I really should have got around to writing this during 2004, as it was quite a year for body art- this was the year that not only did I venture into the bra, and below the belt, but also got something visible for the first time. Which for me was a fairly big deal.. though with hindsight, I made a bit too much of a big deal out of it!
At A Glance Author goth_angel Contact goth_angel@bme.anon IAM goth_angel When Three months ago Artist Ellie Studio Cold Steel Location London, England First off, a bit of background. I've come fairly late to the piercing scene, being a mighty 35 years old, though I hope, pretty young in outlook- though sometimes realising I am old enough to be the mother of some of the people I see in piercing places/ on BME is just a touch depressing! I've been interested in having piercings for years, but put it off for various reasons, including until two years ago a husband who was pretty anti the whole piercing/tattoo thing and who had grumbled when I had had my belly button done. After we broke up, I then still didn't have anything done for a while, until finally I nerved myself up to have one of my nipples pierced. I then had to take it out for an operation, but had it redone as soon as I feasibly could, and followed it up fairly swiftly with a VCH- definitely my favourite so far and I wish I'd had it done years ago.
After that I kind of got a bit stuck. I'd definitely got the bug, but I'm a little bit limited in what I can have done- I'm an accountant, which is a pretty conservative profession and often has a fairly strict dress code- suits etc and one has to look professional. Also, I had recently, after a considerable amount of time off after a horse riding accident, got a new job which I was really looking forward to.
After much thinking, I decided that the only real options were either the other nipple (done subsequently but the left one was playing up at the time so I didn't want any more irritation in the chest area!) something else down below (too soon after VCH) or something else in my ears (parked for later). I had always liked the way nostril studs looked and had known one girl in my old job who had one, so figured I could get away with one so long as it was very small.
So I booked an appointment at Cold Steel, where I have now been for all my recent piercings. The piercer on duty that day was Ellie (Julie had done my VCH about three weeks previously). I didn't dither for too long choosing the jewellery, as I knew exactly what I wanted- a small silver-coloured titanium screw with a clear gemstone. Subtle, and would go with anything, and not too in your face even though it would be on my face..
The piercing rooms at Cold Steel are always extremely clean and sanitary and that day was no exception. I have no idea how many times Ellie cleaned her gloves, but I know it was a lot! She had me lie down on the table on my right side, as it was my left nostril I was having pierced. In hindsight this is the only time I have been to Cold Steel and not been half naked, which is a weird thought in itself (1 nipple piercing, 1 VCH and a VCH jewellery change).
I think she stuck something up my nostril which I guess was a receiving tube, then I took the usual deep breaths and bam... a lot of pressure and it was in. It was an odd feeling, a bit painful but not very, definitely more pressure, and then I had a sparkly nose! I tipped her, picked up the usual aftercare solution and went off to potter around Camden for the afternoon.
The piercing was simple.. the aftercare was another matter, entirely due to my own stupidity. Please don't do what I did, it was daft and I was very lucky not to end up with an infection. Nose stud good- manky nose stud, rather less good...
It took me a few days to get used to it, as I hadn't had something visible on my face before, and I wasn't immediately sure I liked it. However, I just needed to get used to it, and after about a week, I hardly noticed it was there. And then I realised that my new job was starting in a few days.. and I started to panic. This was not helped by talking to a fellow accountant friend who said she couldn't believe how silly I had been.
This preyed on my mind. By this point I had decided I really liked it and wanted to keep it. So did I do the sensible thing and call HR to check their dress code? Naah... I bought a clear retainer and decided I would wear that to work and put the screw back in in the evenings. Well, that was a daft idea considering it had been done just over a week... don't do this, people!!
About four days before I was due to start my new job, I decided to practice changing them over. Got the screw out and the retainer in fine, though I didn't think it looked that much less noticeable to be honest. Then took the retainer out and.. could I get the screw back in? No chance! As my nose was still swollen inside I couldn't get the bend of the screw into my nose. After about 15 minutes of poking about, I had a sore, red, bleeding nose with no screw in it, and was starting to get quite upset. Finally I had a brainwave and got a pair of jeweller's pliers (I make jewellery as a hobby) and straightened the spiral in the screw into a right-angled bend, and thanks to this I managed to get the screw back into my poor sore nose. After all this I was feeling a bit lightheaded so went to sleep.
The following day my nose was still bright red and I was scared I'd got an infection. I did a salt soak, which seemed to soothe it, and then did what I should have done first- called Human Resources at the new job and asked if I could wear a nose stud. The HR manager's response was 'of course you can- I've got one myself!' So now I felt even more of an idiot as I could have avoided all that pain and aggro if I'd used my brain rather than giving in to panic.
It took about three days for my nose to calm down, though it never did get infected, it was just sore. It's flared up a couple of times since then and been sore, and grew a bit of a bump at one point, although this went away with a bit of TLC. It never did get infected, thankfully, and now seems to be OK, though it will be a little while longer before I swap it for another screw. The job have been absolutely fine about it and seem very relaxed about the whole thing- my assistant has a tongue piercing and there are several other girls there with nose studs- modified accountants of the world unite!!
Three months on, I love the piercing and am really glad I got it, and was able to hang onto it despite my own stupidity! I'd recommend Cold Steel to anybody who can get to Camden.
Question is, what next? I'd love a labret, but I think that just might be a bit much for work. Though I think they've got used to my eccentricities now!