Some mornings I wake up craving french toast, others waffles. On this day however I woke up craving a piercing. I'd wanted my septum done for a little while, I really liked the slightly bigger then usual 10 or 8g pincher ones that I'd seen in the BME galleries. It was also the only facial piercing other then nostril (which I already have)that I could get because of work. With the septum retainer I could just flip it up and no one would ever know. Sadly theres not as many job opportunities when you have facial piercings and I can't wait for society to change that. So even with my craving I didn't think I'd actually get it done that day.
At A Glance Author Holly Contact Holly@bme.anon IAM loveisparanoid When A month ago Studio Adrenaline Location Vancouver A few of my friends and I decided to take a trip downtown that day and I completely forgot about my piercing craving as we browsed the shops. We were in Rocky Mountain ice cream and chocolate store and the cashier complimented my friend Sarah on her monroe. So they started talking about piercings and Sarah ended up deciding she wanted to get another one that day, she wanted either her side or center labret. She ended up going with getting her side labret. The cashier recommended Adrenaline on granville so we follow her advice and go there.
We walked a few blocks to Adrenaline which I had been in and looked around in but never been pierced at. All my piercings have been done at either Paul's or West Coast in Surrey. While I was looking through tattoo booklets and photos of piercings my craving came back. There were a few piercings I wanted at that time, but I wanted septum the most and settled on that one. Its a fun piercing you can "whip out" at parties. Invisable when up so I can be presentable in the working world, but obvious and fun when down. I like to be able to hid my piercings so when you look at me and my hair is down I don't look modifed, but then up goes the hair and suddenly you can see my nape and an ear full of metal. I think its an innocence thing, I like to be able to turn it on and off. I wanted an 8g but I decided to get a 10g because I am a wuss. I always get nervous before piercings, except for a small period after getting my nape done when I thought nothing could hurt like that did. But when I told the guy I wanted a 10g he told me it was like a hole puncher and I chickened out and said okay to the 12g. I regreted that later as I've heard septum stretching is really painful. I should have just got an 10g and bit down on something. The pain doesn't last that long. They had me pay before I went into the room, Sarah got to pay afterwards so I must have looked like a bolter or that I didn't have $70.
In the piercing room I was feeling like I wanted to be anywhere but there, like I always do just before piercings. I love the end result though so its worth it. Its ironic I don't like the pain, and yet used to be a cutter. The piercer was really friendly and had a huge hole in his septum, he told me he was excited to pierce my septum and that it would look good on me. The procedure was pretty quick, first he cleaned my nose out with qtips which is always gross having someone clean out your nose. I've had it cleaned by other people three times now. Then I layed down and made a fishy pucker face (to pull your skin down) and in went the needle freehand, no clamps. My eyes watered up but the pain wasn't awful. He gave me aftercare instructions, flipped it into my nose and I left.
All went well for the first few weeks. I cleaned it regularly but I didn't do the salt soaks, I didn't have the desire to stick my nose into a cup of salt water and blow bubbles. It fell out a couple times when I was cleaning it but I just popped it back in no problem.
So all was going very well until last night when I got completely smashed and while throwing up around ten times my septum retainer must have fallen out and is now probably in the sewer being chewed by rat. I tried to put a CBR in this morning but it had already healed over.
So I'm going to get in re-done soon, a 10g this time. It kind of sucks that I'm going to have to pay another $70 to get it redone. But at least I'll get the gauge I want. I think I have bad luck with nose piercings because my nostril stud always got pulled out and it was infected once and I ended up having to get it re-pierced when I ripped it out on a washcloth and couldn't get it back in again.
I miss it like any piercing that has been retired but I do like how my nose feels emptier, easier to clean.