I'd never been one for facial piercings, having always thought that they have a negative impact on finding a job, which is obviously a very important thing to consider - money making the world go round and all. I also had a problem with my parents being totally anti-piercing, hence all my piercings being in 'hidden' places or places that they wouldn't be able to see and thus have a problem with.
At A Glance Author Justine Contact Justine@bme.anon When A year ago Artist Liezel Studio Wildfire Studios Location Cape Town, South Africa That said, I had 12 piercings and badly wanted another one. The craving comes around every year or so, and I have a tragus ring, a web ring, a tongue ring, nipple ring, naval ring, VCH and 6 ear piercings. So, I am no stranger to the wonderful world of piercing studios and the resultant pain, healing and enjoyment of the metal.
I had been contemplating a nose ring for some time and was at work in November 2006 when I asked a colleague how my company viewed facial piercings. He laughed and said as long as I don't come to work naked, pretty much anything goes. This spurred me on and I immediately phoned my boyfriend and told him 'we're going to the piercing studio tonight'
I'd been to Wildfire on many occasions - to have my nipple ring changed to a bar, to buy jewelry and to chat to their tattoo-artist about a new tattoo. It's located in a huge shopping mall, called Canal Walk. The studio is divided into a piercing parlour and a tattoo parlour and both are tastefully decorated with a sort of gothic vibe that screams 'deviant behaviour' *g* they have beautiful fish tanks full of tropical fish to calm your nerves while you wait. They also stock a large range of jewelry from titanium to large gauge, which is well-priced and they fit new jewelry for free.
I paid up and chose my jewelry. It must be noted that the first piece of jewelry for a nose ring is not a flat stone, but rather one that's quite raised. This is so it doesn't get stuck in your skin while it's going through its swelling stage. I also chose a plastic inner, which is easier to change and is less obvious than a totally-metal stud. You can also just pop the stone out of the sleeve and put another one in, when you're ready to. They advise that you wait 6 months to do this.
The actual piercing was quite nerve-wracking. Naturally I was afraid of the pain, it being so close to my eyes. I think the adrenalin rush is the best and worst part of any piercing. Liezel prepared my nose, marked it, popped out a new needle and sterilised everything. I had to flare my nostrils to get the perfect position, so I felt a bit silly sitting there like a racehorse, raring to go, but obviously I wanted a perfect placement. Then she told me to take a deep breath and breathe out. On the out breath she pierced me. It wasn't actually that sore, more like a pinch. But my eyes started watering immediately and my nose swelled up.
The placement was perfect and despite being unable to ignore my nose which was getting bigger and bigger by the second, I was ecstatic. Walking around was made pretty interesting, having never had my nose as a focal point of my vision. I also worried that it was skew, being that I could see it and it seemed awfully large and strange. My boyfriend assured me it looked fine.
The next morning it bled slightly and the stud had popped out slightly, and was slightly painful to push back in. Apart from that swelling started going down and soon my nose was back to its normal size. The only problem was that the stud caught on things (such as towels and t-shirts) and made the healing take longer as it was constantly being pushed around. I also didn't like the way the stud stuck up and it was constantly in my field of vision.
I changed the jewelry to a flat stud 3 months later and it's behaved itself beautifully ever since. These days I play with it constantly (probably not recommended) and that's because my stud keeps popping out. This is my second stud now, having lost the first one at a hotel and being unable to find it on their violently-patterned carpet. I also find that replacing the stud is really easy although if it falls out it can be impossible to find, being clear plastic and all. The stud itself is titanium and is a bit expensive (R80 = probably about 8GBP?) but worth it.
If you're ever in Cape Town, and want a piercing or tattoo, I highly recommend Wildfire. Their staff are amazing and they have wonderfully clean rooms. Liezel is a really talented artist and they're always really busy which is a good sign that people trust and respect them. My next step? A new tattoo!