Nostril Jewelry

Everything worn in a nostril solves one problem: holding a small ornament against a curved, mobile wall of tissue with only a short channel to grip. Gauge runs 20 at 0.8 mm or 18 at 1.0 mm in most of the world, and piercers favor 18 because a thicker post is less likely to be rejected and less likely to let the hole shrink shut. Post length usually falls between 6.5 and 8 mm, measured from the back to the underside of the ornament.

Four backs cover the market and they are not equal. A nose bone carries a small fixed ball on the end, which has to be forced through the channel every time and tears at the exit. An L bend is a post with a right angle at the base, easy to fit and easy to lose when you blow your nose. A nostril screw is bent into a corkscrew that follows the inside of the nostril, holds well and has to be turned in the right way round. Flat back labrets with a threadless or internally threaded top are what piercers fit today, since the disc is smooth, the shaft is straight, and nothing has to be dragged through the tissue.

Hoops occupy the same hole and read very differently: seamless rings at 8 mm inner diameter hug the nostril, and small clickers do the same with a hinge to help you fit them. Septum jewelry passes through the thin tissue between the nostrils rather than the nostril wall, so none of its sizes carry over. Straight barbells never suit this placement at all, because the second ball would sit inside your nose.

Nostril piercings take roughly four to six months to settle for many people and sometimes considerably longer, so keep the initial flat back in until your piercer clears the change. Glasses wearers should check that a frame does not press the ornament. Makeup, cleanser and sunscreen collect around a nose stud daily, which makes a smooth disc far easier to keep clean than a screw. Leave hoops until healing is finished, since they move whenever your face does.

View the ornament from the side and check it lies flat against the nostril rather than standing off, since standing off means the post is too long. Feel the back with a fingertip inside your nose for any edge or burr. Rinse with sterile saline once or twice a day, and never twist the stud to loosen a crust, because that reopens the channel underneath.