everything you need to know about getting a septum piercing

Here. Have a far too close shot of my lower face. As you can see I do indeed have my septum pierced, a piercing I've always loved the aesthetic of and finally found the courage to book an appointment for. I got it done March 28th, so I've had for a few weeks now, but I wouldn't say it's one-hundred percent healed. I kind of wanted to talk about my experience with it since I want to add to the information out there. I know I was researching compulsively before I got my own done.

the basics: So you probably already know what the process is but what mine was sitting back on an extended piercer's chair, and he found my sweet spot (stick your fingers in your nose and find the ridge that's not cartilage right inside your nostrils) and clamped with these special 'scissors' that have a hollow tunnel on either end rather than blades. This didn't really hurt but it's a pinching pressure. He turned my head to the side to make sure his placement was right and then he slid the piercing needle through (side note: I got done at a 16 gauge) and then undid the jewelry and slid that in place of the placer needle.

the pain: Okay, so to preface I also have my conch pierced and that is a pretty thick bit of cartilage. The reason I bring this up is that I kind of wanted to compare. Technically I would say my conch hurt more because it was going through cartilage, but because of the angle of it was faster so I wasn't as aware of the pain for as long as I was with my septum. It took longer to get the jewelry in, which didn't really hurt at all but it was being 'picked' at longer so it felt higher on the pain scale. So overall I'd rate it at about a 5 or 6 out of 10. Some people don't have any pain at all, it depends on you and your nose. But I should state to about the sweet spot I mentioned earlier: some people's are too small or too difficult for the piercer to get at so you may (if you still want to) have to get it pierced through the actual cartilage part of the nose, which accounts for other people's experiences where it was more painful for them. Most people's sweet spots are accessible however.

the healing: like I just mentioned I wouldn't consider this one fully healed yet but in terms of the healing process, in comparison to my conch piercing was much easier. Comparing the pain I felt after both of these piercing, my conch definitely hurt more and for longer. My septum initially only hurt if I knocked it accidentally or moved my face in a way that sort of elongated my top lip (re: that face you make when applying mascara or rubbing your lips together). Beyond that it never bled or was swollen, so I took tylenol when the pain gave me headache, but that wasn't often. I generally just left it to do it's own thing and avoided touching it which the only time it was actually tender.

top tips: 

• "don't touch"- Seriously, just don't pick at it! If you get yours done with a horseshoe like mine, either commit to having it flipped up if you need to hide it or leave it down. Moving it only irritates the new hole and prevents scar tissue from forming. The temptation will be there to touch it but not only is that going to transfer bacteria/germs it'll only make your healing process longer. 
• "don't over clean" - Learned this the hard way personally. The inside of your nose is mucous membrane and prone to drying and any cleaning spray that your piercer gives you (which I would recommend by the way) or soap shouldn't be used a lot. You're going to dry out the membranes and make everything itchy and dry and consequentially you're going to want to pick. I cleaned mine probably once a day after initially getting it and then cut back to every second day.
• "boogers and crusties will happen, panic not" - Here is where salt soaks become your friend. If you can feel the crusties and see boogers, dissolve a teaspoon of salt in hot water and let it cool. Preferably do this in a smallish bowl so that after the solution cools you can stand over a sink and tip the brim up past your nose so your piercing is in the solution. Soak for 1-3 minutes and repeat a couple times and then gently use a q-tip to clean anything away. 
• "invest in q-tips" - Just do it. And keep them on your person always. I find it's easier to remove...stuff with and they're really good for spraying some cleaning solution on kind of twisting up into each nostril and leaving to soak the pierced hole directly. You'll like some kind of weird walrus but just trust me. 

And that's pretty much it! I'll hopefully be changing my jewelry to a clicker soon so I'll let you know how that works out and what to expect. If I do an online order for jewelry I'll most likely post a review as well.

Convince you to get your septum done? Generally helpful? If you have any other questions, comment! 

xx.

r

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