I've been psyched for the last two weeks as I looked up information on septum piercings, asked lots of questions, and scrolled through BME pictures.
At A Glance Author Queen Wasp Contact Queen Wasp@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Russell Studio Legacy Imports Location San Joaquin County, CA Today was the day! My boyfriend and I sipped on coffee while we browsed through body jewelry and tattoo designs at Legacy Imports in Stockton, the same place I've had my tongue pierced at.
My boyfriend really despises septum piercings, but he always says it's my body, if that's what I want, then get it. He was there to get a tattoo, but hung around while I filled out paperwork for the piercing.
The piercer, Russell, stopped by the front counter to see what I wanted done, and I explained that I wanted to get a septum piercing that I would be able to hide by flipping the jewelry up. He looked at my nose and said that my nostrils were too small and he could still do a septum piercing, but the jewelry would be too big to flip up. I accepted his advice, and while I was disappointed, I knew I couldn't go to my job as a receptionist with a non-profit agency with a ring in my nose. Everyone there is pretty conservative.
I had already paid for the septum piercing, and the cashier was about to refund my money when I blurted out that I had also wanted a 10gauge navel piercing too, and Russell said he would do the navel for the same price as the septum, even though the navel cost more. My boyfriend was relieved I wasn't getting the septum done.
It's a good thing I've had my navel pierced before. I didn't want to get a piercing without making sure it's right for me. The only thing different is I wanted a larger gauge than the typical 14g.
I picked out a 10g horseshoe, then followed Russell to the piercing room. He looked at my navel and I explained to him that I've already had like 4 standard navels over the last six years, and everyone that pierces the area doesn't use enough fold of skin, so the jewelry looks like it's barely hanging on.
Russell pinched a fold of skin and said that he would be able to pierce a bigger area, and it looked fine to me. He spent a lot of time marking the area-which I appreciated, nothing wrong with wanting to be perfect. Then he mentioned to me that he could do a 6g piercing also if I wanted, it sounded cool, but also a lot bigger than I wanted to go just then so I declined.
I have a high pain threshold, I feel pain, but it has to be really extreme before I flinch, but when I laid back in the chair, I started to get nervous.
We talked while he was getting all the equipment set up. He cleaned the area and looked at the markings again while I was lying down. When Russell put the clamps on, he was trying to grasp the area we had looked at, and they were on very tight, and to be honest, that part was pretty painful to me. He said to take a deep breath in, then let my breath out slowly and he'd put the needle through during the exhale.
The needle didn't go through as fast as I expected it too, and by god, it hurt to high heaven! My palms were actually sweating! But after the jewelry was put in, it felt like all the other standard piercings from before. There was just a numbing kind of pain, but the jewelry felt so heavy and huge. I liked it. I also bled a lot more than I expected, not heavy bleeding, but the piercer had to wipe the area down before I walked out of the room. I gave him a tip, then went straight for the full-length mirror in the shop.
I liked what I saw. Despite the blood and ointment starting to dry up on the jewelry, it looked cool. The jewelry was perfectly centered. I prefer the look of a bigger gauge for navel piercings. We took pictures to submit to BME, so hopefully those will be up soon.
I still wish I could get my septum pierced, and in the next 1-2 months when my situation here changes, I will get it done. My boyfriend told me one of his main resistances to the septum is that he didn't want my parents or boss to freak out. It's in my near future though, right after I get a center lip ring. People are so right when they say body piercing is addicting.
Thanks for your interest in my story, and of course, email me with any questions! If you've had recent piercings, I always look forward to seeing pictures, so keep 'em coming.