My lovely septum piercing was my 18th piercing. Now, with me being 14, you'd probably think the 17 previous (and some current) stabs were all self inflicted with objects such as safety pin... very few were. Hah. Anyways, I'm no stranger to professional studio piercing. That said, I'll get on with this.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Carl Studio Next! Location Granville [Vancouver, BC] As with most people, when I first saw a septum piercing, I didn't like it and definitely did not ever wish to have one. As time went on, however, they grew on me. Especially after I got both my nostrils pierced and I saw how lovely double nostrils and septum piercings looked together. The obsession came and went. Then, I was going to get piercings with my long time piercing buddy, and she was getting her septum pierced. I immediately again wanted to get mine done too, it sounds silly I know. However, after witnessing her get it pierced, well, it scared the crap out of me and that idea went on the back burner.
That was now 7 months ago. A month ago, I was in Vancouver with my mom. We went to Next! so I could get new tunnels. I did, and while I was there, the septum retainers caught my eye. Without even really thinking about it, I quickly asked my mom about it, which I had previously done, and seeing as she had already agreed to it before, she said yes again. Then I asked the guy behind the counter (whom I later found out was named Carl) how old I have to be and the price and all that good stuff. That was that, I said I'd be in tomorrow, and we left.
After we got back to the hotel, I was going on the Next! website to check their aftercare group times, when I realized I only had $50. My septum piercing would be $65 + tax. I talked to my mom, and since she had talked me into buying $50 tunnels instead of $30 tunnels, she'd pay me back for one of the tunnels, plus the money I needed for my piercing.
The next day, I got up at 10:30, had breakfast and hopped in the shower. I was ready by 11:40, 20 minutes before the first group. So my mother and I walked across the street to Next! and was greeted by the counter lady. I wasn't nervous at all. The staff is super nice and with the vibe in there, it's impossible to be nervous. Anyways, I told the lady what I was in for, and she said she'd have to check with the piercer. She went and got Carl, and he immediately recognized me and gave me the release form. My mom and I signed it, and since we were early for the group, we went for a walk.
I was all smiles walking down the street. We went to Starbucks and got back to Next! with a few minutes to spare, so we sat down and flipped through some tattoo magazines. After a while Carl called the group into the back.
That's when I turned into a giddy idiot. I couldn't stop smiling. And as Carl was going over aftercare, risks and such, I couldn't stop shifting around and trying not to giggle. Finally it was over and I was first up, which I was relieved about. So, the other three people left and I hopped up onto the doctor bed. I told him about the watching my friend get her septum pierced incident that scared me out of getting mine done sooner, and things of that sort. He cleaned inside my nose with something that smelled like a hospital, which caused me to say, "I love the smell of hospital in my nose!" and that made us both laugh. Laughing made the urge to swing my legs (as I usually do at this point) go away! Anyways, with a warning that it would feel odd, Carl stuck his (gloved) fingers up my nose and felt around for the "sweet spot", if you will. It indeed felt funny, but it didn't last that long. He then made a horizontal line between my nostrils, and with after another warning that this would be the worst part, he lined up the clamp, and that little metal bastard went onto my septum. My eyes immediately started watering. As he picked up the needle, I closed my eyes, and braced myself. Forgive me, but I can't remember for the life of me if he counted or not. Regardless, the needle went in. It wasn't that bad at all. I couldn't believe I put it off and was scared of it for so long.
Carl released that awful clamp, slipped in the retainer and took that ridiculous purple line off my nose. He then handed me a tissue and a mirror. Then came the first compliment, "it looks so cute!" I had to agree, it was so little, there was no other way to describe it. Once I told him that it wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected, like he said it would be, he said I could call my friend a wimp now. Hah. I thanked him, several times and attempted to walk out, when he gave me an aftercare booklet. I thanked him again, and successfully left the room, and showed my mother. She liked it too, surprisingly. I bought two little bottles of soap (which I can't remember the name of due to my giddy shifting when he was going over everything with the group) and left, smiling ear to ear.
Aftercare was simple, and never consisted of removing crusties because they were never there, but did consist of lathering it up with the soap I bought at Next, and slightly inhaling water to rinse, usually in the shower. The first day, however, it was sore, and even more so after bumping it a few times. So, I resorted to filling a glass with warm water and putting a few drops of soap in it and shaking it up to make it all bubbly, and blowing bubbles in it, and all was fine and dandy.
On the second day of having my septum pierced, I was in the shower and was cleaning it. I flipped it up, just to see if I could without pain, and I could. But I couldn't flip it back down! I was freaked out, hopped out of the shower and went to the mirror. It was all steamy, so I obviously couldn't see. I felt around in my nose and out fell the retainer. I ran out of the bathroom and into the nearest room, my brother's, and went the mirror. I didn't ever pay much attention to the placement, so I didn't know exactly where the hole was. I gave up after a few minutes and went back to the bathroom, thinking it was completely gone. Deciding to give it one last try, I randomly pushed the retainer into my septum, and there the hole was! I was overjoyed, continued my shower, and was very careful about flipping it up and down.
That was the only real problem I've had with it, except a few days after the shower incident, I awoke to myself knocking the retainer out in my sleep. So, needless to say, I now sleep with it flipped up.
And that's it. It's now a month old and doing great. It was sore for a good week, which usually never happens with any of my piercings. But, it's all good now. And I definitely recommend Next if you're kickin in Vancouver.