[Note: I do NOT recommend self piercing! It can be extremely dangerous and there can be brutal consequences! Please do not try it at home ladies and gentlemen]
At A Glance Author Ginger* Contact Ginger*@bme.anon When Two years ago Artist SomeGuy Studio Class Act Tattoo Location West Palm Beach, Fl "Is that 3rd nipple thing normal?"... That was what I had been asking myself daily, starting about a month after my freshly pierced nostril.
Well, it all really started back in 7th grade when I begged for my bellybutton to be pierced. After that, I swore not to ask for anything else (I guess my parents knew it would become some sort of addiction). So naturally, in 9th grade, I had to come up with new excuses, oh I mean.. "reasons" and convincing plans for my nose.. My dad is Persian, so I tried to tie in cultural background, religion, and middle eastern style.
Finally my dad caved, making me swear not to ask for anything else..really, this time around. I figured, 'Well, I'm 15 right now, this should hold out until I graduate, or turn 18.'[ I'm starting to think I was a little wrong] My dad was basically only worried about me getting infected, because I had pretty bad luck with my ears. Oh that and the price, he's a little stingy. So I told him I would call around for the best price.I found this nifty place in West Palm Beach called Class Act Tattoo.
Well, my friends were not exactly go-getters with my idea, very homely girls, my boyfriend loved the thought, my dad didn't care too much, just worried about infection. It was one of those events that I wanted to happen so bad, but at the same time I was very nervous about..I'm like the kid who goes and does something that her parents warn and warn about and then she gets infected and has to get her nose cut off.. that's what I was afraid of.
When the time came, I was more excited than anything and I hadn't told anyone that was the day. I got there, we filled out the papers, handed over the cash and I was seated and cleaned. I chose a stud, my dad threw a fit over the rings, so I decided to wait on that one. I had remembered how painless my navel was so I wasn't exactly shaking in my boots.
Ready, set, poke...now feeling pain is one thing, seeing blood is another thing. Feeling that pain and the piercer showing me the blood ... needless to say, I almost passed out. I was such a little baby but to me it was extremely painful. I'm starting to believe that if there is a wrong way to do a nostril, they sure found it. It bled, it hurt, it bled, it hurt. After a little water and time, I was fine. A little faint feeling but fine all in all. We thanked them and left. Every one of my friends were very surprised that I did it, they liked it too.
About 2 or 3 weeks later, I was sick and my nose was running and during the night I didn't want to sleepily get up and blow it and accidentally hit the stud so I left a little tissue wad in my nose. Bad idea. In the morning, it had dried out a little and when I pulled the tissue out, the stud came out, right through the bottom. Ouch! I stupidly fiddled with it for a while in the morning, couldn't get it back in. I kept having that feeling-the-pain / seeing-the-blood reaction, so I decided to go to school and have a friend help. She accidentally sent half the screw through the hole and into the skin, between layers, not coming out through the bottom of the hole. More ouch! So I just left it half in, half out until I got home. I was afraid of asking to go to the piercer because my dad dreaded complications, but we knew it would worsen. I went over to Solid Image which was 2 minutes down the road from me and they put it back in for me.. the only thing wrong now was that the hol e was actually a little stretched out from the stud falling through so it kept sinking down. Instead of seeing a little silver ball, it looked flat across the surface, so I kept propping it up with my finger.
The next day we went back to Class Act and had them put in a ring, they put in a huge 16 gauge. So we tried to wait it out, let it heal up to that 16 size then maybe put the stud back in and let it heal back to the 18. Little did I know, it was too late for any survival. About a week later, a little bump started to grow, on the surface and on the inside of my nose where the hole was. I though nothing of it, and of course didn't want to bring it to my dads attention. It looked like it was growing a little every couple of days, it was a little bubble and after a week and a half it was very noticeable and started juicing.
By this time, I've got this nipple on my nose.. it was a keloid, from what I'd been told. My friend Jason, a piercer at school, told me to take out the jewelry and let it heal then put the jewelry back in. Well, after the pain I went through, I wasn't having any of that nonsense. So.. it grew and grew, finally once we were in the West Palm area again, my dad "surprised" me by taking me to Class Act, forcing me out of the car and made them take it out..I cried and cried all the way home but he later tried justifying it by saying once it healed he would let me do it again, or give me my 60 bucks back. Neither happened, the keloid literally dissolved back into my skin about 2 days later.
He refused to take me back and I threatened him for a year that I was going to re-pierce it myself, and finally I did- 2 years later. Entering 11th grade, of course by this year (last year) in school it had become some sort of new trend, so I lost that uniqueness in it, but I still like it. Well, now I'm going to be a senior, that means I have had my self-pierced nose stud in for a year, no infection, no keloid.
This year, I look forward to going back to school with a ring in, I'll show them whose boss! My bellybutton never got infected, then my nose did..I would say for those of you who are nervous about getting the holes,go for it. Ask the piercer, they might be able to help, or offer advice. Just make sure you leave it alone, clean it and let it be. I messed with mine a lot and I gained a 3rd (and 4th, inside) nipple which is somewhat cool... I guess, just not on your nose..Joking. Good Luck to all my fellow body modifiers!