I'd wanted to have my septum pierced for a long time. I wanted to have it dermal punched originally, but I couldn't seem to find anyone willing to do it who I was comfortable with, so eventually I just resigned to putting it off until I was traveling someplace where there was someone I knew could do it. After a couple years though that hadn't happened, so I finally decide to just go get it pierced by someone I knew was good at a more "ordinary" size., since in the time I'd been waiting to get it punched, I could have just pierced it and stretched it to where I wanted to be. So I rounded up some money, headed down to Black Hole, and had Brian pierce it for me. I decided to go with the simplest, jewelry possible, just to reduce cost and make healing and cleaning as easy as possible. I went with a 12g 7/16 CBR in stainless.
At A Glance Author Tom Contact Tom@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Brian Studio Black Hole Location Portland, OR Going in I was a little nervous, as I hadn't been pierced by someone else for quite a while, and I wasn't sure how much this piercing was going to hurt, although seeing as I had planned on having it punched before, I wasn't all that worried. Black Hole has a nice relaxed atmosphere, and Brian is great, so that helped me relax. Also, I didn't have to wait, so that was nice too. As far as the actual piercing goes, there's not much to report that hasn't been written in a million other stories; all the proper procedures were followed, he spent a good bit of time marking and remarking my nose, promised to re-do it if it came out crooked, all that. Finally, once everything looked straight, he stuck some sort of instrument that I couldn't see too well up one nostril and held it against my septum, the lined up the needle on the other side (poking me a couple of times in the process...) and in one swift motion slid it through. He then grabbed the jewelry, pulled out the needle, and followed it right through, no big deal. After that he fiddled with some ring openers and closers, got the ball in and tightened it up, and I was off. No blood or anything, just some watery eyes and a sore nose.
As far as the discomfort went, this piercing was very easy. The only thing I've had done that hurt less was my tongue, and this was nowhere near as painful as my 8g needle pierced lobes, which for whatever reason just about killed me. (Slow, weak female piercer didn't help...) The best way to describe the sensation is just a sharp, stingy pinch that only lasts about half a second. Inserting the jewelry and getting the bead in are uncomfortable, but not really painful. Knowing how it feels now, if I had it to do again I think I would have had him run a taper or two through after the needle, just for fun, or maybe go for a bigger needle plus a taper...
It's been two months now, and healing and aftercare have been a snap. This is the easiest to care for piercing ever! All I've done is for the first couple weeks I did one or two sea salt soaks every day, and removed any crustiness or stray snot with a cotton swab. For the soak I used a thin walled drinking glass, around ten ounces or so. I'd microwave it on high for one minute, then add the salt and stir. Usually that worked out to just the right temperature, and was good for a nice long soak. After that, I've just done a soak every few days, and just cleaned up with a cotton swab after my daily shower. A day or two afterward I noticed it looked pretty crooked, even though at first it looked straight; I think it was just some swelling, because now it looks almost perfect. Not quite, but I'm not sure it's even the piercing; my nose looks crooked to me! After about three or four weeks, it wasn't sore anymore, unless I happened to catch it on a shirt or smack myself in the face, and now, two months later, I'd say it's about 90% healed. I haven't changed the jewelry yet, but I think it'd be just fine to do so.
All in all, this has probably been the easiest, most pain free piercing I've ever had. The only things I'd change if I were to do it again would be to go for a bigger size up front (and more pain!) and maybe different jewelry. I personally don't like the look of the CBR much, and the 7/16 size, while easy to clean, is a bit big and floppy, at least on my face. I'd probably be more inclined to go with a glass plug, or maybe a smaller diameter steel or glass pincher. I'd recommend this piercing to anyone, even if you don't like the look of jewelry in the middle of your face, stick some needles through your septum just for fun; I know I'll be doing it in the future!