Nostril Piercing Additional Information
Nostril piercings are fantastic and there are so many options! There are a few points to consider that we want to clarify to help you in making your decision on placement and jewelry style.
Nostril piercings are almost always pierced through cartilage and this means that they will have a longer healing time. People touch their faces all the time and this can cause minor irritation which could also prolong healing time. Added to this is the jewelry choice which can also affect healing time.
Can You Pierce My Nostril With A Ring?
Yes! We love the way that rings look in nostrils! A lot of times people want the look of a very tight fitting thin ring. This is generally not possible with a fresh piercing as a tight ring will put too much pressure on the newly pierced area and create problems. However, we do pierce with rings that are fitted for our client’s nostrils and many people are very happy with the placement. Please see our portfolio for examples.
As you can see from our diagram below, the bump problem tends to be affected by the angle that the piercing is executed at. Body piercings love perpendicularity and this is extremely important with cartilage piercings.
Since the angle of the piercing with a ring is different from the angle of the piercing done with a disk labret (AKA “stud”) there tends to be a “nostril bump” when pierced with a ring more than a disk labret.
What is the solution?
We pierce nostrils with rings all the time. We strongly recommend that you are very diligent with your aftercare and you contact us as soon as anything looks less than perfect.
I did all of that but I still have a bump, what now?
Throughout your healing period, you will have regular follow-ups with us and we can determine the seriousness of a bump. Generally, the worst-case scenario for a bump that will not go away is to remove the ring and install a disk labret on a temporary basis until the healing period is over and all traces of the bump is gone. After that, we will put your ring back in.
Why don’t you just pierce me with a stud and then I can put a ring in later?
If the long term result you want is a small, tight fitting ring, this is what we do! The reason is that for smaller diameter rings the angle can be performed the same (or extremely close) to that for a stud.
For rings with a larger diameter that may be more fitted to your anatomy (such as the illustration above) the main reason is that the angles are different and you may not like how a ring will sit on your face if you pierce with a stud and put a ring in later. In most cases, the ring sits with a lot of the ring on the outside of the nostril, which is not a look that most people want. We do not pierce you at a “crooked” angle for the jewelry that we are putting in at the time of the piercing as we know that this will certainly cause problems.
Are Rings And Labrets (Studs) Interchangeable?
In most cases, yes, but there could be special considerations.
Pierced with a ring, but want to put in stud – There is the possibility that certain stone settings that have a flat bottom, such as gem clusters and bezel-set gems, will not sit flush against your skin and you may need to opt for cup or ball set gems.
Pierced with a stud but want to put in a ring – We have tools called placement rings that we will put in your current piercing in order to see how a ring will look. If you like the way the ring fits, it’s an easy solution! If there is too much of the ring on the outside of your nostril and you want a tighter fit, we may need to use a nostril nail, which looks like a ring. Please see our “How Jewelry Works“ page to see an example of a nostril nail.
Can Everyone Get High Nostrils?
High nostrils have increased in popularity and look fantastic! Almost everyone can get “higher” nostril piercings, but not everyone can get them really high up their nose. Like any body piercing, your anatomy will dictate where we can put a piercing and we will be more than happy to do a free assessment for you.