As so many others have written before me, my longing for a nose piercing began at an early age. I had always imagined a tiny stud in my right nostril that would sparkle when it caught the light, yet I had never seriously considered going out and getting it done – partly because I was still in school and didn't fancy having to wear a plaster over my nose (!) like some of the other girls with their less desirable big gold studs, and partly because I wasn't 100% sure that if I went into a tattoo studio and told them I was only 16 they wouldn't laugh me out of the building. Yet one day I stumbled across some photos of an old friend looking more beautiful than ever and showing off the exact stud I had dreamed of. I instantly realised this was how I wanted to look and the nose piercing would be the way to go about it. Once my mind was set there was no going back, and I spent weeks, if not months, looking at pictures, reading reviews of studios and comparing opinions of how painful the procedure was before deciding that Twisted Barrels Tattoo Studio sounded like the best, if not the only option of where to get pierced, as the other studios in Chester seemed to have pretty bad reviews. Still lacking in confidence and being unsure of the rules regarding parental consent I asked my mum to ring the studio and find out whether they would be willing to do it for me, and whether they wouldn't be using a gold stud or a ring, which I wasn't sure I wanted to be stuck with until it had healed. When she got off the phone I was thrilled to hear that it was fine for me to have it done at 16, and that they had plenty of jewellery for me to choose from. I can't remember exactly why I delayed going and getting it done for a while, but I know that it was booked up on that occasion and the next time my mum rang they told her the girl who usually dealt with piercings was ill and would not be back for a long time, if ever. I was gutted, but still pretty determined. I had initially been put off the Golden Dragon after reading that they still used a gun to pierce noses, but decided since there didn't seem to be many other options there'd be no harm in ringing and seeing what they had to say for themselves. Turned out I had another dilemma; I was pleased to discover that they didn't use a gun, but a little disappointed that I wouldn't have a choice of jewellery and I would have to be pierced with a ring. Being a bit of a rocker/hippy at heart, I did quite like the look of a nose ring, but was still unsure I'd have to the confidence to wear it when I started at college the next week. However, after a lot of uming and ahhing, I still desperately wanted to get it done as soon as possible, and with no other apparent options, I decided I'd go for it and book to have it done at the Golden Dragon.
At A Glance Author anonymous When A year ago Artist Mark Studio Golden Dragon Tattoo Studio Location Chester, England When the day came, I was nervous, but also really excited that I'd be getting a "real" piercing. It was a weekday in the holidays, so my mum was at work and wouldn't be able to come with me, and none of my friends seemed to be available, so it looked like I was going on my own. What I was most nervous about was not so much facing the pain by myself, but the thought of going into a tattoo studio – a place that had always been alien to me, and I had no idea what I was expected to do when I go there, or what a load of heavily tattooed people would think of a shy little teenage girl walking in.
I set off from home with plenty of time. I had told my grandparents, who happened to be visiting, that I was going to meet a friend in town – I knew they'd be beside themselves with worry if I told them where I was really going. I found the studio easily, and was still a bit early, and as the windows were blacked out and I couldn't see whether they were busy or not, I walked around outside for a bit until the exact time of my appointment. I walked in nervously, and was greeted by the girl with pink hair (sorry, I didn't find out her name) who was already expecting me and seemed really friendly, putting me at ease as she asked me to fill in the forms and then take a seat while Mark was just finishing a tattoo. There were only a couple of other people in the room looking at tattoos, and I was surprised by how calm I became considering how soon I'd be getting pierced – I think I was just relieved that it was pretty much all sorted out and I could just sit there and look at the artwork on the walls for a while. When I was eventually taken into the back room to have it done, I was amazed by all of Mark's tattoos, and he also seemed really nice, referring to me as "babe" after pretty much every sentence (!), although I think I annoyed him asking which side people usually got pierced, yet he just told me it didn't matter and was completely up to me. I was sat down in a chair that I can't describe as anything than other than one of those office ones you can spin around on! As I looked around the room, it seemed different to the minimalist doctor's surgery kind of look I was expecting, with a bookshelf and a bit more clutter. It did however all look suitably clean and I checked that he was using a new needle and everything else I had read I was supposed to look for before closing my eyes as he measured what size jewellery I'd need and cleaned the area, getting ready to pierce it. I took a deep breath as he said he was about to do it. The couple of seconds as the needle was going through I can honestly say felt like the most painful of my life, and I moaned "AHHH!" as my face screwed up and water was streaming from my eye (I knew that this was supposed to happen but I still couldn't decide whether it was just my body's reaction or I was actually crying in pain!) I hadn't realised but by this point I was really tense, hunched forward bracing myself for the pain of the ring being put in. Mark reassured me that I had been through the worst bit and that I needed to relax, as the ring being put in wouldn't hurt. Sure enough, the rest of the experience seemed pretty painless, although that could have just been in relation to the feeling of the needle going through! When he'd finished, he got the girl to clean my nose up a bit (it hadn't bled too much) and she gave me some tissue and explained all about the aftercare procedure as well as giving me a leaflet with it all written down. She told me I could take the ring out and put any jewellery in it after two weeks, which seemed a very short time (considering my ear lobes had taken ei The healing process went pretty painlessly (literally) and I didn't have any trouble with the infections people seemed certain I was guaranteed to get having had my nose pierced. I bought some studs from Claire's Accessories, and after the two weeks was over I was excited to take it out. However, it wasn't as easy as I had expected and it took a couple of days of turning and pulling and a lot of determination to get that ball off! I replaced it with one of the studs, but I wouldn't recommend the style of the stud I chose, as it was a thin bar with a thicker stopper on the end to stop it falling out of the hole, and as the piercing was still healing it kind of closed up around the bar making it really difficult to pull the thicker end through the hole. However, other than that, despite the short time I had to keep the ring in I was quite concerned about, my piercing was pretty much problem-free and I love how it looks. I would tell anyone to get their nose pierced at the Golden Dragon, just as long as you aren't picky about your jewellery!