I have always wanted my septum pierced. When I was 12 or 13, I'd put fake rings onto my septum and walk around my small, preppy community all day, just to see people's reactions. I loved the way it made me feel- confident, unique, and happy.
At A Glance Author Rancidity Contact thedyingeuphoria@musician.org IAM Rancidity When A week ago Artist He never told me his name Studio BDT Body Piercing Location Eastpointe, Michigan So a few weeks ago, I decided that for my 20th birthday, I would buy myself a piercing. I thought about what I wanted, and decided to get an 8 gauge conch piercing, because I knew my parents wouldn't let me get my septum pierced (I was 19 at the time, and didn't need their permission, but I usually try to follow their rules about what I can and can't do while I'm living in their house rent-free.)
I was fine with my decision for about a week, and then I realized that what I really wanted done was my septum, and the conch piercing was just a substitute. I knew it could be hidden very easily if pierced with a retainer or circular barbell, and so I set out to convince my parents. I knew my mom would be the easy one to persuade, but that my dad would be harder to convince.
Initially, both parents said no in no uncertain terms. My dad said it was what he considered a disgusting piercing, and that if he ever got a waitress in a restaurant with a septum piercing, he'd ask for another waitress to serve him. Hmm, this was going to be more challenging than I thought...
After some moping around and half-hearted begging, I gave up. I had gotten my mom to say it was okay, but she wouldn't give full permission as long as my dad said no. I asked her to help me convince him, and she agreed. He was outside working on my car, so she went outside and had a talk with him, and then he called me outside for a chat.
He said he was worried that I was closing doors for myself (I have big tattoos on the sides of my neck and a skull and crossbones on the back of my hand, multiple piercings, and rather large holes in my earlobes) and that he didn't want me to end up spending the rest of my life working in Hot Topic or some headshop. He was worried that I was making decisions at a young age that would significantly alter the course of my life. I explained to him once again that this was the only facial piercing that could be completely hidden, and explained that I understood the consequences of my actions, and that I was more concerned with being comfortable living in my own skin than I was about where I would work- I'd rather be happy and poor than miserable and rich. Plus, my ultimate goal is to become a tattoo artist, and I know I won't face discrimination in that field based on my modifications. Not to mention I'm in the process of earning a graphic arts degree, so I'll be college educated.
So he finally said yes, adding that I am not allowed to get any more piercings while I live under his roof. So step one was accomplished- I had permission.
Now came the search for a piercer willing to do the piercing at 12 gauge. My usual piercer doesn't do septums at all, so that was out. The piercer at Eternal, my other favourite shop, wouldn't do it any bigger than a 16 gauge, so that was out. Then I remembered BDT, a headshop that has a piercer on staff and really reasonable prices. I'd heard good things about the piercer there, and seen some good work on a few friends. I called and talked to the piercer, and he was willing to do the piercing with a 12 gauge circular barbell, exactly what I wanted. So the decision was made.
I was originally going to get the piercing on my birthday, May 14th, but the waiting was driving me crazy. I was even getting heartburn and headaches every day from the anticipation. So one night when the heartburn and headache were especially bad, I decided I'd do it early and get it pierced the next day. So I called my best friend, who goes with me to get all my piercings, and we decided to go as soon as the piercer got to work- 2:00.
The next day, I woke up early, ate a big breakfast, did some work around the house, and read a book to pass some time. Finally, it was 1:30- time to hit the road. I picked up my friend and we were off.
We got to the shop right after 2:00. There was nobody waiting, so I was able to get pierced right away. The piercer was also manning the front counter, so he had me fill out some forms and finished selling a bong to a dreadlocked kid. The kid left and then it was time.
The piercing room was small but clean. My friend came in with me, because I had read all sorts of horror stories about how bad it hurt to get your septum pierced, and decided that I needed someone in there with me.
The piercer washed his hands and put on some gloves. Then he grabbed a septum clamp and clamped my nose. He didn't feel around or anything, just stuck the clamp on and got ready to pierce. I found it very odd that he hadn't made any marks or even felt around in my nose to make sure he wasn't piercing cartilage, but I trusted his instincts. The clamps hurt, but not bad enough to make my eyes water. So I falsely believed that maybe the piercing wouldn't hurt that bad after all.
My friend was taking pictures with my cell phone and distracted me from watching what the piercer was doing. The next thing I knew, there was a needle against the left side of my septum. The piercer told me to take a deep breath, and I knew the drill- on the exhale, he'd pierce me. But he didn't, not on the first breath like my usual piercer. He had me take another breath, told me to close my eyes, and then on the exhale of the second breath I felt the needle slide through.
It hurt. It hurt as much as getting my neck tattooed, which was the most intense pain I've ever felt. The only good thing about the pain of this piercing was that it only lasted a split second. My eyes watered a bit, which I had expected, and then it was time for the jewelery. That hurt almost as much as the initial piercing, but that, too, was over in a split second. Once the ball was screwed on, he taught me how to flip it up so it was hidden- I had promised my parents that they'd never see it. My friend took a priceless picture of me with a finger up each side of my nose trying to figure out how to flip it down again. I finally succeeded, with a bit of pain and quite a bit of blood.
I completely forgot to ask to look in a mirror, and didn't remember until I had paid and was back in the car with my friend. I was lightheaded, so we sat in the car for a few minutes until the rush wore off. I adjusted my rearview mirror and took a look- it seemed perfect. Then, as the rush continued to wear off, I noticed that only one of the balls was hitting the skin below my nose- it was crooked. And I don't mean a little bit crooked. The piercing was so crooked that, upon further inspection, I realized that the left side of the jewelery was hitting the front of my nostril, while the right side was pretty much perfectly positioned. So I stormed back into the shop- I was PISSED. I went through all that pain just to have some crooked piece of metal sticking out of my nose.
The piercer explained that if I wore it flipped up, it would probably straighten out. I didn't believe him, so he said that if it didn't fix itself in a couple of weeks, I could come back and he'd redo it for free. I informed him that if it didn't straighten out, he'd be giving my money back and I'd be going elsewhere to get it repierced.
When I got home, I called a few different piercers for advice. One told me I was fucked and should take it out, and the others told me it could be fixed without having to repierce it. I was told to twist it so it was crooked in the opposite direction and hold it that way for a few minutes each day, and that it should be straight within a week. So every night for the past week, I've done what they told me to do, and now it's perfectly straight. I haven't been wearing it up, because the piercers I called said that wasn't necessary. And my parents have already gotten used to it, and stopped bugging me about flipping it up around them. It's not that I'm not willing to flip it up, it's just that it hurts because of the pressure it puts in the piercing.
I've been using Q-tips dipped in warm saltwater to clean the crusties off twice a day, and using a nasal syringe to rinse it with saltwater. The guy who pierced it didn't give me any aftercare directions, so I'm just using the method with which I've healed all my other piercings. The day after I got it, it was so sore I had to take 6 Ibuprofen the relieve the pain. But that was the only day it was that sore, and now it only hurts when I bump it or clean it.
So finally, after almost 7 years of waiting, this Taurus has her bullring, the last piercing of my teenage years.