At A Glance
Author	Esme
Contact	Esme@bme.anon
When	Two years ago
Studio	Abraxas Beaubourg
Location	Paris, France

My parents have always been very different. All through childhood, it was very common to ask them a question, only to hear conflicting answers issued in perfect stereo.

I wasn't surprised, therefore, when after giving them my usual pile of experiences, BME Encyclopaedia definitions, photos, etc, concerning the septum piercing, my mother said "No" and my father said "Whatever you want, babe."

So I argued. Not forcibly, because it would be stupid to create a conflict over something which was meant to be positive, but I kept reminding them, to show them that I hadn't given up on the idea.
I also tried to explain what it meant to me, and why I wanted it done. It's very hard to explain "why" to someone in a critical frame of mind, when you yourself have no idea "why" as such, just the irrepressible need to be pierced, in that particular place, and as soon as possible, because... that particular piercing is missing from one's face.

And a "need" it was. I discovered the septum piercing while researching on the web for information about nostril piercing, and found BME. All I can say is "Thank God the septum piercing and the nostril piercing galleries are side by side!"
I was fourteen at the time, and I reckoned I hadn't a cat's chance in hell of getting the idea of the septum piercing past my parents. I was right.
So, about two years late, I was finally taking the chance...

And in the end, my mother gave in. Not without first drafting out a written contract involving schoolwork, housework, filial duties etc. In return for which she agreed to pay for the piercing. Ah, ever the businesswoman...

In late December, 2004, we all headed out to Paris, to get the deed over and done with. I can remember the crowded Metro car, me incredulous, and wondering whether she wasn't going to change her mind at the last minute...
To make matters, worse, when we arrived at Abraxas, it was extremely crowded, despite the fact that it was Monday. The plan was that we were supposed to go and pick up my Grandmother form the station that evening, so it was touch and go whether I would have time to get it done.

We went straight downstairs, past the familiar giant aquarium, into the small waiting area.

I was extremely nervous, in my head it was a now or never situation. We were handed the paperwork, filled it in, and then...

My luck kicked in.

Although we had arrived last among the other future "percés", I was called into the little room first of them all. Those few steps I walked on air... At last!

The actual piercing rooms have glass walls, with those semi-opaque glass bricks, so my boyfriend, who had traipsed along for the ride, was able to look in at me being poked.
Woe unto me, I can't remember my piercer's name, even though I spend a great deal of time in Abraxas: they all dress the same, and to the untrained eye, are pretty much interchangeable.
I do remember noticing his beautifully healed nape piercing, though.

He cleaned out my nose with iodine on giant q-tips (a rather pleasant sensation), peered through my septum with a flashlight (I assume this was to check for veins, etc), marked me, and had me lie down.
Than he clamped me, and told me to breathe in, out, in and out.
On the last exhale, he pierced me.

I had previously read vast numbers of septum piercing experiences, and each has something different to say about the pain, ranging from atrocious to inexistent.

I must say, until he was actually above me with the needle, I had totally forgotten that I was about to undergo something painful.

To me it felt like a very strong burning sensation in my whole nose, moving from one side to encompass my whole throbbing nose and a lot of my face. It actually felt to me as if he was piercing me with a dulled needle.
When the needle was through, the intensity receded slightly, but it was still exceedingly uncomfortable, a burning, imprecise, rather dull pain. I remember thinking something along the lines of "What the hell is he doing, when is he going to get that damn canula out of my nose!" Part of the pain was due to the fact that my nostrils were pushing the canula forward, thus putting appreciable pressure on a fresh puncture wound.

When he slid in the circular barbell I had chosen, I heaved a sigh of relief. The pressure was gone, replaced by the coolness of the metal. He pulled the balls slightly apart with ring pliers, since I had told him I might have to flip it up at one point or another.

This turned out to be a stupid idea, since 1. it looked decidedly unattractive, and 2. I didn't even need to hide it at any time.

Then I hopped up, marched out, and affronted my mother's puzzled looks ("I'm trying to get used to that thing in your nose").
It throbbed for the rest of the day, and continued to do so over the next week or so.

Had I taken proper care of myself, I'm pretty sure the throbbing and extreme sensitivity would have ceased after two days or so, but it being New Year, I didn't get much sleep during the first week's healing time. Bad idea. Never get pierced before party time! And be careful when you hug people...

Aftercare and healing apart from the first week was... Well, after my nostril piercing (it had the dreaded Bump for quite a while), anything would seem a breeze, but the septum piercing was heaven to heal. After cleaning it in the shower for the first few times (memo to self: the first time you clean a piercing in such an inaccessible place, use the sea salt soak method rather than the "soapy fingers in nose OUCH" method), I pretty much just left it to do its own thing, and it was literally as if my body just accepted the septum piercing outright as a part of itself.

About 3 months later, unable to resist the temptation, and tired of the cheese-wiry 1.6mm, I stretched it myself to 2mm. Since then, I've had it stretched to 3.2mm by the guys at Abraxas, without skipping any gauges, and it's marvellously comfortable.

I've never had the slightest problem with it. It's really one of the neatest piercings around, especially as it can be completely hidden... With a bullet retainer, even looking straight up my nostrils, it remains invisible! Not that any future employers would want to do that, I daresay... Most of the time I wear my favourite circular barbell, and even though it's attracted a lot of comments, there have been more positive than negative. And just plain curiosity...

If you really want this piercing, do it. But get it done by a pro, even if you have to wait: the septum is a tricky piercing, and you wouldn't want it crooked now, would you?
I would trust the guys at Abraxas with my life, and actually...In a sense, I already have!

I fell in love with the septum piercing at first sight, and now my face looks empty to me without it, almost as if I'd taken off my nose for the day. I love to feel it there, I love how it looks on me, and it remains my favourite piercing to date.

It IS me, rather than a part of me.