Nose Piercing!

I have a yea and a nay for two local nose piercing places. Yes, I got my nose pierced. :) Here's the story.

Friday night after work, Chelle came over and we exercised and cleaned up and went to Grade A Tattoo to get my nose pierced for my birthday. Chelle had narrowed it down to three different places. I think we were both leaning toward Cardinal but they closed at 8 and of course I was impatient so we went to Grade A Tattoos.

DO NOT GO TO GRADE A TATTOOS!!!!!!!!

I had called them and spoken to someone about getting a piercing before. I specifically asked if they had any small sparkly studs. Here is how I phrased it: "I want something that is teeny weeny itsy bitsy so that when you're wearing it people will occasionally get a flash from it and wonder, does she have her nose pierced?" And they said yes. So we went there.

I know this will sound entirely crazy, which is why I did not say it to Chelle when we got there, but they had a Pepsi machine in the foyer and I wanted to turn around and leave. Seriously. I made a comment jokingly about it, but it really did kind of give me a chill. Kevin says I should always follow my instincts. :)

I'm having a difficult time describing the inside. Like worn down or dirty, but not dirty. Kind of bare. Like a single guy's apartment - no real furniture, white walls, kind of grungy feel to it, etc. The staff were hanging around talking and we told one of the guys what we wanted. He took us into a room and started getting the equipment ready. I asked if I could see the jewelry because it seemed like he was just going to put it in my nose without me having a chance to look at it. It looked kind of large to me but he said that was the smallest they were made. I told him I had seen them smaller and he said that Grade A did not sell a smaller size and he would not recommend getting a smaller size because it could slip back through your nose. But it certainly was not the itsy bitsy jewel I had specifically asked about before.

He used betadine and alcohol to wash my nose, then stuck this giant cork in my nostril. I asked him to just tell me when he was going to pierce it and he said he'd give me a countdown, but then he just shoved the needle through my nose anyway. I hate it when people do that, like a doctor or anyone. It's so disrespectful. I made a request so I could be better prepared and brace myself. Because he surprised me I kind of cringed away and then I think he had a harder time doing the piercing.

Plus it hurt like crazy. :)

The guy gave me a half sheet of paper that said to use 1/8 tsp of sea salt in warm water to soak my nose ring and to use antibacterial soap to wash it. But he did not elaborate or give any explanations. We paid and left.

I was giddy throughout the process because of nerves and silliness, and the whole process only took about 5 minutes. Both Chelle and I expected it to take longer for some reason. We went to Cheddar's for dinner and along the way I felt my nose start to bleed. When we got there I went into the bathroom and my nose had been bleeding, so I got cleaned up.

I noticed that when I pressed against the side of my nose, it felt like the post was poking into my septum. I went outside (you can't hear anything in Cheddar's - I never noticed before - they even have music pumped into their parking lot)and called Grade A and told him about the poking and he told me that was just the feeling of the new nose ring. I told him it was a different feeling than that and he told me to spin the post until it felt comfortable inside.

Chelle and I had a fun dinner and then went back home. I went to check my ring in the mirror and noticed that when I twisted it into a position where it felt comfortable in my nose, the end of it was poking out, totally visible. I decided I was going to go back the next day and have them fix it.

Overnight I thought about it and the next day I decided not to go back to Grade A. Instead, I went to Cardinal. The entire atmosphere was different. Their business had hard wood floors done to a high polish, very clean, with a nice waiting area. Their jewelry options were in a display case, along with their business card. The room was done in black and red and looked very classy. There was original art on the walls, along with their tattoo art.

One of the guys - Matt - came up to help me and I asked him if I could see the jewelry and if he had anything smaller than what was in my nose already. He showed me the jewelry and guessed what I had was a 2 mm and what he had was 1.5, so it was a little smaller but not by a huge amount. He gave me the prices. I told him I had had my nose pierced the night before at a different place and asked how much he would charge to put the smaller piece of jewelry in. He said just the charge of the jewelry.

Matt said he could absolutely put in the new piece of jewelry then but he recommended I wait because the nose was already irritated from the first piercing and it was possible the hole would shut when he took out the jewelry and he might have to pierce it again, or it could be difficult to get it in because everyone pierces differently. I told him I would prefer to have it done again right then because I wanted to have the jewelry I really wanted rather than the larger stone.

We went into the piercing room and he started unpackaging the equipment. I was asking him questions about what all he was doing and he was very patient and responsive, showing me individual items and explaining what they were used for. One of the pieces he had on the little tray was a small cork, about half the size of the one the guy at Grade A used. I asked if he had had to pierce the nose again, would he have inserted that into my nose and he said he did not use it that way. He showed me a tube he normally would use. He said when you use a cork you pierce through the nose and into the cork, which stops the flow, then start to push the needle through again. If you use the tube, you can do it in one smooth motion.

Matt checked out my piercing and said he believed he knew why it was uncomfortable for me. He said the person who had twisted the post had done it for the right nostril instead of the left. You twist the post in a different direction, apparently. He then said it was not necessarily wrong, that everyone had a different way of doing things and there was no real right or wrong way. (Indiana does not have a licensing process or requirements of tattoo places or piercing places.) But he said he would not have done it that way.

The insertion of the new ring was kind of painful but not like the original piercing. He was trying to be as careful as he could. He gave me my old jewelry in a little baggie when he was done.

At some point I asked him about how to clean it. He asked if the man who had done it the night before had explained it to me and I said no, he just gave me the paper. So Matt explained that you put 1/8 tsp of sea salt in warm water and soak a cotton ball and press it to the inside and outside of my nose for 10 minutes, changing cotton balls when they cooled. He also asked if the guy had explained the antibacterial soap wash and I said no, so Matt told me to lather up my hands really good and wash around the piercing, being sure to move the jewelry back and forth, and doing the same when I rinsed to get all the soap out.

Matt was super nice and helpful and patient with me and I never felt rushed or patronized. He gave me one of his business cards when he was done and also wished me a happy birthday. It was such a completely different experience than the night before and I have to highly recommend Cardinal to anyone who is interested in getting a piercing. They're located on Spy Run and Elizabeth, where the old eyeglass place used to be.