The first piercing I ever had done was my septum. If you don’t know, it’s the bit of skin at the bottom of the nose, between the nostrils.
I had it done at a place on Holloway Road, this being the nearest place to my home at the time, now long gone, and, i suppose, the least intimidating looking of places.
And it hurt. And it makes your eyes water. In fact, many nose piercings do.
The first jewellery was very thin and small, small enough to flip it up into your nose to hide it. I know some people do stretch their piercings, but I didn’t. The natural weight of the jewellery made it stretch and now it’s 5mm, and that is where it likes to be.
Having never had a piercing before, I was very self-conscious about it. The healing seemed to take a long time, and often I thought I had made mistake. It wasn’t how I wanted it. But getting a piercing teaches you patience, and it is definitely something you get used to.
Many piercings hurt, of course they do, someone is sticking a needle into your flesh. But it’s only for a second or two. Some piercings heal quickly, others take months.
And apparently, the septum piercing is the second sexiest piercing.