I hadn't really ever wanted a septum piercing. I thought they looked cute on certain girls, and guys looked really wicked cool with them. But myself? Never.
At A Glance Author Ashley Ellen Contact buriedwreckage@tmail.com When Three months ago Artist Mike Studio Friend's house Location Chicagoland area However, my friends Amy and Matt were getting their nipples pierced, and I decided that I wanted something pierced with them. After thinking about what piercings I could hide from my parents (seeing as how I am underage), I decided that I would try a septum piercing.
I had extra money left over from a recent trip to San Francisco, so the money aspect was not a problem. The only problem was making sure I had jewelry that was able to be flipped up into my nose. I searched and searched for a septum retainer, but I was not able to find one by the time our piercing appointment rolled around. Instead, I bought a curved barbell.
My friends and I gathered at our friend Jimmy's house. Amy and I had gotten our tongues pierced only four months prior to this experience, and we had done it at Jimmy's place. Mike pierced our tongues, and we were quite comfortable with him.
Now, let me sidetrack. Mike knows that Amy and I were underage. He did appointments, and he does not work for a piercing or tattoo studio. I know it seems incredibly shady, but having been pierced in a professional studio before and able to compare that to Mike, I was not at all disturbed by him. He is very professional, and he makes the entire piercing experience as comfortable as possible. He uses completely sterile, fresh needles and jewelry. Although I trust Mike a lot, I don't really advise going to someone who will pierce underage clients at random homes. It's a bad idea. I just got lucky with a good piercer.
After my friends had both gotten their nipples pierced, I was up. Jimmy, Matt, and Amy were sitting in the same room as me while Mike prepared for my piercing. We were all sort of chatting, as I was quite nervous because a friend of mine who had her septum pierced told me that it was one of the more painful piercings, although on some people, it did not hurt at all.
Mike had agreed to use the curved barbell I had brought, having cleaned it to the best of his ability. I had two different width barbells (they were both 14g), and he had chosen to use the wider one. He ran me through his procedure and dotted my nose after scoping it out a bit and cleaning it. I looked in the mirror and decided that it was in a good enough position.
The clamps were put on. They weren't too tight, albeit they were uncomfortable. He did the old "breathe in" - place the needle "breathe out" - slide it through routine. My eyes immediately teared up, and tears rolled down my cheeks in a split second. I suppose I jerked my head a bit because Mike had to push it through completely after making sure I was calm.
When the needle was in, my friends immediately grabbed their cell phones and went to take a picture. I was in a terrible pain, and screamed at them not to, so they set their phones down. In retrospect, it would've made a sick picture.
Mike put the jewelry in and sent me to get myself a glass of water and take a gander in the mirror. After fetching myself a drink, I looked at it. The jewelry hung too low on my face.
I went back into my friend's room and asked Mike if he could change the piercing. He said that he greatly advised against it, especially since it had been less than thirty minutes. I begged him too, saying it looked really gross and I was unhappy. He made me sit down, and he began to slowly take out the jewelry. This hurt as bad, if not worse, than the actual piercing.
Once the first barbell was out, I felt a hot rush of blood down my lips and chin. Mike quickly slid in the smaller, second barbell and cleaned the hole. He made Amy help me up and walk me to the bathroom, where she and I cleaned the blood from my face.
I looked in the mirror, and I was very pleased with this new jewelry. Though it hurt an insane amount, I had never been more excited about it.
As we went home, my friends told me that when my septum was being pierced, there was an incredibly loud "pop" noise. I figure that is from piercing cartilage, as my ear made a "pop" noise when it was pierced. I told my friends I hadn't heard it, probably because I was too focused on the instant pain.
After a few days of hiding from my mother, I put in a 14g tongue retainer where the curved barbell was. I cut the retainer down so it wasn't noticeable, and I let the piercing heal with the retainer. Once the retainer was in, I noticed that my septum was incredibly crooked - my own mistake for moving during the piercing process.
It's been a few months, and the crookedness doesn't bother me. Though my septum is pierced rather low, I do love it. I can now flip up a curved barbell into my nose, or I simply wear the tongue retainer. A few kids at school, as well as coworkers or random strangers, have asked if it hurt, and my response is always the same, "Hurt like a bitch."
A few friends have expressed interest in getting their septum pierced, mine being their inspiration. I warn them that it hurts a lot, and theirs could be pierced crookedly or in an unsatisfactory spot, like mine, but if they truly want it, go for it.
I'm thinking of getting it repierced, higher and straight, but for now, I love my stupid little septum.