Nostril Piercings: What to Know

A nostril piercing looks like the simplest thing in the world and has more small decisions in it than almost any other facial piercing. Where exactly on the curve it sits, which side, whether you start with a stud or a ring, and what happens if you ever take it out.

None of it is complicated. All of it is easier to get right before rather than after.

Where it Goes, and Why a Few Millimetres Matter

A nostril piercing sits in the soft tissue of the nostril, usually along the natural crease where the nostril meets the cheek, or just above it.

Placement is decided by the shape of your nose rather than by a standard position. Slightly too high and the jewellery sits away from the crease and looks unanchored. Slightly too low and it catches the fold, which irritates it constantly. Too far forward and it sits on the thinner tissue near the tip, where it is more prone to migrating.

Every good nostril piercing starts with a piercer marking the spot and handing you a mirror. Take your time with that. Look straight on and in profile, because a mark that looks right face on can sit oddly from the side, and the side is how most people will see it.

Which side is entirely yours to choose. There is no rule, despite what you may read. Pick based on which side you part your hair, which side you sleep on, and which you prefer in the mirror.

Does It Hurt?

Brief and sharp, and your eyes will water.

The tissue is soft and thin, so there is little resistance and the sensation is over almost immediately. Most people find it easier than they expected. As with a septum, the watering eyes are a reflex rather than an emotional reaction, and a sneeze afterwards is common.

Most people describe it as a hard pinch. It sits at the gentler end of facial piercings.

Healing, and Being Honest About the Timeline

Four to six months for initial healing, sometimes longer.

This is longer than people expect for something that feels so quick. The inside of your nose is damp, warm, full of bacteria and disturbed every time you have a cold, blow your nose, wash your face or put on glasses. All of that slows things down.

It is also one of the more common piercings to develop an irritation bump, usually somewhere around month two or three. That is almost always mechanical, from knocking it, catching it on a towel, sleeping on it, or a ring being fitted too early.

Sterile saline twice a day and nothing else. Do not use anything harsher inside your nose.

Stud First, Ring Later

This is the single most useful thing on this page and the thing people argue with most.

A flat-backed labret stud is what should go in first. The flat disc sits inside the nostril, it is comfortable, it catches on very little, and it holds the piercing at a stable angle while it heals.

A ring is what a lot of people actually want, and it should wait until the piercing is properly settled, usually somewhere between four and six months.

The reason is movement. A ring rotates, swings and levers against the piercing every time you move, wash your face or pull a jumper over your head. On a fresh nostril piercing that constant movement is the most reliable way to produce an irritation bump, a migrated piercing, or a hole that ends up at a slightly different angle from the one it started at.

If somebody offers to put a ring in a fresh nostril piercing, they are prioritizing what you want to hear over what will work.

Nose bones are worth avoiding. Nose bones have a small ball on the end that has to be forced through the piercing channel, which damages tissue every time it goes in or out. A flat backed labret is more comfortable and better in every respect.

The Scar Nobody Mentions

If you take a nostril piercing out, you will almost certainly be left with a small permanent mark.

It is usually a tiny pale dot, sometimes slightly indented, on the outside of your nose. It fades but it does not vanish. That is the honest position, and it is the main practical difference between a nostril piercing and a septum, where the hole is inside the nose and nothing shows.

Nobody says this before piercing and a fair number of people are surprised later. It is not a reason to avoid one. It is a reason to be sure, and it is the reason we sometimes suggest a septum to somebody who wants a nose piercing but is uncertain about permanence.

Living With One

Glasses rest close to a nostril piercing on some faces. Worth mentioning at the consultation if you wear them daily.

Colds are genuinely miserable during healing. Blowing your nose repeatedly disturbs the piercing and everything stays damp. Be gentle, clean a little more often, and expect a few tender days afterwards.

Makeup and skincare should stay off the piercing during healing. Foundation, cleanser and exfoliants all irritate it.

Face masks rub against the area constantly.

Sleeping on that side presses the disc into the inside of the nostril. Not as consequential as with ear cartilage, but it contributes.

Swimming is out until it has healed.

Choosing the Jewellery Once it is Healed

This is where the piercing stops being a healing project and becomes something you actually wear, and the options are wider than most people realize.

Flat backed studs remain the most comfortable long term option and come in a huge range of ends. Plain titanium balls and discs, faceted stones, opals, shaped ends, and threadless designs where the end pushes into the post rather than screwing on. Threadless is the most comfortable to change once you have the knack.

Rings come as seamless hoops, clickers and captive bead rings. Clickers are by far the easiest to put in and take out yourself. Seamless rings look cleanest but need a small amount of technique, and bending them open and closed repeatedly weakens them over time.

Diameter for a ring should follow your nose. Too large and it swings and catches, too small and it presses. A piercer will size it in a few seconds with rings to try.

Metal matters even after healing. A settled piercing is more tolerant, but nickel bearing jewellery will still irritate a nickel sensitive person indefinitely. Implant-grade titanium and solid gold are the safe long term choices. Plated jewellery wears through, and what is underneath the plating is usually the problem.

