I'd been thinking about a new piercing for a while – I hadn't had once since my nipple last December, and it was too long ago! There's only a limited amount of piercings I can actually get, as they must be hidden! My parents aren't fans of body modifications, and neither are my school, so it's imminent that they must be invisible to the naked eye!
At A Glance Author NATALI CEE Contact NATALI CEE@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Shamefully.. Don't know! Studio Holier Than Thou Location Manchester, UK I'd started to consider the septum piercing. I'd hated them for years, as a child I'd always associated them with animals, bulls and such, but for some strange reason, I was beginning to fall in love with them. I did some research on the Internet, and I found they seemed really 'easy'. There weren't huge complications like with some piercings, and it wasn't a too intimate place to let a piercer venture before I was ready etc. So I decided to go for it!
I'd planned to get it done on Saturday 5th May, but due to a change of plan by my friends, we ended up going to Leeds for the day to promote my friend's band and go to the Turkish café with the shish pipes! After venturing around the city for a while, I decided I really wasn't happy with the prices and the service of the studios I'd found, so I chose to go to Manchester on the Sunday, where I knew I'd be safe!
So, Sunday morning I woke up and began to get myself ready. I felt fine, having some cereal for breakfast and relaxing, but as it got closer and closer to getting there, I began to feel sick and nervous! I arranged to get the train with two of my friends, so I had some support! Plus one of the girls was getting a piercing too. We arrived in Manchester Victoria in the early afternoon, and decided to go to the Arndale Market to get a Slush drink – good and sugary!!
We walked towards Holier Than Thou, chatting on the way about how excited we were and what we thought it might be like. I was starting to feel a bit jittery by now! As we saw the sign in the distance, we began to slow down, and by the time we got to the front of the shop, we couldn't have gone slower if we tried. We both had doubts in our minds – were we really going to go through with this!?
We picked up a price list from the little holder in the doorway, and I found septum piercings were indeed £25, which I found very reliable. We took a deep breath and walked into the shop. A woman - who I don't know the name of sadly! – was stocking up the shelves. So we wandered around the shop, looking at the displays to see what they had. Sadly they didn't have any blackline retainers like I wanted, but titanium would do me fine!
I told the woman I would like a septum piercing, and she gave me the necessary forms to fill in, while I chatted to her, discussing whether the previous day's alcohol would be out of my blood stream by now! We only had to wait a few minutes before the boy who went in previously strolled out of the studio, and then it was our turn...!
All three of us went in, and the woman instructed us to sit on the bed whilst she washed her hands and put on an apron, mask and brought out a pair of gloves. I was nominated to go first! She felt my nose to find my sweet spot, and I asked her if I could have it as high as possible to minimise any viewing of my little piercing! She said it would be really difficult, because my nose is so tiny, and my nostrils so high. We discussed this for a while, but I wasn't chickening out now!
She gave me an alcoholic wipe to clean the inside of my nose, then she changed her gloves and got the instruments ready. She pierced me freehand, and made a fantastic job of it, if I may say so! It was practically painless, significantly less painful than my nipple was anyway! She gently slid the retainer in for me and cleaned me up. I popped off the bed and she handed me a piece of gauze to hold under my nostrils for any stray blood, but she informed me it was clotting straight away anyway!
She sprayed the bed and the trays with an antibacterial mixture, making sure everything was sterile and clean. Then it was my friend's turn...
I noticed how many times she changed her gloves during each procedure, and I was very impressed with the standard of service, the hygiene and the friendliness of the staff. I wouldn't hesitate to go back again!
My septum is currently doing really well, even though it's not even been a week yet. I talked to the lady about which cleaning regime would be the most effective, and just about everything I could think of! We discussed the ratio of people fainting – I learnt that people in Sheffield drop like flies compared to us up North!
Anyway, anyone thinking of septum piercings or going to Holier Than Thou. or both. Go for it. You won't regret it!!