Ok, where to begin, where to begin. Well it all starts off on a winter day December 22nd 1985 in the delivery room at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital. Well, ok, that's too early a start. Well it is a wintery day out 11-22-05 to be precise. But anyway, last spring I decided to get one more piercing on my face. So along with my partner in crime Jess and my close friends Caitlyn and Sara I got my septum dermal punched at an 8 gauge. Now you can say to yourself, "but Dan why get it dermal punched when you can merely get it pierced at an 8 gauge?" Well you are right. But you see this is back in the time my parents were not too keen on me getting pierced and stretching myself. So with a retainer I knew the septum is almost invisible. And I wanted it dermal punched so that way if my parents ever found out and forced me to take it out(highly unlikely) I would always have a hole there I just needed my retainer.
At A Glance Author Dan-o Contact TheKnightsOfNi85@aol.com When It just happened Artist Myself Studio In my bathroom post shower Location Lancaster NY Anyway, so the piercing goes off with out a hitch, a little bit of blood, watery eyes and sneezing I walk out of Eternal Ink a happy little bull. And over the course of the summer I started to think that it would be neat to have a large gauge septum maybe 00-1/2". Well, let me start off on saying, I've done all my own stretching my lobes, my cartilage, and my medusa. And some friends and close family have had me taper them as well. And only after talking with my friends and future teachers at Red House Tattoo I know my way around a taper. Sorry I sound pretty cocky I'm really not. So in September I stretched my septum to a 6 gauge. And after some rest and relaxation I figure I am ready again. So I wake up, gather and thoroughly clean my tools (a 4 gauge taper, 4 gauge pincer, a 4 gauge SSS tunnel, some Ibuprophen, and some warm salt water) and hit the showers. In there I make sure I massage my septum and really let the steam take hold. So here I am standing in my mirror (fully clothed) with an array of tools in front of me. And the pre-stretch voice of reason hits me (usually "this is going to hurt...a lot. Are you sure you want to do this?")
Ok well here it comes. I grab my taper I put a dab of cocoa butter on the tip and flat end. Remove my plug from my septum and place the taper through the hole. Not too bad at first. But the taper stops like always and the burn starts. So the taper is half way through my septum. I start too slowly (slowly mind you) push the taper through. The burn starts to worsen. By now my eyes are watering. I start taking deep breaths and after a few blistering moments the taper is in. Now this does not tickle. My nose is throbbing, burning, running, and my eyes are watering. I can feel pain in my teeth. Here's where the anti-inflammatory pain killers come in handy. I remove the taper and place my pincer in. I put the o-rings on the pincer. And use two cotton balls to do a salt soak. After a couple hours the burning has diminished. The tip of my nose is still pretty tender and looking down or up hurts.
Well now is the time I have to put my SSS tube in as work is ok with my stretched lobes and other mods. But I think that a septum pincer would not go over too well. So after some wincing I take out my pincer and once again put some cocoa butter on the taper and my tunnel. The taper slips in with out a problem and so does the tunnel. And after a sea salt soak everything is fine.
Now I just want to take this opportunity to say something here. I am all for DIY stretching. But for those of you who wish to stretch something as painful and hard as a septum. Do yourselves a favor and go to a professional. It's easy to just run to Hot Topic and buy a taper and a plug and ram 'em in. Trust me back in my inexperienced days I did just that. But now I'm older and smarter, and before all my own stretching I talk to a professional about it. Lobes are forgiving, so are labrets, the septum is not. It is hard to stretch and extremely painful. So if you decide to tread a path similar to mine. Do you nose a favor and swing by a shop and have a professional do it for you.