Right before Christmas I considered getting my nose pierced. I ended up getting my nipples pierced instead, since the fake nose ring annoyed me and I was worried about my allergies. It was a good think I didn't get my nose pierced then, because a huge storm came in and lasted for two weeks. I have the most trouble with mold and mildew, so I was addicted to my Flonase for this entire time.
At A Glance Author pepper_the_rat Contact pepper_the_rat@bme.anon IAM pepper_the_rat When A month ago Artist some guy who wasn't that great Studio Cold Steel Location San Francisco (In the Castro, not the original on Haight) I really didn't think about any other piercings for the next two months since my nipples were still healing. Around the end of February I began to consider it seriously, but I couldn't go for an entire week without using the Flonase. The weather began to improve at this point, and I tried to go as long as possible without it. I did pretty well without it, and decided that I would pierce my nose over Spring Break.
Tuesday of Spring Break I went into Creative Visions. Creative Visions is in my hometown, and I went here for my nipple piercings. I can't say enough good things about this studio. I really just looked at jewelry and talked to the piercer, but I decided that I would come back on Friday or Saturday of that week. It was a good thing I did, because I got a cold the next day.
I was really bummed. I was not able to get pierced Friday. I felt ok on Saturday, but I figured I shouldn't push it. I had to go home to San Francisco that day, so I pretty much missed my chance. I figured I would come back two weeks later when I was home for Easter.
Sunday I woke up and felt completely well. No stuffiness. I had already psyched myself up to get my nose pierced earlier in the week, so I wanted to do it NOW. I got in the car and headed down to the Cold Steel in the Castro. I'd had my jewelry changed here before. The guy who changed my jewelry a few weeks earlier seemed very experienced. He wasn't overly friendly, but he gave me good aftercare advice. He emphasized that I should really only use saline on my nipples.
That guy was not in the shop. I talked to another guy and picked out jewelry. They were out of the color stone I wanted. He also went through the aftercare instructions with me. He told me to use antibacterial soap or a saline-benzokaine solution that Cold Steel sold. This was contrary to most of the information I'd heard, even from his coworker who had changed my jewelry. He also told me I should actually put my nose in the cup and soak it like I did with my nipples. Huh? I'd never heard that before. I still don't know if that's good or not, but I haven't tried it yet.
He took me into the piercing room, and marked my nose. He held the jewelry up and decided he needed to adjust it. He used a glove between the pliers to avoid marring the jewelry. Then he pierced me. He wasn't especially friendly about the whole thing. I can't say it was the greatest experience.
Over the next week the jewelry really annoyed me. Except for the gauge, it seemed too big in every possible way. I wondered if he had used the same jewelry I'd chosen. I decided to get my screw changed when I went home for Easter.
Easter weekend I went back to Creative Visions to get a new nose screw. I picked out the jewelry I wanted, and the piercer (Korey, who pierced my nipples) asked how I wanted it adjusted differently from my current nose screw. I had no idea. I wasn't entirely sure what was going on in there.
We went back to the piercing room, and he removed the old one. He was a bit surprised when he saw the screw, and asked where I'd gotten pierced. I told him Cold Steel. He said, "Wow, that's a god spot," in a slightly confused tone. He showed me the nose screw. There was an extra little kink and several little nicks in the part that went through the piercing. It looked pretty bad. I was irked. I wasn't especially pleased with the guy who'd pierced me, but I hadn't realized that the irritation had come from totally messed up jewelry.
Korey put the new jewelry in and it instantly felt better. The right jewelry makes such a huge difference. He also told me that my Ivory soap was really bad for it. I figured it was such mild soap that it wasn't too different from the glycerin or castille soap. He made me go next store to the drug store and buy some castille soap. He was much friendlier than the other guy too.
Long story short: I should have just waited the extra two weeks to get my nose pierced. I would have been much happier if I'd waited. Cold Steel has a great reputation, but obviously that isn't everything. A studio is only as good as its staff, and a reputation is no substitute for the piercer you really like. I've found that most of the studios in San Francisco have an attitude or a vibe which just isn't comfortable. Just because a studio is in a small town doesn't mean it's inferior to a large well known studio in a big city. After this experience I will only get pierced at my local small-town studio, which always has a great vibe and knowledgeable staff. Both piercers (Korey and Margi) are great.