So about five years ago I decided I wanted to get my nostril pierced...scholarship applications and general uncertainty kept me from it, and about a week ago I realized that I still wouldn't mind having that done. So I did some research (which I think is a good idea for anyone getting some sort of modification done), found a decent place, and decided to go for it next Saturday (aka today).
At A Glance Author lola Contact belldandy@adelphia.net When It just happened Artist Eric Hoyer Studio Blue Byrd Tattoo & Piercing Location Miamisburg, OH I chose Blue Byrd Tattoo and Piercing because it had great reviews, a few locations (which to me adds to their credibility--if you have more than one shop, you must be doing something right), a decent website, and they were right next to the Dayton Mall, which I happen to love. So I grabbed a friend, drove the 45 minutes (I live in Cedarville), and shopped around for a bit before heading over to the shop. As soon as I walked in, I was impressed. The place was clean, interesting, large, well-lit...all good signs. A man greeted us as soon as we walked in and directed us where to go, which was nice. After waiting in line behind an unreasonably displeased customer (something about him wanting a barbell and being sold the wrong size--which happened to be the right size, the guy was just an idiot), I finally talked to the piercer and got my paperwork filled out. He said it would be a few minutes as there was someone in front of me; that was fine. I went and waited on their giant couch for a while in the meantime.
After a good 20 minutes, I was made aware that it was taking a little longer because the girl in the piercing room "wasn't feeling well," which was also no big deal--I was impressed they were able to fit me in at all, they appeared to be fairly busy. A few minutes longer and I saw her walk out and eventually he waved me over. He sat me down, started talking about what was going to happen, snapped on some gloves...I was a little nervous, but nothing major. A lady (the other piercer that worked there) came in and said, "Um, she hasn't paid yet..." Oh. I hopped up and followed him out to the desk. 48 bucks later I was back in the chair listening to the rest of the speech. He was very calming, told me exactly what he was doing before he did it, i.e. "...aaaaand alcohol swab...dipping the toothpick...marking the spot, there we gooo..." After making the dot, he had me hop up and look at it (which, by the way, was perfect first time), and then I sat back down and he told me to lean back as he inserted the receiving tube up my nose. He had me shut my eyes, breathe in, out, in, out....and then came the needle. It hurt pretty much just like I thought it would, which I feel can only be described as a giant pointy piece of steel being shoved through your cartilage, which ironically enough is exactly what it is. It did hurt, but only while the needle was going through (about three seconds, albeit a LONG three seconds). After it hit the other side, it just felt funny, like some strange pressure or something. He cleaned up the blood (there wasn't much) and then the tears that had started to inevitably form, being very careful with the q-tip to not mess up my make-up...which I appreciated; I love my eyeliner :)
He asked how I was feeling, which really wasn't that bad, all things considered...I was a little shaky, a little out of it, but not light-headed or anything. He started in on the aftercare speech (which I had already read 40 times on the internet) and I nodded and said yes to everything, even though I wasn't 100% aware of what he was talking about due to the whole needle-through-the-face thing that just happened--a REALLY good reason to bring a friend. He even offered to change the jewelry for free when I was done healing, which I thought was nice, as well as re-insert it if this one fell out...these things are "a bitch to put back in" apparently. I thanked him and headed out to my car and off to Target to buy the saline solution and Dial.
I will say that it was pretty sore for a few hours afterwards, and it definitely felt weird...I even talked a little funny for the first hour just because it felt strange to make my nose move at all. It didn't hurt it, but when I laughed I was definitely aware that there was a piece of metal jammed in there. That might just be me though...and I did get used to it after a while. Half way through the Target run I was feeling pretty decent, the soreness had went down, it wasn't bleeding...pretty much what I expected due to all of the thing I had read prior to going in and getting it done. If you're nervous at all, just read a lot of people's stories and things like that...it helps calm you I've found.
So it's been about five hours now and the most I can complain about is the soreness, and that's not even very much. I haven't cleaned it yet (he told me not to until I shower this evening), but I don't think that will be an issue...the most painful part is over, and now I just have to not mess with it for two months.
Blue Byrd Tattoo and Piercing was fantastic. I very highly recommend them if you live around Dayton...they were clean, polite, professional, interesting...I was especially impressed with Eric, mostly because he had just dealt with a ridiculously bitchy customer AND had a girl practically pass out on him before he got to me and still had it in him to make me feel comfortable and welcome. I think that says a lot about a person. Needless to say I was very impressed.