# Nose piercings: share your thoughts **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 15, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610 "2006-07-15T14:44:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/21 "2006-07-15T20:12:04Z")
The first time I had mine done was with a hoop. It was a pain in the ass from the start-when I got it pierced it felt like I had been punched in the left side of my face. My eyes watered uncontrollably. With the hoop it was always sore, red and inflamed. At night it would hit the pillow and move, people would knock into me during the day, I would bump into stuff, and this just exacerbated the soreness. Of course it got infected and I had it taken out because I thought it was starting to keloid. Also, I had the additional issue of interviewing for jobs and I’m in a conservative profession. I had it redone this past January because I know my current employers are cool with it. I went with a stud, which is basically just an earring that seems to be bent at a 90 degree angle. It didn’t hurt as much this time (the piercer did the same spot based on the old scar) and I haven’t had a single infection issue. Basically I picked a nose piercing that wasn’t too big, nor too large. I think in large part the lack of issues this time around has to do with the fact that the stud stays flat to my face and doesn’t get jostled around constantly like the hoop did. I also have a bellybutton piercing, with a barbell (it’s about 7 years old now) and I got it when it was way more popular to get the hoop. I’ve never had an infection there either, though most people I know who got hoops did. Of course, this is just my experience. I’m a clumsy idiot and tend to trip/fall/knock into stuff. My ears were pierced as a tiny baby (cultural) with hoops and soldered to be permanently closed (my parents had them cut off when I was 5) and apparently I never had a problem. In terms of the hole, mine is unnoticeable and when I got my nose pierced the first time around, it closed up. When I’m dealing with a client I think is conservative, I take mine out, as I would to go to interviews should I switch jobs in the future. Hope that helps! ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/22 "2006-07-15T20:16:26Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] Lots of good advice here. I’ve had one and had it for…12 years now. Keep it clean, no brass, a hoop is good to start with rather than a stud. And I acutally got it done with a gun - in India, though, so maybe it’s better there. I had no problems with the piercing but they gave me a brass stud to star with, which got infected. Now it’s only 22 K gold, I refuse to wear anything else as it gives me allergies. [/QUOTE] I would be very, very suspicous of anyone who tried to pierce you with a gun. Yes, perhaps in India it is different, but **Anaamika** says the jewelry they used gave her an infection. I wouldn’t be surprised if the gun had something to do with it, too. Think of your nose (or ear, or whatever) as a piece of paper, and the stud in a piercing gun as a dull pencil. Shove the pencil through the paper, and look on the other side. You see that the paper was unevenly split and forced aside to make room for the pencil. That’s what a gun does to your skin tissue. A hollow needle is like using a hole-punch. It removes the tissue entirely, leaving an even, clean border. This is less painful, less traumatic to the tissue, speeds healing, and reduces scarring. Also the piercer has greater control over the placement of the piercing and the jewelry if s/he uses a needle. While I’m sure some successful piercings have been done with guns, there is no good reason whatsoever to use that method when the hollow-needle method is an available option. I would wonder why any reputable piercer would prefer using a gun. ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/23 "2006-07-15T20:26:37Z")
Of course I forgot the most important thing: piercing guns cannot be sterilized. You would be exposing your open wound to the microscopic fluids and bacteria of those who were pierced before you. Yuck. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/24 "2006-07-15T20:40:45Z")
I did mine myself about 10 years ago. It was quite painful, but I really enjoyed it, for a few years at least. I kinda grew out of it after I turned 18 or so. I still have the hole; if I got a stud all I’d have to do is push it through the mucous membrane. I wore usually a very small titanium hoop, sometimes a tiny silver stud. I like them alot on the right people (alas, I’m not one of them). ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/25 "2006-07-15T22:15:55Z")
I don’t like them. They always looks like a big zit to me. ---
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/26 "2006-07-15T22:21:26Z")
When I got mine done, the stud was too small. It sank partway into the hole, which then proceeded to swell around it. When I went back to the piercing place, they said “Yeah, sometimes that happens. People like the small studs, but sometimes they fall in.” I, of course, was rather upset, as I would expect them to have perhaps mentioned this (although the smaller studs are prettier, I certainly would have chosen a bigger one had I known this was even a problem.) I finally had to get it taken out. I may try having it repierced again (most of the scar tissue seems to have gone), but I’d definitely go to the place I got my belly button and cartiledge done, as I know they’re much more knowledgable. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/27 "2006-07-15T22:51:45Z")
I’m not a big fan, but I doubt you are trying to score points with the 45 year old married guys out there. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/28 "2006-07-15T23:01:34Z")
I’ve never seen one a white skinned girl that looked good. ---
