I got my septum pierced a few months back. I'm not entirely sure of the exact date. I decided to get my septum done for a couple reasons. First of all I didn't have any facial piercings and was really itching to get one! I chose for it to be a septum piercing because it would be easy to hide from my parents. Like so many people, my parents aren't the type to accept piercings (they didn't even approve of my ear piercings!).
At A Glance Author Kentwood Contact Xodiak@vampirefreaks.com When N/A Artist Panda Studio Panda's House Location Probably shouldn't say! I was somewhat nervous about getting my septum done because I have heard it can be a very painful piercing. I was full of anxiety and excitement the day of the piercing. It invaded my thoughts all throughout the school day. I was really excited and a bit scared. I told myself it wouldn't be so bad. It was just one piercing, not a piercing and then another one right after like it was with my nipples and my ears. It would be a singular spike of pain, and then it would be over.
After school I stopped by my girlfriend's house for a while before going to Panda's house where I would be getting the piercing. She was going to go but ended up having to help out her parents with something so I went alone. As I got closer and closer to Panda's house my anxiety, fear, and excitement increased. Walking up the stairs and into Panda's room then sitting in wait to get a needle pushed through my septum was nerve-racking. I decided I wanted to start my septum out at 12g, which meant a 10g needle would be piercing me. We sat around for a while before she finally was ready to pierce me. I watched as she rolled the rather large needle in the Vaseline, feeling my heart beat faster and faster as the reality of the situation became apparent. She asked if I was ready and I said yes. I wasn't about to back out now. She situated the clamps in my nose, which hurt as usual then picked up the needle and held it up to my nose. At this point my heart was beating with a rage and I was shaking with fear and excitement. She counted one, two, and pushed through as she said three. It was a rush and although it was a sharp pain it wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared. A single tear rolled down my check and there was no blood whatsoever. Panda was disappointed because there is usually a steady flow of blood after such a piercing. She slipped a black horseshoe through and my septum piercing was completed....well, sort of.
After it was done I looked in the mirror and decided I didn't like the horseshoe that was in it. The first thing I tried was rather stupid. I thought I would be able to gauge it right after so I could just put in my 10g horseshoe claw in it. I went back to my girlfriends so she could assist me with this. I started to pull out the 12g black horseshoe, then, realizing the stupidity of my actions, I changed my mind and tried to push the horseshoe back in. To my disdain it wouldn't go back in. It was stuck halfway through my nose. I panicked and started to feel light-headed and nearly passed out. I decided to try again to push it through only this time I used significantly more force and succeeded. The pain of getting it back through was worse than the actual piercing itself. I ended up going to the mall and buying a black 12g horseshoe claw that I liked better.
The piercing was very tender and sore for a long time. It didn't heal to the point of painlessness until about 2 or 3 months had passed. Taking care of it was relatively easy. I cleaned it every day and put in a retainer when I was around my parents. Switching it out so much when I first got it kind of sucked so I ended up just keeping the retainer in all the time for about 3 or 4 weeks so it would heal more quickly..
When I first got the piercing I noticed it was a little crooked and worried a lot that it would be noticeable but it really wasn't unless you looked closely. I was also inable to just flip the ring up into my nose like I originally had planned to do but I could still hide it with the use of a retainer so that wasn't so bad. I really wasn't sure if I even liked the way it looked because it was so thin. I decided I wanted to gauge it a little to make it look better. I didn't start gauging it until at least a month had passed and I thought I would only gauge it to 10g and then be content. Well after I got to 10g it was a little better but I still wasn't pleased so I gauged it to 8g a few weeks later. I actually liked the way it looked a lot more now and thought I would keep it at 8g. After further consideration however, I decided that it would look even better at 6g and I would have more jewelry for it since I already had a few 6g horseshoe claws laying around.
I waited a couple weeks before gauging it to 6g and this was by far the most painful gauging I have ever experienced. Gauging your septum hurts significantly more than gauging your earlobes or your nipples but I find it to be really exciting. The rush of pain feels invigorating and no, I'm really not much of a masochist. I just love to gauge and gauging my septum is the most exciting. Gauging from 8g to 6g was twice as painful as gauging from 10g to 8g. I'm not sure if this was because of the amount of time I waited in between gauging or if the stretch from 8g to 6g is just more than from 10g to 8g.
I love my septum at 6g. It simply makes me feel cooler when I have it in. I have decided that I will definitely gauge it even more in the future. I'm not going to say how much I will gauge it because I know I could easily change my mind. For now, however, I am content with my 6g and will keep it at that for at least a month longer to ensure that my septum has had ample time to heal completely from all the gauging I have done to it. My advise to anyone who wants to get their septum piercing is go for it! But make sure your piercer is experienced and can handle a septum piercing because it is definitely a more advanced piercing with a greater chance of crookedness.