A week before my twentieth birthday, my friend and I sheepishly stepped into Blue Byrd's doors. I'd never been there before, so I was relatively unsure of what to expect. As a matter of fact, it was the first shop I'd been in to get something done, even though I'd gone with my mom and sisters for their tattoos and piercings. I'd stretched my own ears at home using tapers, and I had no other modifications; just lots of wishful thinking.
At A Glance Author IAM: bethdurham Contact IAM: bethdurham@bme.anon IAM bethdurham When A week ago Artist Rob Studio Blue Byrd Location Middletown, OH I stepped up to the counter and told them what I wanted done, and a couple of the guys said, "All at once?!" I nodded, a little concerned about how much my face was about to hurt. I think someone said I was hardcore, which made me giggle and feel a little more relaxed. Because I told him I'd have to be able to hide it from work and grandparents, Rob had me pick out the septum retainer. He told me it'd be 25 minutes to sterilize, and then showed me these cute little onyx nose screws that had just recently come in. I, of course, loved them. Who doesn't love onyx?
After waiting, I stepped into the back room where I think the guys could tell I was a little nervous. They joked with me and definitely helped me to feel relaxed. I instantly liked Rob, which helped the process a lot since he was about two inches from my face a few times to get the nostril piercings even. His friend was in the back with us, and he was telling me things ranging from how much it was going to hurt to spook me (while Rob told him to stop being mean) to telling me funny stories. I knew he was trying to mess with me, so I didn't let the stories scare me... much. I knew a lot of low-pain-tolerant girls that had their septum pierced, so I knew I could handle at least that much.
After marching me around to people and asking if the dots were even, it was time to start. Rob cleaned the area really well, and the stuff smelled awful, but that fact it was up my nose didn't help. He did the first nostril, and the obligatory tears started running down my cheeks by default. It didn't hurt terribly, but it was worse than I had expected, so as he moved on to the second nostril, I let out a little scared noise involuntarily. I'm so hardcore, after all.
He got the bleeding to stop rather quickly, which I was happy about, and jokingly offered me my bloody booger. Yum. They still hurt, but it felt more sore than any other kind of pain (no throbbing or stinging or anything like that).
After that, he let me take a break for a second, and wiped away my tears that were for real after the second nostril. Then he started feeling around my septum (again maybe, I can't remember the order of everything) and waited a requested second while I gathered myself since I'd heard septums were more painful. I didn't wait long though, because I didn't want him to think I was going to wimp out.
The only part of the septum that I even felt was the initial sharpness of the needle on my skin; it was unexpectedly painless. There wasn't a pop like many say they hear, so I'm guessing I had plenty of skin. Rob complimented my thick blood, and for some reason I proudly stated that I was vegan... it made sense at the time.
I sat up and looked in the mirror at my shiny new nose and Rob asked if I liked them. I nodded happily and went to show everyone, both the employees and my friend, Tim, who came with me.
Aftercare was simple: wash it in the shower with a regular, non-harsh soap either in the morning or at night, and rinse with saline either in the morning or at night (opposite of each other). Don't play with it too much, and flip it up a lot so it stays straight (mine was perfectly straight so this wasn't terribly important).
Two weeks later, they are healing wonderfully. I lived in fear for 48+ hours as I waited for my first sneeze, but even that wasn't so bad. Oddly enough, I haven't really sneezed much since I got it done, which is unusual for me.
I'm really happy with the way they turned out, and I'm looking forward to my next trip to Blue Byrd to get more hole(s) or a tattoo. Work isn't too happy with the holes in my face, so I'm going to have to concentrate my modifications into hidden or hide-able places. Talk to me on IAM and give me suggestions!