The word "gauge" refers to the thickness of a piece of jewelry. Nostril piercings are commonly performed with 18 gauge needles, though 20 gauge may be used as well. Bent studs called nostril screws are sold in both sizes. These are the same gauges frequently used for ear piercings, though ear piercing studs should not be worn in a nostril.
Nostril Piercing Procedure
Most professional piercers use surgical scrub to clean the inside and outside of your nostril. Using a skin scribe marker or a purple antiseptic called Gentian violet, the piercer marks a small dot in the crease at the side of the nostril. He inserts a metal receiving tube inside the nostril to catch keep the needle from nicking the septum. Using a hollow, triple-beveled cannula needle, he pierces straight through the nostril, not at an angle toward the nostril opening. He inserts the ring or nostril screw into the open end of the needle and pulls the jewelry into the piercing as he pulls the needle out.
Appropriate Nostril Jewelry
The two pieces of jewelry commonly used for initial nostril piercings are nostril screws and captive bead rings. A nostril screw looks like a straight pin with a blunt end. The piercer measures the thickness of your nostril and bends the end of the pin into a U shape with pliers. The screw goes straight through the nose, with the curve holding it in place inside the nostril. A captive bead ring is C-shaped and uses pressure to hold an indented bead between its two prongs.
Nostril Aftercare and Healing Time
According to the Association of Professional Piercers, proper aftercare includes soaking new piercings daily in a saline solution made of 1 cup of warm bottled water and 1/4 tsp. noniodized sea salt. For nostril piercings, soaking is best accomplished by making a compress out of sterile gauze or cotton and holding it against the piercing for 10 minutes. The same solution on a cotton swab will adequately clean the piercing on the inside. After soaking, it is recommended that you wash your piercing with an antimicrobial soap such as Technicare, Satin or Provon. Your nostril piercing will take about six months to heal.
Gun Piercing
Piercing guns are inappropriate for piercing any part of the body, as they create a hole using blunt-force trauma and cannot be autoclave sterilized. An autoclave is a machine that uses high-pressure steam to kill all viable microorganisms on an object's surface. Not only will a piercing gun melt if exposed to the heat of an autoclave, a piercing stud is too short to wear in the nostril. Piercing stud backs are difficult to remove from inside the nose and may become embedded when the nostril swells.
Possible Complications
Nostril piercings performed by a professional piercer trained in facial anatomy and sterile procedure have very little risk of infection, provided you follow the aftercare instructions diligently. The most common cause of infection is touching the jewelry without washing your hands. Some swelling, sorness and redness in the days following a piercing is normal. If your piercing excretes pus or feels hot to the touch, you may have an infection. If you experience fever or chills, go to the emergency room immediately.
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