I had been been debating about getting a septum piercing for about 7 months before I finally got it done. I had asked a couple of people and got a fairly even amount of Yes and No. Most of the people who said No were the ones who did not have piercings, and I got the usual You are going to look like a bull! stuff and was point-blank turned down by my mom.
At A Glance Author Penn Contact Penn@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Jackie Studio Future Skin Location Ottawa, Ontario Seeing as it was the last day of school yesterday, I blew it off and bussed downtown to shop around and debate some more.
At first, I thought I would go to Planet Ink or Universal to get it done but there is something about those two places that intimidates me. Maybe because there are always these hardcore guys with three hundred tattoos and piercings hanging around the entrances, and then there would be little me in a floral dress and heels walking through them. Yeah, no thanks.
So I walked around the Market and just bought some gifts before I remembered Future Skin. The front is wide open and there were a couple of other people in the place. I had been there before with a couple of friends just to look around, so I felt more at ease. I asked the girl sitting at the counter, Jackie, details about the price and if I could get it done that day and whether or not I would be able to flip it up even while it was healing, because my job does not allow facial piercings.
She answered all of my questions and said I could get pierced with a retainer. She left to get everything ready while I filled out the form and paid, and then chilled on this massive fuzzy pink couch, which was the best part of my visit, aside from the actual piercing.
I waited for about 5 minutes and just looked around at the stuff they had on their walls, and then she called me in.
The room was smaller than I had expected, but otherwise clean and unsuspicious. I saw that she had laid out the tools she would be using and they were all in little unopened plastic bags. I also noticed that she had the same purse as me and thought that was pretty cool and it kind of helped me relax a bit more. I sat on the chair and asked her questions about the healing process, cleaning, and, of course, the pain! She answered all of my questions satisfactorily and gave me her card in the event I had any more after I left.
The first thing she did was find the spot that she would be piercing, clamped it and then marked it was a marker, and seriously I thought the marker was painful enough. She checked to see if the retainer was the right size (it was) and then told me to relax, and take deep breaths when I was ready. I closed my eyes as she held the clamp and piercing needle, and as I breathed out I felt the needle being pushed through my skin. My eyes watered (not too much) and I fought the urge to crinkle up my nose. When I opened my eyes, the needle was still through my nose and I thought it looked pretty cool. She put the retainer in and then wiped off any blood, checked to see that it was straight, and then let me see it in the mirror.
Since I had been debating it for about 7 months, I obviously had tried to figure out what it would look like. Let me say this: it was more perfect than I could have imagined. My nose was a little red, well my whole face was because I was so nervous, but it was this cute little piercing that was perfectly even. Love at first sight does exist.
She helped me flip it up and told me how to flip it back down, and also talked a bit more about the cleaning, and then I picked up my bags and left.
It all happened in a much shorter period of time than I expected, but I definitely cannot complain. I worried a bit that the downtown fumes (gas, dust, urine-based odours, etc) would do something to my nose, but since I was going home anyway I would just clean it then.
Even though I had heard a few bad things about Future Skin, my experience went extremely well. Jackie, the piercer, was good at helping me relax and provided me with answers to my many questions. I would definitely consider going back to her if I decided to get anything else pierced (currently debating between a tragus and rook).
All in all, it was a really good ending to my downtown shopping. I got birthday gifts for some friends, got a gift for my dad, and came home with a little something for myself!