If you’ve had any piercings you know that there are always upsides and downsides to getting pierced; from six months to a year of healing time to truly obnoxious questions from outsiders about your piercings. Either way, if you are considering getting anything pierced, you should always weigh the pros and cons, especially with a septum piercing.
As somebody who has had her septum pierced myself, I can tell you that I experienced both upsides and downsides to my piercing – for one, I truly loved how it looked on me but, on the other hand, I disliked all of the questions and “bull ring” comments, so in this article, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of getting pierced from my personal experience and are from the experiences of others.
First, however, we’ll look at a little history about the septum ring and where it originated from.
WHAT IS A SEPTUM PIERCING & WHAT IS THE HISTORY BEHIND IT?
A septum piercing is quite simply a piercing of your septum, the cartilage in the nose that separates the nostrils. Today, many people have their septum pierced but the piercing originated from Native American cultures and other warrior cultures throughout history.
Native American’s often express themselves individually, creating a most beautiful personal expression through jewelry as well as clothing and accessories. As well as Indian tribes, the Shawnee leaders and Tecumseh peoples of the Solomon Islands and New Guinea also sported septum rings. Other lovers of the septum piercing are the Asmat tribe of Jaya, their septum rings were often made from the tibia bones of their enemies, which in my opinion, is truly awesome.
Historically, many different cultures have been sporting septum piercings for centuries, more recently, the history of piercing your septum was connected to rock and roll and the punk rock movements. Now, it is far trendier with many celebrities joining the ranks of septum ring wearers.
So, if you’re thinking about getting your septum pierced, know that you’re not alone! It’s one of the most popular piercings to date, probably because it radiates coolness and is more unique and original than a nostril piercing. Plus everybody looks good with a septum ring!
LET’S START WITH THE PROS
Starting with the pros is the best way to start, of course, because what’s more fun than fun! Because the septum ring is an easy and popular piercing, you’re not looking at spending all too much money! The average septum piercing costs around $65, this isn’t including jewelry, and remember that you should always be 
purchasing high-quality jewelry for any of your piercings (trust me, you don’t want that infection).
Another pro, is that septum rings are super-duper cute! They’re cooler than your average nose ring and they look better too. I loved the look of my septum ring and I definitely would get it pierced again.
Also, septum rings have some really cool jewelry to go with them. You could wear just a rose gold hoop and it will look incredible, but if you want to expand you could get some truly unique and beautiful jewelry for your septum ring that will definitely make you stand out.
Lastly, it’s very easy to conceal a septum ring, so if you’re in a situation where you don’t want your septum ring to be showing (a job or something else) you can always flip your septum ring up or just put in a clear spacer.
All in all, there are a ton of pros, but let’s move on and talk about some of the less fun parts of getting your septum pierced.
SO, WHAT ARE THE CONS?
Well, the first main con in my opinion is the healing time, it takes about 6 months for your septum to heal after being pierced and the healing is particularly painful. Not nipple ring painful, but painful nonetheless.
Secondly, getting your septum pierced doesn’t exactly feel great. Piercing any cartilage is painful, but your septum in particular is a painful piercing. Of course, the piercing is very quick, but even afterward your eyes will be watering.
One of my cons for having my septum pierced was all of the ‘bull ring’ comments and having to conceal my septum ring for professional reasons so often. I never had to conceal other piercings because most were already concealed and nose rings are usually tolerated because they’re so common, trendy, and tiny, but for some reason, the reaction to my septum ring was unparalleled. For some reason, either people love the septum ring or hate it. Some even find it to be gross and won’t hesitate to tell you.
All in all, I will say that the pros do outweigh the cons because every piercing is a bit painful and every piercing has a healing time, the only thing that truly bothered me was the ignorance surrounding the piercing in general from people outside of the tattoo and piercing communities.
ALL IN ALL, IS IT WORTH IT?
If you’re asking me, I’d say go for it! It’s a piercing that is easy to conceal and is super cute. However, you truly need to ask yourself if your pros outweigh your cons. The comments from other people may not bother you as much as they bother me.
Any piercing is a personal decision, just as a tattoo is, so when you decide to get anything pierced dig deep and decide if it is something that you want to do. In the end, a piercing isn’t permanent, so if you want to remove your septum ring, that’s another pro – it’s very easy to remove and it doesn’t leave a scar as many other piercings do. Add it to the list of pros!
Again, these thoughts, feelings, and opinions (aside from the history) are my own and may not reflect you, your life, your feelings, or your decisions. When doing anything new, such as getting a body modification, you always need to sit with yourself and decide if it is something that is worth it to you and something that you want to go through with.
I loved my septum ring and the only reason I don’t have it anymore is that I took it out for a professional thing when I was out of state, forgot to bring my nose ring, and the piercing closed. I’ve grown past my excessive piercings phase and it’s simply just not worth it to me to get it re-pierced. That being said, I have no regrets from when I did get it pierced.
Lastly, I will say that I wanted a septum ring for a long while before I had my septum pierced, so I sat with making that decision for a little over a year. I don’t think you need to think it over for this long, but remember what you wanted a year ago may not be what you want now.
Piercings aren’t permanent and you can always change your mind later, but just remember to think it through and make a well thought out decision before doing something impulsive. Why risk the time, money, healing time, and energy, if it’s not something that you really want? Think it over and then, when and if you’re ready, get that cute piercing!