At A Glance Author trashqueen Contact trashqueen@bme.anon When A year ago Artist Marcus Studio Holier Than Thou Location Manchester, UK Despite having my earlobes, right helix, right nostril, belly button, and the centre of my lip pierced by the age of 24, I never thought about getting my septum done. I remember when I was 15 and wanting to get my nose pierced, my dad said 'no', as he thought I'd have a ring through my nose 'just like a bull!' (When I finally got my nose pierced at 17, he didn't speak to me for several days...he still doesn't like piercings)
Anyway, having my septum pierced never really appealed to me; I thought it looked too hard and scary, and that was the impression I though a lot of people had of me already, as I'm not particularly girly or petite.
However, at the beginning of last year (2006), I started thinking about getting more piercings, over two and a half years after I got my lip pierced. The question was: what to get? The place I was volunteering at was OK about my piercings; however, the agency I was working at was not, meaning I needed retainers for my nose and lip and to take out most of my ear piercings. This wasn't great, but I needed the money! I didn't want to get anything that'd get in the way of progressing in my chosen career (especially as I'd finally found an area I wanted to go into). Generally, I find the voluntary sector much more accepting of visible piercings and tattoos than others, but the type of career I want to go into can involve a lot of face-to-face contact with the public, meaning I'd need to hide them a lot of the time.
So, I went on various forums and sites (as well as BME, of course!) and I thought a septum was ideal! Easily concealable while it's healing, and can be either 'in your face' or more subtle, depending on what jewellery you put in. The best thing was, it was a piercing that I didn't see a lot of people in my city with. I tend to get put off getting piercings that I see LOADS of people with (right now, side lip rings and stretched ears are really popular).
The next question was: where to go? I had a good hard look at my piercings, particularly my belly button and my lip which were done at the studio I went to before. They were (and still are) great, but my lip in particular looked a bit off-centre. It looks fine with a ring in, but I wanted my septum and any future piercing to be done 100% right.
So I returned to BME. And the name that kept coming up? Holier Than Thou. I checked out the shop beforehand while doing some training in Manchester, and decided to go for it the day before my birthday (3rd June 2006). I rung a few days beforehand to check that they could do it on the day, and they just said to drop in.
On the day, I got into Manchester early (wearing a black T-shirt in case I bled everywhere), bought a digital camera, and did some window shopping. I then went to Afflecks Palace on the way to go to the toilet and have a final look at myself in the mirror.
Before I knew it, I was there! For about five minutes, I just looked in the window psyching myself to walk in. Eventually, I thought: Let's just do it!
I walked in and the receptionist greeted me. Still, I just looked at jewellery for several minutes, plucking up the courage to finally do it. (By the way, I always get like this during a piercing, even though it's rarely a spur of the moment thing). As I was finally building up the courage to walk up to the desk, the receptionist said 'Are you OK there?'
Right, I thought. It's now or never.
'Uh, I'd like my septum pierced, please'
'OK'
The receptionist (sorry, I can't remember her name!) gave me an aftercare sheet and the usual consent forms. I was so nervous that I could barely take in all the details! Filled everything in, apart from the question 'Have you had any alcohol in the past 24 hours?' Panicking as I remembered that I'd gone for a quick drink with my friend after work (not the most advisable thing to do the evening before a piercing...) I panicked even more as I answered 'yes', thinking it wouldn't happen today after all. The receptionist merely noted it down on my consent form, and said that Marcus would be out in a minute.
I looked around for a bit, feeling glad that I'd had something to eat (a tip I picked up on BME!) After a few minutes, Marcus came out and told me to come into the studio. It looked very clean, and I spotted what looked like an autoclave, which I was relieved about. I remembered to switch off my mobile (despite nobody ever ringing me) and sat down on the bench. Marcus was really friendly and put me at ease. He explained what he was going to do, and showed me the brand new needle - it looked huge!! Even though I am used to being pierced, I don't particularly like looking at needles, but I needed to so that I knew it was a fresh one. Marcus also said he was going to pierce it with a bullet retainer rather than a U-shaped one, as there would be a better chance of it healing straight. (I should mention as well that he washed his hands and changed his gloves several times during the process).
After Marcus had put his fingers up my nose to find the 'sweet spot', I closed my eyes, took some deep breaths, and felt the needle go through my right-hand side. Ooooooch! It did hurt for a second, then it felt OK. I thought Marcus was about to put the retainer in, but then he said the needle still had to come out the other side. I definitely felt it going through! It did hurt a little, but I knew it'd be over soon. The jewellery was put in, and then it was all over.
I kept my eyes shut for a bit before opening them and wiping the tears away. Then (a bit late in the day to ask this, I know), I asked Marcus if the retainer was going to be visible and what gauge it was. I looked in the mirror, and...I could hardly see it! I had to really look up my nose to see the 1.6 mm (14g) retainer with the O-ring on the end. Marcus explained the aftercare to me (use cotton buds (Q-tips?) to clean round it twice a day with a cooled solution of 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt in 8 fl oz of boiled water). I thanked him at least twice, then went out to pay. The receptionist asked me how it went, and I said I felt OK. Paid £25, made sure the aftercare sheet was in my bag, then left with a big smile on my face that didn't go for hours. Every time I went past a mirror, I kept looking up my nose, which might have puzzled a few people. That night (before going to see a gig - again, probably not advisable) I made up the solution and cleaned my lovely new piercing. I was a bit concerned it would be too mild, but it definitely did the trick!
Nobody noticed when I went back to work on Monday (by then, I'd dumped the agency and was working as a trainee housing adviser), but the next day my nose kept running, meaning sneaking to the toilet to carefully remove any crusty stuff sticking out of my nose. The only people who noticed my septum were one of my workmates (who's shorter than me) and my mum who asked me 'What's that in your nose?' five minutes after meeting her at the train station (yes, she's shorter than me too!) Both times, I still had the retainer in.
Generally, the healing went well, apart from me knocking it about six weeks later at work when I laughed at someone mispronouncing my workmate's surname!
In terms of the jewellery I tried to wear after it had healed (another six weeks or so after knocking it), that's another story in itself. I've eventually gone for wearing a U-shaped retainer when I want it on show, and continuing to wear the bullet retainer at other times, as the U-shaped one won't flick up.
I'm really glad I got my septum pierced, and will definitely make the trip over to Holier Than Thou for any future piercings.