**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/29 "2006-07-16T02:20:28Z")
[QUOTE=vaderspal] A hollow needle is like using a hole-punch. It removes the tissue entirely, leaving an even, clean border. This is less painful, less traumatic to the tissue, speeds healing, and reduces scarring. [/QUOTE] Not quite…a hollow piercing needle cuts a curved slit, because of its [beveled](http://wiki.bmezine.com/index.php/Bevel) edge. It doesn’t take out any tissue. This is also why it’s ok to get an [epidural](http://wiki.bmezine.com/index.php/Epidural) if you’re pregnant and have a tramp stamp. On the other hand, a [dermal punch](http://wiki.bmezine.com/index.php/Dermal_punch) does remove the tissue entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/30 "2006-07-16T12:34:10Z")
Well, from reading the posts here, it sounds like a PITA. Perhaps we could get a picture of your nose so you can get some opinions on whether you have the right type for it it look good before you spend a year cleaning it several times a day and fighting infections. ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/31 "2006-07-16T22:26:53Z")
[QUOTE=Renee] Well, from reading the posts here, it sounds like a PITA. Perhaps we could get a picture of your nose so you can get some opinions on whether you have the right type for it it look good before you spend a year cleaning it several times a day and fighting infections. [/QUOTE] Yes, if you are the sort that finds brushing your teeth to be a tremendous, time-sucking PITA, then by all means do _not_ get a piercing. :rolleyes: It will involve cleaning _twice_ a day, which in fact _is_ the way to fight infection. This will add a _maximum_ of two to three minutes to your daily schedule for a couple of months. After the initial healing period, the only cleaning involved will be part of your normal shower/face cleansing routine. In fact, your piercing will be better off the more you just leave it alone. As far as whether or not it will look good, you can’t please everyone. If you care that much about what other people think, don’t get a piercing. As you can see, there are still plenty of people out there who think they all look terrible, regardless of the person wearing it. ---
**Author:** ![mrald](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@mrald](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrald)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/32 "2006-07-16T22:58:51Z")
[QUOTE=Lissa] I think they look best on black girls and girls of Indian heritage. A nose ring only looks good if the nostrils are broad. Many white girls’ noses aren’t the right setting for nose rings-- they’re usually more pinched in the nostrils, or even worse, pug-nosed. No one with a pug nose should ever get a nose ring. It just looks bad, sort of like a **boogery afterthought**. [/QUOTE] Yeah, now I have to use that as a sig line ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/33 "2006-07-16T23:25:18Z")
[QUOTE=mrald] Yeah, now I have to use that as a sig line [/QUOTE] Take it, with my blessings. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/34 "2006-07-17T04:37:51Z")
[QUOTE=Darth Vader’s Little Pal] While I’m sure some successful piercings have been done with guns, there is no good reason whatsoever to use that method when the hollow-needle method is an available option. I would wonder why any reputable piercer would prefer using a gun. [/QUOTE] Given the substantial possibility of transmitting bloodborne pathogens with a piercing gun, I would say that it is not logically possible for a “reputable” piercing to use a piercing gun. As you indicate, they cannot be sterilized, and further a fine spray of blood results from their use, providing an excellent way of ensuring that whatever a person might be carrying ends up contaminating the piercing gun. Incidentally, I’ve seen plenty of white girls who look quite nice with a pierced nose, in my opinion. I’ve always thought a stud through the nostril was one of the more attractive piercings out there. I’m not quite so fond of piercings of the nasal septum. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/35 "2006-07-17T04:40:05Z")
[QUOTE=Excalibre] I would say that it is not logically possible for a “reputable” piercing to use a piercing gun. [/QUOTE] A reputable _piercer_, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/36 "2006-07-17T05:50:33Z")
[QUOTE=Darth Vader’s Little Pal] Yes, if you are the sort that finds brushing your teeth to be a tremendous, time-sucking PITA, then by all means do _not_ get a piercing. :rolleyes: It will involve cleaning _twice_ a day, which in fact _is_ the way to fight infection. This will add a _maximum_ of two to three minutes to your daily schedule for a couple of months. After the initial healing period, the only cleaning involved will be part of your normal shower/face cleansing routine. In fact, your piercing will be better off the more you just leave it alone. As far as whether or not it will look good, you can’t please everyone. If you care that much about what other people think, don’t get a piercing. As you can see, there are still plenty of people out there who think they all look terrible, regardless of the person wearing it. [/QUOTE] Actually, I was thinking more of these issues: > [@](#): > > I finally had to get it taken out. > [@](#): > > it was always sore, red and inflamed. At night it would hit the pillow and move, people would knock into me during the day, I would bump into stuff, and this just exacerbated the soreness. **Of course it got infec** ted and I had it taken out because I thought it was starting to keloid. Also, I had the additional issue of interviewing for jobs and I’m in a conservative profession. > [@](#): > > First, you should always take special care with any piercing until it is fully healed ( **this can