So, I wrote this out once before, but my internet decided to eat it, so I'm trying again.
At A Glance Author Jocelyn Contact Jocelyn@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Pat Studio Slave to The Needle Location Ballard, WA For as long as I can remember I always liked the appearance of a well placed nostril piercing. But, I never liked teeny tiny studs because they always sort of looked like a zit or blackhead to me. So I decided, if I were ever to have my nose pierced, it would be with a ring, or a much bigger more decorative stud. But several things kept me from piercing my nose, mainly my age ( any studio that pierces underage won't be getting my business) and my lack of permission from a parent. Also, the guy I had been dating for a long time wasn't a fan of any piercing. So, I only had lobe holes for a long time.
But, fast forward a bit to this summer. The relationship with the guy ended, and as I was getting on a plane to go to Europe with a friend, I jokingly mentioned being able to get my nose pierced now. My moms completely unexpected response was " You know, I was thinking that too, we can do it when you get back" So I flew off to Europe for three weeks.
In my last week in England, I decided I should probably start looking up studios in the Seattle area. So, I hopped onto BME and started looking through experiences until I found some Seattle area studios with good recommendations. It basically came down to two studios, Slave to the Needle in Ballard, or Deep Roots in Seattle. Deep roots didn't have a website I could get onto, or any sort of contact information I could find. Slave to the Needle had a good, easy to navigate website. Their piercers seemed to have lots of experience and excellent portfolios. They also mentioned strict codes of cleanliness, which was important to me. I called my mom, and she made an appointment with them for a few days after I got back. She said the person who would be poking me was called " Attenwood" or something similar, but it turned out to be pat.
I flew back in from Europe, and rested for a few days. On the day of my appointment, my mom and I headed out kind of early, went and had breakfast and were on our way. At this point, I realized I had forgotten my ID, so we went back and got it. I was a bit nervous, which isn't something I normally do. Our waitress had a pierced nose and she assured me it was easy as pie.
We drove to Ballard and ended up being really early, we found the studio and then went to the Ballard market to pick up some various things. After we got out of there, it was still early, so I decided just to go and have it done now.
We went into the studio, and they photocopied our ID's onto the paperwork sheet. My mom and I went and looked at jewelry, and they handed us the sheet to fill out. We filled it out, and Pat came out to talk to us. I asked about the possibility of doing it with a ring, and he said sure it was possible, he just wasn't sure if they had the ring they normally used in stock. He went back to check, and my mom and I picked out a " just in case" stud. (They were larger flowers, very pretty.) Pat told us to come on back, and my mom asked to see what I had picked out. He showed us a ring and explained that they normally pierce noses at 18g, but this one was 16 because they had run out of 18.I said that was fine. The ring is a stainless steel, 5/16" fixed ball.
He had me lay down on the little green vinyl chair thingy, and take down my hair. He kept up the small talk while cleaned and then marked my nose ( and told me if the marking was only an irritation, that the piercing would be easy) He then laid a little thingy over my nose so that the area that would be poked stuck out. It also covered my eye.
He told me to take two deep breaths, and on the second exhale he would pierce me. This of course, made me hold my breath. So when he pierced me I apparently made a squeaky sound. It felt more like a pinch, and I didn't even feel it when he put the jewelry in. I asked him if he was done yet. He laughed and told me that was what he wanted to hear. He then explained that he pierces half a size bigger to help have the jewelry insertion be less painful.
I then sat up carefully and he explained the aftercare to me. Telling me not to use q-tips or cotton balls around the area because fibers of cotton can easily be stuck and create and abscess.
We paid, and it came to about $50 including a tip. It bled really heavily for the next couple of days, which was quite disgusting to clean off. ( Everyone loves a thick black crust ALL OVER their nose)
I've been soaking it twice a day for 10 minutes, as recommended. It is doing very well, and appears that it will heal beautifully.