Facial Piercing. Part II
Next come a series of piercings located in or on the nose. First off is the most standard piercing the nose piercing. Here, the jewelry of choice – typically studs or rings – is placed through one or both nostrils. Because this is a cartilage piercing, this can be quite painful, and generally takes longer to heal. Most people say it takes an average of four to six weeks but, in fact, soreness may last far longer, as piercing the cartilage can be fairly painful.
People can also get their septum pierced – that is, the area between the nostrils. Most typically, people choose to pierce the septum with either a ring or a horse shoe shaped piercing. This piercing, too, takes about six to eight weeks to heal.
Another recent trend in piercing involving the nose are bridge piercings, which are located right between the eyes, high up on the bridge of the nose. These are sometimes called Earl Piercings because of the first person reported to have it done. Because this is a surface piercing, it takes longer to heal. It may in fact take anywhere from six weeks to ten weeks.
One of the most popular trends when it comes to facial piercing are eyebrow piercings. As you might expect, these piercings are located on the eyebrow. It is generally placed towards the end of the outer arch, near the outer corner of the eye. Although an eyebrow piercing can be horizontal, it is usually placed vertically. These take about six to eight weeks to heal, as well.
The estimated healing time for the types of facial piercing mentioned above is just that – estimations. Healing time depends on everything from an individual’s ability to heal, to the location of the piercing, to, most importantly, the way an individual takes care of his or her piercing in order to make sure that it heals properly. Saline solutions or sea salt solutions are almost universally recommended as the best way to clean facial piercings. In general, piercings need to be cleaned at least twice a day, and it is better to use a Q-tip or cotton ball than a towel or a wash cloth. Cleaning the piercing whenever showering or bathing is also recommended. When doing this, however, it is of the utmost importance to make sure that there is no soap residue left on or around the piercing. Soap left to dry can cause severe irritation and might complicate the healing process. Many piercers also offer antiseptic solutions.
It is also important to seriously consider the pros and cons of any facial piercing. For example, eyebrows, Earls, and vertical labret piercings – among others – are considered to be surface piercings, and surface piercings have a higher risk for rejection – when the piercing does not take or grows out for whatever reason – and migration – when the piercing moves from the location where it was initially intended. It is particularly hard to keep eyebrow piercings, because in our day to day lives are eyebrows generally move around a lot, simply due to the expressiveness of human nature. This could leave you with a fairly deep scar somewhere on your eyebrow.
Another con is how other people react to facial piercings. Some people, for instance, will not hire someone with a facial piercing, whether it is actually on the face or in the mouth. In a best case scenario, an employer will simply insist that a person does not have their piercing in during the job – which, of course, could cause the piercing to grow in and thus disappear, unless the person with the piercing chooses to wear a retainer and/or plug – and if, of course, the employer is all right with that.
Piercings are fun and they are fashionable. Some people want them in order to make a statement, some even like the pain involved. So this is not to say that you should not get a facial piercing. It is simply important to consider everything before going through with it. That includes everything from healing time to what you will do if your body rejects the piercing or it migrates, and how current and/or future employers may feel about it.
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