DIY disclaimer! I do not recommend piercing yourself or other people without experience, proper supplies and proper sterilization techniques. Please acknowledge the risks! You could end up with crooked piercings, infection, illness, or a stupid scar. Don't be an idiot, pay a professional!
At A Glance Author S Contact S@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Myself Studio Chez DIY Location Ottawa Long before I had even seen one, I wanted a septum piercing. Growing up, I was constantly reminded of what a stubborn Taurus I am and at ten years old I could think of no better way of personifying a bull than to wear a fake ring in my nose. My mom didn't mind so much, except for the odd looks we got on the TTC- "what kind of mother lets her child do that" sort of looks. I can't blame them though, I would wonder the same thing. The phase passed, and life went on. When I started to get into piercings at 16, the septum had become uber-popular and as such, uber-undesirable. It is an extremely unattractive piercing on some people, and that really turned me off. What if I was one of them?!
Nine piercings (navel, stretched lobes, nipples, labret, tongue, nostril and retired horizontal anti-eyebrow) later, I started to reconsider. I went in to my regular piercer one day and quizzed her on the retainer. I showed a little hesitation and mentioned that I wasn't sure it would suit me, so she told me to hold off and come back when I was ready. And rightly so! You should never get a mod you aren't sure about. Ever.
Time passed, and I acquired some piercing supplies of my own- a 14g hollow needle in a supposedly sterile bag, various clamps and a little courage. At this point, I've done my research and finally decided to do it- pierce my own septum. I had never broken my own skin before, so this was an interesting undertaking- would I chicken out? What if I could only get the needle in halfway?
Preparation time! Since this was a DImYself affair, sterilization and whatnot was less than stellar. I will outline it though, so you can judge for yourself- based on the fact that *thankfully* nothing went wrong. First, I boiled my clamps, needle and jewelry for 10 minutes before soaking them in alcohol for another 10. In the meantime, I disinfected my tray, covered it in sterile gauze and disinfected my workspace (the washroom). I also got some juice in case I needed some emergency sugar. Once I deemed the supplies "done soaking", I laid them out on the gauze using the clamps as tongs and otherwise "clean" hands (antibacterial soap, hot water, followed by hand sanitizer). I cleaned out my nose with cotton swabs and alcohol and I was ready to go!
Beforehand, I had done some fiddling around in my nose to find the "sweet spot". There was no way I was going to put myself through the agony of a cartilage-nick. I aimed for that with the clamps and closed them. The pain! I immediately removed them and assessed the situation. Apart from the pain, I got the impression that the clamp would just get in my way. There's only so much room to manoeuver within a nostril. Risk of crookedness in mind, I proceeded freehand. A little pop, and I was home-free, or so I thought... I pushed and pushed and it seemed like the needle wouldn't budge- in or out. It hadn't hurt yet, save the initial pinch, but I started to feel faint. I left the needle in while I tended to my more urgent needs: I drank some juice, splashed some water on myself and put my head between my legs. All this was not enough though! I ended up vomiting, but that seemed to be all I needed. With the rush of endorphines, I was ready to try again. I wasn't about to give up on it once I'd already poked myself. I washed my hands again with soap, water and sanitizer, removed the needle and cleaned up the little bit of blood in my nose. I then applied some Zambuk ointment (closest thing to petroleum jelly I had) to the middle of the needle to aid with that pesky friction. Three...two...one... breathe out... and POP! It went through! I ran downstairs to showoff my needled nose to my boyfriend- I was quite impressed with myself! I raved to him momentarily about how I couldn't believe that I had gone through with it, then hurried back to insert the jewelry. The 16g circular barbell went in effortlessly and I was a whole new me. To my surprise, it even turned out straight!
My aftercare regime consisted of twice a day with spectro gel during the first week and the odd saline soak, decreasing to once before bed thereafter. Hasn't failed me yet, and where all else fails LITFA!! Nearly a month has passed with no issues. No oozing, no soreness, no stench. Just pure septum love.