Image Source: Unsplash / Terricks Noah [1]
Spontaneity is cool and all, but before you go googling "Nose piercers near me," please search "Do nose piercings close up?" first. The answer might surprise you. Brian Keith Thompson [2] owns LA's Body Electric Tattoo [3] and counts Beyoncé, Emma Stone, and Jennifer Lawrence as his regular clientele. So we asked the pro to spit some truth about what you should know before shooting needles into your schnoz.
Do nose piercings close up?
Commitment-phobes, we'll start with the good news: "All nose piercings are going to close," Thompson said. The not-so-good? "You are going to have some kind of scar, depending on how long you wore your jewellery. The longer you wore the jewellery before closing the piercing, the more pronounced the scar will be."
That means that if you get a nose piercing and have instant buyer's remorse, your risk of scarring isn't too high. "If you get your nostril pierced and remove the jewellery in a week, you will have little to no scar — just a small spot," Thompson said. But if you keep it for years and decide to take it out later, you'll be left with a permanent mark.
What makes piercings close?
"Your body sees the jewellery as a foreign object, because it is."
When you first get a piercing — nose or otherwise — your body will rebuild the wounded skin around your jewellery. "This is called a fistula, and it's a small tunnel," Thompson said. When you remove your stud or hoop, "your immune system acts quickly to close the hole." That's because your nostril is an "entry point — a very crucial part of your body that helps you breathe and control your sense of smell."
This means that, unfortunately, nose piercings just don't work for certain people. "Some people experience trouble healing their nostril, because their immune system is overactive," Thompson explained. "Your body sees the jewellery as a foreign object, because it is. For some people, it can be a problem from day one."
Image Source: Getty [4]
What about septum piercings?
"What you do to your body today, you pay the cost later."
"The septum is a little different," Thompson said. The pro explained that professional piercers — not your classmate operating out of a high school bathroom — are trained to find the "sweet spot" on a septum. "Nine times out of 10, I am able to get jewellery back in a septum hole that hasn't had a hoop in for a while without repiercing," Thompson said. So if you get your septum pierced, keep your jewellery in for a year, and then take it out, "you will probably be able to get the jewellery back in."
So you're telling me a nose piercing will leave a scar?
TLDR: yep. In Thompson's wise words, "You should go into all piercings knowing that you will have a scar. You have to think about the future before you get a piercing. If you're getting pierced at 18, you might not care about a scar, but consider how you're going to think about it at 30, or 40."
A little bit louder for the folks in the back: "What you do to your body today, you pay the cost later. While nose piercings won't leave a big, gaping hole, all piercings leave scars."