Gauge should stay consistent. Going thinner than the piercing lets the channel shrink, and going thicker means stretching it, which is a deliberate process rather than something to do by forcing a bigger post in.

Timeline, Week by Week

Days one to three. Sore, swollen, occasionally bleeding a little. The disc inside will feel large.

Week one to three. Settling. Crusting around the entry, softened off with saline rather than picked.

Month one to three. Mostly comfortable. This is when irritation bumps most commonly appear, and almost always because something mechanical is happening rather than because anything is wrong with the piercing itself.

Month four to six. Stable enough for a jewellery change with a piercer.

Beyond six months. Settled. Change freely, keeping the gauge consistent.

Colds, hay fever and a heavy face washing routine all set this back temporarily, and that is normal rather than a failure.

What Tends to Go Wrong

A ring fitted too early, which is the leading cause of everything else on this list.

Cheap jewellery, particularly anything nickel bearing.

Nose bones, which damage the channel each time they are forced through.

Twisting or turning the jewellery, which is old advice and tears healing tissue.

Poor placement, which shows up as a piercing that sits oddly in profile or catches the crease constantly.

Picking at crusting rather than softening it off with saline.

Two Nostrils, and Other Combinations

Plenty of people end up with more than one nose piercing, and the combinations behave differently.

Both nostrils is a symmetrical look that works on most faces. The usual advice is to heal one fully before doing the other rather than both at once, for two reasons. You keep a comfortable side to sleep on, and if something irritates you have a healthy piercing to compare against. It also halves the aftercare burden at any one time.

A nostril and a septum is one of the most common pairings and they sit well together, particularly with matching metal. They can be done at the same appointment if you want, since they are different tissue in different places and neither interferes with the other. The septum will heal faster.

A double nostril on the same side, one above the other, needs planning. The spacing has to suit the curve of your nostril and there needs to be enough room that the two do not irritate each other. Worth a consultation rather than a walk in.

A high nostril sits considerably further up the nose than a standard placement. It looks striking and it is a genuinely more difficult heal, often a year or more, because the tissue is thicker and less forgiving. It is not a first nose piercing.

Whatever the plan, tell a piercer the whole of it at the first appointment. Where the first piercing sits changes what is possible for the second, and it is far easier to plan the pair than to fit the second around a first that was placed without it in mind.

Work, School and Hiding One

A nostril piercing is the facial piercing people most often need to conceal, and the options are limited but real.

A retainer is a small piece of jewellery, usually clear or skin toned, made to hold the channel open while being close to invisible. It is not perfectly invisible under scrutiny and it is far better than nothing.

A very small flat end in plain titanium is discreet enough for a great many workplaces, and considerably more comfortable than a retainer for daily wear.

Taking it out entirely is the one option that does not really work during the first year. A healing nostril piercing closes fast, sometimes within hours, and a channel that has closed over is not something you can simply reopen.

Once a piercing has been settled for a couple of years it will usually tolerate being out for a working day, though it varies enormously between people and there is no way to know yours except by trying.

The practical advice is to find out your workplace position before booking rather than after. If the answer is a firm no, a septum flipped up is invisible in a way a nostril piercing cannot be, and that is worth knowing before you choose.

Bottom Line

A nostril piercing is quick, comparatively gentle and takes four to six months to heal properly. Placement is decided by the shape of your nose, so look at the mark in a mirror from the front and from the side before agreeing to it.

Start with a flat backed stud even if a ring is what you want, and swap once it has settled. Avoid nose bones and screws entirely. Use saline twice a day and nothing else.

And know that taking it out later leaves a small permanent mark. If that matters to you, a septum does not.

Come in and we will mark it up and let you look properly before anything happens.

FAQ

Which side should I get pierced?

Whichever you prefer. There is no rule. Consider which side you sleep on, which way you part your hair, and how it looks to you in the mirror.

Can I get a ring straight away?

You can, and you should not. A ring moves constantly and is the most common cause of irritation bumps and migration in a fresh nostril piercing. Start with a flat backed stud and swap at four to six months.

How long does it take to heal?

Four to six months, sometimes longer. The inside of your nose is a difficult environment and colds set it back.

Does it leave a scar?

Usually a small pale dot on the outside of the nose, which fades but does not disappear entirely. A septum leaves nothing visible, which is why it suits people uncertain about permanence.

Why should I avoid a nose bone?

The ball on the end has to be forced through the channel each time it goes in or out, which damages tissue. A flat backed labret is more comfortable and better for healing.

Will my glasses interfere?

On some faces, yes. Mention it at the consultation so placement can account for it.

How much does it hurt?

Brief and sharp, at the gentler end of facial piercings. Your eyes will water as a reflex and you may sneeze.

I have a bump next to my piercing. What is it?

Almost certainly an irritation bump rather than anything serious, usually caused by a ring fitted too early, knocking it, or sleeping on it. Come in and let us look rather than treating it at home.