take years for some piercings** ). Aftercare regimens should include cleaning each side of the piercing daily, if not more often, to \*\*loosen blood and lymph that will seep out \*\* and keep it from being trapped on the jewelry. Dried blood and lymph that adheres to the jewelry will irritate the piercing and scratch the healing skin around it > [@](#): > > For the first few months it’ll need a lot of TLC. **Salt water soaks dai** ly, keep harsh soaps and chemicals away from it (i.e. astringent, facial scrubs), and make sure to clean it whenever you can on both sides. > [@](#): > > She had problems with the stud ‘sinking’ into the piercing. We had to keep poking a q-tip into her nose and pushing it back out. Finally, on the third or fourth morning after the piercing, she woke up and the stud had fallen out – it sank so deeply into the piercing that it came through completely and was loose in her nose. When I got it out (no biggie, it was just sort of stuck in there and needed to be pulled out with a tweezer), **we found it had a largish clot of crud stuck to it – blood and mucous, it looked like**. um…yuck? Sorry, I stand by my PITA position. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![XJETGIRLX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9fc29f/32.png) [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/37 "2006-07-17T11:28:17Z")
[QUOTE=Renee] um…yuck? Sorry, I stand by my PITA position. 😉 [/QUOTE] I take it from your bolding then, that it’s the involvement of blood and salt water that makes it a PITA to you? I assure you it’s not. As **DVLP** said, it’s not any more time consuming than brushing your teeth or washing your face, but it does have to be done to avoid possible infection. If blood and lymph are that big an issue for you, I suggest you invest in a lot of padding and try not to go outside. Also, I’m a bit disgusted that so many have popped in here solely to register their disgust or disapproval when the OP didn’t even ask what people thought of how it looked, only about the mechanics of how it’s done. Do you guys also go around to beauty salons telling people the haircuts they’re asking about are stupid? Sadly, that seems to happen any time there’s a thread here on piercing or tattooing. Those who don’t like them can’t seem to keep quiet about it. I guess that’s another thing to point out to those who are thinking of getting pierced/tattooed: you’re going to have to keep fending off idiots who think they have a right to tell you what they think of your appearance. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/38 "2006-07-17T12:06:50Z")
I was with a friend when she had it done, and she almost went through the floor in pain. I’m not a big fan of facial piercings, myself, but as facial piercings go, it’s probably the least obnoxious. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/39 "2006-07-17T13:40:15Z")
[QUOTE=XJETGIRLX] Also, I’m a bit disgusted that so many have popped in here solely to register their disgust or disapproval when the OP didn’t even ask what people thought of how it looked, only about the mechanics of how it’s done. Do you guys also go around to beauty salons telling people the haircuts they’re asking about are stupid? Sadly, that seems to happen any time there’s a thread here on piercing or tattooing. Those who don’t like them can’t seem to keep quiet about it. I guess that’s another thing to point out to those who are thinking of getting pierced/tattooed: you’re going to have to keep fending off idiots who think they have a right to tell you what they think of your appearance. [/QUOTE] I couldn’t agree more, especially **nyctea scandiaca’s** unsolicited and rude response. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610/40 "2006-07-17T13:53:44Z")
It does need a lot of care in the beginning. And I had extra problems. But I don’t really know how well the needle would have worked for me…the skin on my nose is very thick. I am surprised to hear that **anu** had problems with the hoop, but I’m glad she came in and volunteered her opinion. To be honest, I think it’s going to vary from person to person. The reason I always liked the hoop, or the current backing (see below), is it’s easier to rotate in the hole, and thus keep it clean of infection. And there is no way I have any need to do a daily cleaning! Once or twice a week, after all these years. The other thing I am absolutely firm on is the type of back. I wear a stud, but it has a thin corkscrew backing, with a sharp tip. Think piercing earrings. I wear this because it keeps the hole very tiny, only as big as the metal wire. A stud tends to expand the hole even more, to the point where I can’t really wear most studs because they are too big to fit, and even the ones I can wear hurt. I’d also like to point out to the people who are critical; this is a cultural thing for thousands of Indian women. Do you have a problem with them, too? Anyway, I think they look lovely on white women. White women generally having smaller noses, it looks better if you keep the stud small, IMO. Whatever you do, just make sure it matches your face. My nose is a typical Punjabi nose and not small (oh well) but it suits my face…so my piercing, rather than being a single gem, is a four-petaled flower. Still small but a little larger than the tradiitonal. A tiny one wouldn’t look good on my face. Still, it’s small enough where people don’t always notice it immediately and get used to it quickly, too. And yes, you have to be prepared to have a hole in your face forever - sometimes. Some people heal up immediately. Mine wouldn’t heal up I htink but as I said the hole is pretty tiny and I’ve gone twelve years now without wanting it removed so I think I might be OK. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-piercings-share-your-thoughts/364610.md?page=3)