The septum was my first piercing. I went to the shop with my friend at the time [now boyfriend] Paul, who offered to pay for whatever I wanted in exchange for my company on the trip. So after giving it some thought and I told him what I planned to get, he was very supportive of it. Some other people I had talked to about it tried to discourage me and generally didn't like the idea of body mods in the first place. I think it's so nice and important to have friends that support you in being happy and being you. A lot of people probably won't understand but you can't let that get you down or keep you from doing what floats your boat and makes you happy. By listening only to myself and not the bad things people were saying about it I really felt like I was finally doing something for me. I felt like the owner and boss of my own body, and surprisingly I had never felt like that before. So we headed out. The whole way there I was nervous. I didn't know what to expect, I had never done anything besides the typical "ear piercing" at the mall at age twelve. I felt like a total wuss and I figured I'd probably embarrass myself in front of the piercer and Paul. I was just hoping I didn't throw up or pass out. But when my time came I was ready. I hopped up on the table like a good little girl. Sean Philips from Marlowe Ink in Fairfax, Virginia, was very nice, very professional, funny. He put me as ease, took my mind off of things by shootin' the shit with me and my friend while prepping. He asked me what I did for work, and had a good laugh, as many people do, when I told him I groomed llamas.
At A Glance Author Melanie Contact Melanie@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Sean Philips Studio Marlowe Ink Location Fairfax, VA First he cleaned my boogies out, of course, and marked me. He had me lay down on the table and stood above me. By now I wasn't feeling too nervous anymore, the anxiety had morphed into being REALLY excited, and proud that I hadn't chickened out yet and that I was actually going through with it. He had me take three breaths, then one last breath while he counted to three, and I exhaled slowly. He pushed the needle through to the recieving tube, while I started drowning once my eyes started to water, to which he said, "that's a natural reaction, I know you're not crying and you're still just as badass". He put the jewelry in, a 14g curved barbell [I didn't even feel it], there was very little blood or pain involved. It was not the most comfortable thing ever - but it wasn't as bad as everyone tried to make it out to be. I sat up and I never felt so happy, proud and excited in my life. The adrenaline was pumping and I was hooked. I realized what a wonderful vehicle of expression body mods were, and suddenly a person with no artistic talent [that would be me] could not just make art but actually BE art. Three steps out of the shop and I knew multiple other things I absolutely had to have now, fascinated by other aspects of body mod like tattooing, suspensions, tight lacing. I wouldn't stop talking about how much I liked it and how happy I was and thanking Paul for bringing me with him and buying it for me. I think he wanted to punch me because I wouldn't shut up.
It was pretty sore for the first week, and I really realized that first week how easily and how often you can accidentally smack yourself in the nose/face. I did a sea salt soak twice a day for a week and then once a day after that, and after that first week I was able to flip it up and down and had absolutely no problems with it. I love the way it looks and I think it suits so many different face shapes and looks that's it's hard to make this piercing look bad. It's also easy to hide for work, which is a major plus for myself and many others I'm sure. Since then it's healed and I've stretched it to a 10g, and let me tell you stretching your septum is a whole different story than stretching your ears, but I plan to take it to an eight, maybe a six or four or two or ... well, you get the picture. Just like with anything else, if you want it, and it makes you happy, get it and don't listen to what anyone else says. Unless they say it's awesome, or you're awesome. You can listen to that.