At A Glance
Author	lexi
Contact	lexi@bme.anon
When	A month ago
Artist	Julie
Studio	Cold Steel
Location	Camden Town, London

A couple of months ago I wrote up my experience on BME of getting my nostril pierced, saying what a great experience it was, how pain-free and how well it was healing. Well, I was wrong. It was pain-free (at the time of piercing at least) and the first week or so of healing did go great. After that, things didn't go exactly how I'd hoped they would and the worst part is, it was my fault. Partly!

Once I decided I wanted the piercing, I decided I REALLY wanted it, in a had-to-have-it-immediately kind of way, but I held off and endlessly researched it instead. I looked at other people's experiences, the procedure itself, photos, aftercare, jewellery I could get once it was healed... you get the idea. Once I'd chosen the studio (criteria being that it had a good reputation, didn't charge the earth and was close enough to where I was staying at the time) off I went, keeping in mind all the 'dos and don'ts' I'd been reading for the past god knows how long. Despite this, however, looking back I know that some things weren't right. The studio was spotlessly clean and the piercer was fastidious about changing his gloves etc, but - and don't say anything, I know, I know - the jewellery suddenly just appeared in his hand when it was time to use it, I don't know if it was properly cleaned (although he assured me it was) and looked... cheap. Which, I later found out, it was. Very cheap. The dos and don'ts just vanished from my mind.

What I can't believe, thinking about it now, is that I didn't ask him about the jewellery and ask to see it sealed and sterile. The only thing I can think that stopped me from doing this is how incredibly nervous I was. My brain had just stopped considering anything but the fear and I wanted it over ASAP. I'm cringing about it now! Anyway, I inevitably caught a cold following getting the piercing and thought that the subsequent problems with healing were down to getting the stud pulled out on tissues a couple of times. It can't have helped but that wasn't really the issue. It was the jewellery. When I got back to uni the piercing was still red, angry and oozing and 'the bump' had appeared, so I decided to combine a planned shopping trip to Camden with a trip to Cold Steel (I don't know of any reputable piercers round here so the journey was necessary!)

After arriving at Cold Steel and managing the stairs (why are all piercing studios up hundreds of stairs? To ensure the customers are so knackered they can't fight back when advanced upon with a big needle?) I spoke to Julie and she said she'd take a look. After peering up my nose she said she couldn't actually see the other side of the stud and that the best thing to do would be to get another piece of jewellery and she'd replace it for me. So I picked a new stud and off we went (yup, more stairs). When we got to the piercing room she took a better look at my nose and told me "well, your jewellery's crap. That needs to come out now". Yeah I felt stupid.

After calming me down, as for some reason I was just as nervous about a jewellery change as I was for the piercing itself, she took out the 'crap' stud and stuck a plastic canula (?) through the hole to keep it open. So I laid there with a white plastic rod sticking out my nose while Julie explained that not only was the original stud made of silver and not surgical steel like I'd been told (!!!) and would have turned my nose black had it not been taken out, my piercing disliked having it in so much it was attempting to close over the hole. Apparently, the stud I had been pierced with "was bought in bulk from Thailand or somewhere and cost about 1p". Wonderful. Glad I'd made the trip! The new jewellery (titanium, MUCH better quality even to my very untrained eye) was lubed up and slid in with only a small "ow!" from me, i was talked through aftercare, again, paid a very reasonable £5 and off I went.

I've carried on with the sea salt soaks and gently clean it in the shower and the bump has gone. My nose is no longer red and sore and the new jewellery hasn't come out once. Cold Steel saved my piercing and if I ever have the money to get the other piercings I want it's off to Camden I shall be going. I felt like an idiot but Julie was friendly and answered my questions about various other piercings without me feeling she wanted me out the shop so she could go get lunch or something. And at the end of the day, that's what you want - a piercer that knows what they're talking about without being patronising about it!