I like my piercings stretched. For the look of it, for the feeling, and also for safety (they feel a lot more stable, they don't 'cut' in the tissues). So all piercings I still have have been stretched (except for a surface pubic piercing). This experience concentrates on just one of them : the septum.
At A Glance Author Witte Contact Witte@bme.anon IAM witte When A week ago Every one who tried to stretch a septum piercing knows that it's not easy. Going from 1.6 to 2.0 and then to 2.4 mm is not that bad, but then it starts getting more painful, as I experienced over the years.
The reason is I believe the cartiledge that makes up the actual nose septum. Most septum piercings run just beneath it (not through it, that would make it hard to place. But it does exist of course). This harder tissue seems to be a lot more painful when irritated then other "soft tissues".
Well septum piercings are quite "visible" when wearing a ring, so quite a lot of people just have a small plug, a flipped up small circular barbell or retainer, or (when correctly healed) even nothing at all in the hole. Not that they don't like the look of it, they just don't want to catch the attention all day long. And if you put in a ring at night, it's not really "hanging" while you're sleeping. That's also my case : I have a white collar job, and having visible piercings is just "not done". Having a visible hole, if discrete, can just be accepted. So I've tried a lot of retainers and other techniques, but at the moment I have no "real" facial piercing except for my septum.
Well as a result there is little or no "weight" on the piece of tissue just under the cartiladge. Which means that if you are going to stretch, you'll stretch the skin/mucosa/tissue (OK so far), but you're also likely to start pressuring the cartiladge upwards. And this fine septum can be painful. Applying EMLA cream helps, but it doesn't take away the annoying "pressure" feeling (well not in my case anyway).
So I did think about it, and I found a new technique that seems to work just fine for me. The goal of this experience is NOT to "convince" you that this is a ideal technique, but just a small contribution. I'd say : just try if you like, to see if it works out for you.
Well I how did I proceed ?
During the day I have nothing in the hole (I just can't afford it at work). In the evening I'm often too lazy to put anything in. But while brushing my teeth just before going to bed I think of it from time to time. So I put in a decent circular barbell or ball closure ring (not the biggest one that goes in). I then put on a quite tight metallic necklace, which has 2 elastic bands attached to it. You know how to attach them : put them double around the metal, and then pull one end through the other. Stable. They were chosen for their correct length. I pass one from under my chin (left of the mouth) to the septum ring, and the other one runs just right of my mouth. Now there are 2 elastic bands gently pulling down the septum ring. They pull the hole downwards, even during the night. This slowly stretches the tissue. It makes your nose "longer". The balls of the circular barbell are usually large enough as to prevent the elastic bands to get loose.
It's not painful, but the feeling of elastic bands running on your cheeks / chin needs some getting used to. But if you're tired you'll fall asleep with them. Just "force" yourself. If it's painful, maybe the elastic bands are too short. What we are aiming for here is the body to adapt, to form new tissue, and that takes time; So I think I'd prefer a lot of patience and "gentle pulling" over "hard pulling".
The next morning just detach the elastic bands (you can keep the necklace) and the septum ring and you're of for work. If you repeat this a few times per week during a few weeks, you'll see that the next "real" stretching is a lot easier. Well it helped for me and one of my friends, so I hope it will for you too. Since I'm curious to find out : click my name on the top right hand of the screen and send me a mail.
For those with an IAM account, you can see a pic of it on my IAM page (although that one only uses only one elastic band, running in front of my mouth, which is less comfortable. I'll try and get a better pic up in a while).
Happy stretching !