I had been contemplating a nose stud for a long time, but in my line of work it's not really acceptable. I mean, really, how many accountants do you know with visible body jewelry? Anyway, I started a new job in February, and after a month put my barbell back in my tongue, figuring they'd either accept it or fire me. No one said a thing.
At A Glance Author pav Contact pav@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Shae Studio Cat Tattoo Location Addison, TX My boss had come in the office a couple weeks ago with bleached out hair, so I asked her what was up. She said she was having a midlife crisis, and it was either bleach her hair or get a piercing. I told her when she was ready for that piercing, let me know and I'd go with her. I told her that I wanted to get my nose done soon, and that I hoped I had already proven myself there on the merit of my skills that she wouldn't judge me for what was in my face. But then I laughed and said that if she gave me a hard time I'd say it was for religious purposes.
I'm also vegetarian, and a few Fridays back, the entire office ordered hot wings. Yes, they were nice enough not to ask if I wanted any, but the office stunk to high hell, so I had to leave. I was either going clothes shopping or to the health food store, and changed my mind midroute. That's when I found Cat Tattoo. I had heard an advert on the radio for the place , which was real close to my work, so I wanted to check out. A couple times I went looking for it, but not knowing the area well, never found it. Well, there it was, calling out to me. I pulled my car in, and went in on the pretense that I was looking at the barbells, hoping someone might have a turtle end for mine. They didn't so I ended up looking at these adorable nose screws instead.
It took me less than five minutes to decide the time had come. At one point I asked Shae, tell me why I should do it. She said she couldn't, and that I even had to sign a waiver saying no one had coerced me to pierce. (How could I have forgotten that part?) I asked if I had to have a hoop first, since years ago my friend had told me that she had to have a hoop before a stud. She said no, they use a stud/screw, so I figured that was my last reserve. I filled out the paperwork while she set up in the other room. The piercing room had a huge mirror, so I was sitting facing myself. Now the bad part was that I didn't have on my glasses, but she had a handheld mirror too, so I could check her mark up close. At first I thought it might not be the perfect spot, but I went with her judgment. I see now she knew her stuff.
I asked a couple questions about the jewelry, about the needle, and about bleeding. I laughed and told her it was lucky I wore red, but she said there would be no more bleeding than the couple q-tips she had on the tray. I closed my eyes, and did the breathing thing, and next thing I heard was "you're pierced." I never even flinched, and was pretty surprised it was over. You know how you hear, you'll feel some pressure first? Well, that was all I felt! My eye started watering like crazy and it took forever to stop. She q-tipped my nose, but had underestimated my bleeding capabilities. She had to go get a few more, and some cold water since I was bleeding a bit more than she expected (but less than I did).
I paid and left with my copy of the aftercare instructions and headed back to work. Only two people even noticed, or I should say commented. My family doctor even made the comment last week that he thought it might have been new, but couldn't remember if I had it before. There's been no swelling or redness, minimal bleeding that day, and almost no crust. I don't wear makeup, so that's not an issue, and I'm cleaning it once a day. After the first day of trying to figure out how to rinse the soap out from inside my nostril, I discovered it was easiest to clean in the shower, since I can angle the spray gently up my nose to rinse. The only minor issue, because of the soap which I would never normally use on my face, I have a bit of dry skin around the jewel that's not so attractive. It'll pass.
I love the look and can't wait to put a sparkly there. My nine-year-old daughter thought it was cool, my mom laughed and said she didn't want to talk about it, and my boss hasn't said a word about going again.