Although I'm not extreme or heavily pierced, I've always enjoyed being pierced, the experience, anticipation and feel initially get me hooked and then the after-care and successful healing (so far anyway) leaves me with a new addition to adorn my body and take pride in.
At A Glance Author MaryCanary Contact marycanary@gmail.com When A week ago Studio Modern Body Art Location Birmingham, UK The majority of my piercings are in my ears, something which has grown and multiplied since being a kid. My nostril, nipple and lip (although the lip now healed) followed respectively leaving me with 22 holes and 1 very small sealed indentation.
The septum piercing was one I never expected to have done. Over the years I've thought about various facial piercings but the septum, so far, hadn't entered the equation and I always figured it'd look too obtrusive for my features.
However, a couple of weeks ago browsing BME my persuasion was swayed and so was my choice of piercing studio, so a week ago this coming Monday I trotted off to Modern Body Art in Brum central.
The place was immaculate and inviting, I signed the required paperwork and waited whilst my boyfriend looked utterly bemused by the whole thing unsure as to why I was having this done. Once called in, I did the drill (nose cleaned, numbing agent held for a couple of minutes or so) and the piercee clamped me up. It took a while to get them positioned, as I became more nervous she ran me through her own septum experience which took my mind off things as she was so friendly and open. Everything was sterile packed, she was gloved, I had no apprehension about the place. I think I floated off somewhere at this point because the next sensation felt was an immense amount of pressure hitting the side of my face, then evening out and sharply disappearing. I think I wanted to say 'holy fuck' but by this time she was cutting the tube and then inserting my retainer. Done. She handed me the mirror and there was my down-turned-staple-looking-jewelry sitting in my nose, straight too. We ran through the after-care (salt wat er soaks twice a day), she flipped it up and explained that to do this comfortably, you need to stretch your upper lip under your top set of teeth, a process not to do with your hands obviously, a few more words of advice; clean hands, don't play with it at the moment, good up keep and I was finished! She told me a story of when her septum was relatively new and for a week or so she was convinced that she smelled (you know that scent that piercings sometimes emit?), finally it clicked that it was right under her nose (bum bum!) and she wonderfully told me to watch out for the 'septum cheese'... but hey, so far none of that glamorous stuff. I paid at the counter (£25.00) and was told to return in six weeks or so for the retainer to be changed and to pop in if ever I had any problems. I left feeling rather numb and excited. My boyfriend still didn't get it, I don't think.
Once the numbness had dissipated, the whole area was a little tender but not horrendous. I've been cleaning regularly and so far no blood and only small crusts have formed, all seems to be going okay. Cotton buds, cotton wool are all being used in vast amounts. Also just sticking your nose in the bowl and blowing is both effective and fun, although a little puzzling for anyone who should happen to be near by. I have caught it a few times which makes me sneeze like a bitch, we're talking ten or more sneezes in succession, but it's surprisingly painless and most of the time I don't think about it. Out of sight, out of mind.
I've since absolutely fallen in love with it. The fact the retainer completely takes it from view keeps it private and special. If you are concerned about concealing it, the retainer really is discreet. Some people who I see daily haven't even noticed yet. I do wish though now that I had gone for a proper piece of jewelry, I'm really itching to see it. I'm curious about stretching but think i need to keep this one subtle purely due to face structure. I've found that in most cases no-one has an issue with it, although one of my first questions put to me was "Why do you have a staple hanging from your nose?"...
I'd recommend the septum to anyone who's generally interested in piercing. Even if you're not a fan of it being on display, you can pop the retainer up and just enjoy your new addition and there's always the option of it being out there for all and sundry to see, should you ever change your mind.
You can check out Modern Body Art here - http://www.modernbodyart.co.uk/