly, although I made my decision to get my nostril pierced on a whim, I would encourage thinking this through before jumping onto the piercer's table. There are many things to consider when making a modification to your body (how is your boss going to react, how are your parents and grandparents going to react, are you prepared to take some flack for piercing your face), because I've received more grief over my facial piercing than I imagined I ever would. Fortunately, I don't care what people think of me if they are judging me on my appearance alone! But these are just some things to consider before getting pierced up!
I'd love to hear any questions or comments you may have. Email me if you'd like!