Expert: Brian Skellie - 3/1/2006

Question
When you get yout nose pierced, can you ask them to put in a nose ring instead of a stud, and is it safe?

Answer
Glad to help, we'll be here to welcome you with a smile.
The service is valued at $50 for the nostril. The jewelry, a small bar in titanium would be about $20. We could make the jewelry any color you like for no extra charge if you please. Gemstones are available starting at that price
as well.

*We never use rings as initial jewelry, and encourage you consider them like high heeled shoes, kind of awkward and best used only for healed nostril piercings. The ring moves enough to cause scarring and discoloration of the area, as well as add to the risk of infection. As soon as you are past the healing process, you can switch over to a safe titanium ring for as little as $6.

Our procedure for nostril piercings

Please use the information on our http://www.piercing.org/pexy/technique/technique.html page for safety procedures for all piercing.
As for the actual part where we make a hole and put in jewelry, that part is pretty simple.

1. We select custom fit jewelry
2. We have the client fill out a consent form
3. We explain and give printed recovery information
4. We sterilize the disposable gloves, gauze, cannula, and jewelry by a state of the art autoclave steam process
5. We bring the client to a private clean room used only for piercing services
6. We make the client feel comfortable, confident, and trustful
7. We put on a surgical mask and protective eyewear
8. We scrub our hands
9. We put on nitrile medical exam gloves
10. We mark the skin where the jewelry will live
11. We prepare the skin with a surgical cleanser
12. We put on sterilized nitrile gloves
13. We pick up the freshly sterilized gauze, drape, cannula and jewelry
14. We put a sterile fabric drape with the window in the drape positioned over the area we are to decorate
15. We align the tissue by hand, like a surgeon would line up tissue to suture
16. We ask the client to take a deep breath and tell them that when they let it out, it is over
17. The client breathes out smoothly, and the skin is penetrated gracefully, quickly and with great attention to aim, passing through to create the openings needed
18. The jewelry, a small bar made of titanium implant material, connects to the cannula and gently follows it through
19. The bar is closed
20. The client gets a first look and gets to live happily ever after with their new jewelry


In about 30 to 90 days, it should be finished healing, with no antiseptic, or soaking, or washing. We encourage our clients to return for a checkup within the first 30 days to make sure everything is going well. When it is sturdy enough, we put in the other jewelry if you please, a ring or bar of the appropriate fit, $6 and up. That would be it in a nutshell...

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Brian Skellie       : Piercing Experience
Owner-Piercer-Advisor    : www.piercing.org
brian@piercing.org    : 1654 McLendon Ave
404-378-9100       : Atlanta GA 30307-2153
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