'Twas about a year and three months back that my septum was stabbed. From the beginning, I'd wanted to be at 6 or possibly 4 gauge eventually – the look of a pincher in that size just captivated me – so it was pierced at 10g. I'd intended to stretch up as soon as it was healed, and I inquired at The Piercing Urge about doing so about a week before they deemed it safe, but I ended up just putting it off for some reason which now totally eludes me. Probably had something to do with being slightly moneyless and deciding to travel to England. Eventually, nearly a year later, I got a new job. Money, and possibility, was again mine.
At A Glance Author Oscar Contact Oscar@bme.anon IAM Oscar When Three months ago Studio The Piercing Urge Location Melbourne, Australia I stopped by the shop again, and although I'd always thought going to 8g as an intermediate step was the way to go, they didn't even ask me about that. (You'll have to forgive me, but I have a dodgy memory for names, and couldn't tell you who I dealt with at any step of the way.) I might've given the wrong impression about what gauge I was already at, but either way I somehow ended up looking through a catalogue and picking out a yummy 6g pincher (or crescent.. whatever people call them these days). A couple of guys at the shop reassured me about making such a stretch – basically it would be a matter of whether or not I could handle the pain. I decided I could; impatience outweighs comfort for me. It took another couple of months for the next shipment of jewellery to arrive; in the intervening time I also ordered a retainer, as the size of my nostrils had me wondering whether I'd actually be able to flip the crescent up – having a job in a cinema, I needed to be able to hide it.
By the time the jewellery came in, my job contract had run out anyway and I was running short on cash again, but not to worry. I made an appointment and this time, the lady I spoke to – who also ended up doing the stretch – was rather startled about the prospect of going straight from 10 to 6, but I wasn't about to change my mind and buy yet more jewellery. I went in with a friend of mine who'd been thinking about getting a septum piercing for a while, at least partially so I'd have someone to complain to afterwards about the pain. I was told several times that if it was too much to handle, I could ask them to stop at any time.
The retainer was widened slightly to fit my obviously unaccommodating nostrils. The slightly scary-looking taper was covered in a disturbing about of lubricant, and as it was inserted I felt a slight sting, about as bad as when the piercing was done in the first place. I was then informed that it was only in as far as the existing 10g hole, which prompted me to freak out a little and ask whether they had any 8g jewellery on hand as a contingency plan. They did, and so I gathered myself and said 'Alright... go.'
I can't really describe what I felt next... the very sympathetic lady pushed the taper right through, almost to the end, in one smooth, consistent motion of just a few seconds. I grunted, squeezed my eyes shut, breathed heavily... The pain was sharp and intense; more intense than any other that I can remember, but the worst of it was over fairly quickly. She said I was free to yell and swear if I so desired, but I just paused for a few seconds, taking in the sensation. All I could say was 'Wow.' I sat there for a minute or so, waiting for the pain to die down to make the final part of the stretch more comfortable. Eventually I realised it wasn't going to die down so I asked her to finish it. More grunting and continuous thoughts of 'Oh god, argh, owww, fuck'. Before I knew it, she announced that the retainer was in.
They only charged me for the jewellery, citing the pain as cost enough for the service, which was kind. Supposedly, the aching would subside after a few hours, but a couple of days passed and I was still in discomfort. Eventually it dawned on me that the pain was due to the (rather unattractive) retainer putting pressure on the front of my septum – it hadn't been widened quite enough, which also meant it couldn't be flipped up. I put the pincher in, and promptly lost the $65 retainer. Awesome. And as fate would have it, I could flip the pincher up just fine, so I'd wasted money on the retainer anyway. More awesome. On the plus side, the pain disappeared instantly.
Slight financial annoyances are quickly forgotten, and I think the pincher looks brilliant... it's exactly what I'd envisioned when I had the piercing done in the first place. Some people think it looks a little overpowering, but I ain't out to please other people. I had some issues with itchiness and pain for a couple of weeks but that subsided once I loosened the O-rings a fair bit – to the point where I can't actually flip it up without it sort of resting on the bottoms of my nostrils and being fairly visible. Oh well; I can handle some brief irritation when job interviews and so on arise, until I buy a piece of proper hideable jewellery.
It's three months later, and I've been getting an increasing number of questions from the public about the piercing, such as from people at checkouts, tin-rattlers in the street and so on. Nothing negative, just a brief 'Mate, did that hurt?' or 'Sorry, I have to ask, but are those real?' (presumably referring to the two visible ends of the pincher). I think it's good that all sorts of people are curious and open-minded about it, but it's getting a little monotonous having to talk about it when I'm otherwise totally unaware of it and just want to go about my business. So I think I'll be hiding it when I'm in most public places, for now... I wouldn't have any problem with hiding it while working (I'd have several more piercings by now if my appearance took precedence over employment), but it's a bit of a shame that I'm constantly reminded of it while I'm just out and about in my own time.
Anyhoo, while I had originally considered going to 4g, I'm totally content with the way the piercing looks and feels at the moment. I think the thickness is just right and I can't really think of anything else I'd like to do with it... it's just great. 100% satisfied. I'd heartily recommend The Piercing Urge if you have money and patience (and don't have a problem with piercers who don't seem to have any visible piercings – my friend was more disturbed by that than I was). The pain was nasty, but I certainly don't regret going about things this way, and I feel a bit stronger after having gone through it. In a perverse way, it was a lot of fun.