I have always loved large gauge septum piercings and have wanted one for as long as I can remember. Just after my eighteenth birthday I got my septum pierced. Unfortunately, the only retainers the shop had were 14ga. I didn't want to wait so I went ahead and got it done. This meant there would be an awful lot of stretching in my future. I stretched my lobes rather irresponsibly and I didn't want to make the same mistakes with my septum. I carefully stretched from the 14ga to a 12ga, and then to a 10ga over a period of about six months. The bigger my piercing got the more I liked it. I absolutely adored my 10ga circular barbell but I knew I couldn't stop there.
At A Glance Author Whitney Contact fuzzybeast_inc@hotmail.com IAM Fuzzybeast When N/A I waited about four months after the jump up to a 10ga before I even thought about stretching my septum again. I want a big beautiful septum piercing but I am in no hurry to get it. I'd rather just take things slow and do a good job. I went to see Eric at Future Skin. He isn't my usual piercer but I went to him because I had him taper my nose to a 10ga and I was so impressed by the fact that he just knew everything that was going on as he was doing the stretch. We picked an 8ga captive bead ring with a 1/2" diameter. He used ring openers to make it more of a claw shape and didn't bother putting the bead in. For one thing, a huge bead in the ring would take over my face. Besides, I need to flip it up for work.
Eric pushed the taper through my septum and as always it start with a sting that progressed into a burn until he hit the end of the taper and I had tears streaming down my cheeks. I barely felt Eric sliding the jewelry into place. As usual, I fell in love with the new pressure and weight and the throbbing in the end of my nose.
This stretch made my nose ache for a day or two and it was slightly swollen and tender. I also ran into problems a few days later when I had to work. I tried to flip the ring into my nose and had an awful time. I got it up there eventually but it was pretty uncomfortable. I could feel the ends of the ring pushing on the inside walls of my nose, plus I could barely breathe! The ring was also sort of visible in my nose. Directly after work I went back to Future Skin and bought a bullet retainer, which is a plug with one flat side and an o-ring on the opposite side. Putting it in was such a relief because it was completely hidden AND I could breathe!
It took more than three months for me to forget how painful my stretch to an eight gauge was. I loved my 8ga but I felt it was time to stretch again. I searched the city for a ring that had a small enough diameter to fit my face. This wasn't easy because most six gauge rings are made pretty big. Eventually Eric got me a ring with a 3/8" diameter. I was seriously impressed because it was actually even smaller than my 8ga ring! I also bought a 6ga bullet plug so I would be able to breathe at work.
Eric cleaned my jewelry and set up his tools. He took out my 8ga ring and I watched him lube up the six gauge taper. I felt like running just from the sight of it! He carefully threaded it through my nose. This was the worst stretch by far. It felt like my face was being split in half! My eyes watered up and when Eric switched the jewelry in the tears came pouring down my cheeks. It was like my face suddenly exploded with water. My nose even started to run. I thanked Eric and skipped out to meet my sister at a bar down the street.
My nose ached and throbbed the entire night. It was unbelievably uncomfortable. I took ibuprofen and got ice from the bar to put on the underside of my nose. The next day my nose and upper lip were swollen and my face was still throbbing (although not as bad as the night before). Even my front teeth hurt! My nose stayed extremely tender for about a week.
It has been about eight months since my last stretch. Not long ago I almost went to a 4ga but chickened out when I saw the jewelry. I would like to continue but it will depend on whether or not I can find a piece of jewelry that will flatter my face. It would also help if I could forget the tremendous discomfort from my 6ga stretch!