This story is about my nostril piercing. Actually about the loss of it, because I made the biggest mistake ever: I used cheap jewellery.
At A Glance Author Jana Contact Jana@bme.anon When N/A Artist don't know her name Studio Den Tumi Location Ghent, Belgium 3 years ago, the summer holidays had just started, a friend of mine wanted to get his lip pierced. I recommended him the studio I always went to at that time ( Den Tumi in Ghent, Belgium).
We walked in, my friend had his lip pierced, and then I suddenly decided I wanted to get my nostril pierced. That's not really me, I mean, I normally think about getting a piercing for 2 or 3 months.. But it wasn't a big deal really and I figured it would look nice (I already had an offside lip piercing).
All went well during the piercing and healing process.. until I got tired of the nostril screw I was wearing. I always leave the original jewel in long enough, until the piercing's healed. But I didn't really like the look of the screw, and I also didn't know much about nostril jewellery at that time.. So I bought some very cheap nosebones in a cheap shop. This type of jewellery looks like a stud, with on the one end a gem, or a small ball or spike, and on the other end a small ball, which prevents the 'bone' from falling out.
I could get in it without a problem, it looked nice so I didn't worry about it anymore. I left it in for a couple of months, until one day the "gem" (actually a piece of coloured plastic) fell off. I was going to a party that night so I quickly went to the same crappy shop and again bought some crappy nosebones. I couldn't find a clean place to replace my jewellery so I walked into a clothing store and headed towards the fitting rooms. Once I closed the curtain, I started pulling the old nosebone out, but it took some time and courage to keep on pulling and not give up. It HURT. And bled. In the mirror on the wall of the small room I saw my face getting more and more red, and a couple of tears were rolling down my cheeks. I wasn't crying, it was just because I was furiously pulling that damn thing, my nostril was getting irritated (almost the same reaction you get when the nostril is getting pierced).
Apparently the piercing hole had shrunk (well, duh!) and the ball at the end of the bone prevented it from falling out, but also from just gently taking it out. It really stung. But I managed to get it out.
I took a tissue to wipe off some blood and took a new nosebone. I didn't have any soap or alcohol to clean it, so I just pushed it through the irritated hole in my nostril.
The next few days I didn't hurt anymore, nor did it get infected. I'm quite surprised actually, I didn't clean it or anything..
Four or five months later, the next summer holidays began and I had gotten a student's job at a local food company. I had to touch and pack biscuits and cakes, and for hygienical reasons, I had to take my piercings out. What I don't understand is that lobe piercings were allowed, but no facial piercings.. I think it's more hygienical to leave in your piercings than to take them out.. But anyway, I had to take them out.
This time I didn't want to go through all that suffering again. I just took a pair of scissors and carefully cut the ball off, so I could easily take it out.
The first day, immediately after I got home from my job, I got my lip stud back in with some difficulty (even after more than a year it still formed some whiteish crusts when I left the stud out), but the nostril piercing was a lost cause... The hole had shrunk so much during those 8 or 9 hours I couldn't get the jewellery back in. I grabbed my first nostril screw, but even that wouldn't get in.. I was pissed at the people from work who'd wanted me to take out my piercings, but now I realise it mainly was my own fault that I lost the piercing..
I was in possession of a nice nostril piercing for 1 year.. If I'd only known cheap jewellery isn't the way the go, I'd still have it. Now what's left is a tiny, almost invisible hole in my nostril. I didn't get it repierced but got my left earlobe pierced instead (both my lobes were gun-pierced when I was 10, but the left one was done badly. I lost that piercing too, soon after I had it done), which I stretched to 10mm. But that's another story..