I've wanted my nose pierced since I was twelve, but my mum always said "When you're older, when you're older." Over and over. In the mean time I researched endlessly, reading experiences and care guides, and watching videos online. (Though the videos scared the heck out of me!)
At A Glance Author InsertWittyAlias Contact InsertWittyAlias@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist Unknown Studio Trendz Location Dunedin, New Zealand Finally, when I was 14, the day came. Mum said I could. Finding a time to get it done was difficult, as we rarely get into town, but we found one free Friday, I had the money, and we were set.
Going into the store is quite possibly the most scared I've been in my entire life. At first it was just exciting, an adventure to be had, but once it was paid for, and I'd picked my stud (a simple green gem, and they gave me a smiley face one as well, just in case.) I got really nervous. I remember sitting in the waiting room hyperventilating and crying on my mum's shoulder, way more scared than I should have been. When the time came to go up though, I managed it. (Barely)
It's funny, once I got into the piercing room, most of the fear was gone. I don't remember my piercer's name, but she was friendly, funny, and made me feel very at ease. She asked me exactly where I wanted the piercing, and which of my studs I wanted it pierced with, and drew me a little dot as a guide. After a quick check in the mirror, and some sterilization time, I lay down and it was on with the clamp. (I think I almost broke my mum's hand with how hard I was holding it, but she didn't mind.)
You hear loads and loads of stories about how the clamp is always way more painful than the needle, and you barely even feel the needle going in. That's not really true. (Or at least it wasn't in my case.) The clamp hurt like hell, and it actually relaxed me, as in my innocence I thought the needle wouldn't hurt nearly this badly.
I was so kidding myself. The clamp helped, it made it less painful than it would have been if she had just stuck the needle in (Or I noticed it less, compared to the clamp) but it still really hurt. I can remember the piercer telling me it was normal for the eyes to leak when the needle went in (Maybe so I wouldn't be so self-conscious if I cried?) and then telling me to close my eyes and count to three. I did, and she put the needle in. It hurt. A lot. Actually, given the mixed 'it didn't hurt at all' stories, and the 'it's gonna hurt' my mum (who used to have her nose pierced) was telling me, it hurt pretty much exactly as much as I had estimated.
I opened my eyes a crack when the needle was in, and then just shut them. Seeing a needle stuck through your nose is NOT a pleasant experience. I could feel her fiddling with the needle and the stud and the tube, and that was about the scariest moment when I was actually in there, since I had no idea what was going on, and no desire to open my eyes again. I just squeezed mum's hand, and I remember asking about three times if it was over yet.
Finally, she removed the clamp. I sat up, and went straight to the mirror. There was blood around the stud (which she dabbed away, and told me to allow to clot.) but it looked fantastic. The piercer gave me all my care information, and then we were off to the mall, for celebration milkshakes, ignoring everyone who stared at the bloody spot on my nose.
I was very careful to follow my aftercare instructions to the letter, but a couple of weeks later, when I was at the pool, my stud snagged on my brother's hair, and went into the water, where none of us could find it. Oops.
I freaked out completely, and had to call my dad to come and get us. In the mean time, I washed my brother's earring and put it in the hole, to stop it closing over. We got home, and I put my spare in. (Fantastic foresight from the people at Trendz.) I was a bit worried, but I sterilized everything about a million times, and I didn't have any problems with infection.
After that, the stud came out a couple more times during the healing process, but each time I just sterilized the whole lot, and put it back in. I had occasional problems when I couldn't find the back of the hole, but it healed beautifully, and I couldn't be happier with my piercing. I find myself playing with it all the time, just sliding it half out, and then back in. I have plans to get my bellybutton pierced soon, at the same shop of course!