Nose Piercing 101

When I got my nose pierced I had a lot of questions, and as much as I searched I couldn't find the answers to most of them. Most of my questions now seem silly to me, but I have to wonder that if I had these question chances are someone else does too. So let's get started. 

What happens, how much does it cost, and how much does it hurt?
From all of my experience (meaning getting mine done, and when my sister got hers done) you don't need an appointment. Now, this could depend on the shop, and how busy it is. I paid $35 to get mine done, but once again it depends on the shop, and this includes jewelry. My best advice for you would be to get it done on a Friday the 13th (the next one is in April) because usually shops pierce for $13 on that day. 
Now, everyone pierces a little bit differently. Some shove something up your nose (like a tube or cork) some places don't. I didn't. They clean your nose of with some rubbing alcohol. Now one thing I cannot stress enough is get it done with a needle. Some people say you can use a gun. Don't do it. It can break the cartilage in your nose and there are just way too many risks. Your piercer will have you take a big breath in and when you breathe out he'll stick the needle in. I experienced no pain. You could feel a piece of metal in your nose, but it was nothing more than slightly uncomfortable. My eyes didn't water, but a lot of people's do. Once the needle is in they do their magic and twist it around and BAM your jewelry is in. Getting the jewelry in was a bit more painful, but on a scale from 1-10 it was about a 2. If you're going to bleed this is when it'll happen. I didn't very much, but my sister did. It depends on your body. But chances are you won't bleed a lot. If you really want to get your nose pierced (or any piercing for that matter.) you've just got to forget about the potential pain and do it. 

How do I clean it, and my face in general during the first few weeks?
Cleaning your new piercing is a breeze. I used H2Ocean and I highly recommend it. You simply spray it on your nose at least twice a day and you're done. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. 
Now, silly as it may seem, my biggest question was how to wash my face with a new piercing. Clean it as normal. It's not going to hurt if you get a little bit of your face wash by it. You will want to be careful with a washcloth, as you don't want the jewelry to get caught in the material cause that will hurt like none other. I'd also recommend not wearing too much makeup for the first couple of months. Give it some time to heal. 

Can I go swimming with a fresh piercing?
A lot of people say no. But, I got mine done in June and nothing was going to keep me out of good ole' Lake Michigan. Now, you do run risk of infection and all that other bologna. Here's what I did, though: As soon as I got out of that water and dried off I used my handy dandy H2Ocean. Done. Didn't worry about it, and I've had zero complications. 


How does the jewelry work?
There are three different main kinds of noise jewelry. The "Corkscrew" the "L" and the "Bone". I have tried all three. You will get pierced with the corkscrew. Its the perfect thing to get pierced with because it's hard to get out. You have to do a lot of maneuvering. As good as the corkscrew is because it doesn't come out easily, it's also a bugger to get in. Now after your six or so weeks with that in you may decide to change it (or if you're like me you'll be playing with it and it somehow comes out and you can't get it back in so you have to drive to your cousin's like a mad-man for some help.). The first time a changed mine I used a bone. I liked them... for awhile. The bone jewelry is basically just a straight piece of metal with a little tiny ball at the end. The great thing about them is that they're super easy to put in. Straight through and you're done. The not so great thing about them is the feeling of your flesh being ripped when taking it out. Especially if it's been in for a couple weeks. It hurts ten times worse than getting it pierced. So, then, if you decide to go to a smaller gauge so it doesn't hurt it will just fall out. Which is no good either. Now, onto the last type of jewelry (and my favorite!) is the L. It is shaped like an L, and though it's not quite as easy to put in as the bone it's much less painful. It's actually sort of hard to explain how to put it in/take it out. So here's a video. 


If you have any questions feel free to ask below in the comment section!