Nose piercings are some of the most popular piercings around. We’re all familiar with some of the basics but there are actually several different styles – some of which are way less commonly seen. So, we’re going to discuss nose piercings in all of their diversity!
Septum & Nostril
First there are the most common piercings: septum and nostril. Your septum is the piece of flesh that separates your nostrils. There’s a bone in the center, behind the front bulb of your nose. A septum piercing goes in the piece of tissue that’s in front of the bone but not all the way forward. It’s extremely important that this piercing is done straight because it’s highly noticeable if it’s crooked. Septum piercings are frequently done with a captive bead ring or horseshoe-style ring. Horseshoes are perfect if you may need to hide your piercing because they can be flipped upwards, rendering your piercing invisible. Nostril piercings actually come in two styles. A regular nostril piercing is done in the curve of your nostril. There’s also a high nostril piercing, which is done further up the nose, closer to the edge of the bone. High nostril piercings look absolutely fantastic when paired with regular nostril piercings but can also be harder and take longer to heal.
Rhino, Septril & Nasallang
A less common nose piercing is the rhino piercing. This is a curved barbell that goes vertically through the tip of your nose. For obvious reasons, it is also called a vertical nose tip piercing. It is a highly anatomy-dependent piercing but one that looks lovely when fully healed. Another rare and anatomy-dependent piercing is the septril piercing. A septril piercing requires a fully healed septum piercing to start with. You would then need to stretch the piercing until the fistula reaches to the tip of your nose. The septril will go through the tip of your nose and exit in the septum fistula. Again, this piercing looks stunning when fully healed but requires a lot of work and time beforehand. That may be part of the reason it is so rarely seen. A third nose piercing that isn’t commonly seen is the nasallang. Or it may be that it’s seen and not recognized! A nasallang piercing is a single barbell that goes through one nostril, through the septum, and out the opposite nostril. It’s a bit like a three-point industrial piercing for your nose! The reason this may not be as recognizable a piercing is that it can look a lot like the wearer just has both nostrils pierced. This is great for someone who wants a more advanced piercing without it looking really obvious.
Bridge
The last type of nose piercing is actually a surface piercing. The bridge piercing, also known as an Erl piercing, sits at the very top of the nasal bridge. While the exact location depends on both anatomy and the tastes of the wearer, it’s generally close to the inner ends of the eyebrows. A bridge piercing is simply a straight barbell that sits under the skin and on top of the bone. You may find that this piercing gets you a lot of questions about whether the piercer went directly through the bone itself. Just think of it as an opportunity to educate people about the nature of surface piercings!
Now you know that there’s more to nose piercings than just the septum or nostril. You can even modify these piercings by stretching them or getting multiple nostril piercings on one or both sides. The options are nearly infinite! A nose is still a nose, but a nose looks amazing with any one or combination of these piercings! Happy piercing!
