Your Nose Piercing Jewelry Guide

Whether your nose happens to be adorned with a stylish bit of bling, or you’ve just begun to consider your very first nose piercing, hoop nose rings are one of the most popular styles of jewelry to choose from. And for good reason.

While a nose stud often makes for a subtle accent to your look, different types of nose rings have the versatility to be either edgy or elegant depending on the placement and the particular style selected.

Below we’ve highlighted everything you need to know about nose piercing jewelry options, styles, placement, and care, in order for you to get the most out of your next nose piercing.

If you have more questions or are ready to take the next step, don’t hesitate to reach out to our talented team at Pierced. We have two convenient locations in each Newmarket and Mississauga and would love to help

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Nose Piercing Options: Rings, studs and more!

If you’re still in the early planning stages and haven’t yet taken the plunge to get pierced, you have a few decisions to make before hopping in the chair.

First and foremost, you’ll need to decide where to place your nose piercing. By far, the two most common and most popular nose piercings are the nostril piercing and the septum piercing. Both the nostril and the septum are excellent candidates for hoop ring jewelry, with plenty of beautiful ring options available for both.

Nostril Piercings

A nostril piercing is usually made just above the crease of the nostril where your nose curves away from your cheek. Nostril piercings can be done on either side of the nose and while it’s most popular to get only one nostril pierced, some people do opt for the symmetry of doing both. Another option for nostril piercings that is gaining popularity is having more than one piercing in a single nostril or even getting the upper part of the nostril pierced. In ayurvedic medicine, it is believed that piercing the left nostril helps with female fertility and eases the birthing process.

Septum Piercings

The septum piercing has gained a major surge in popularity in recent years. This may be partially due to the influence of high fashion, with models at New York’s famous fashion week sporting septum rings in large numbers in 2015. Another possible reason for the newfound popularity of septum piercings may be the ability to easily hide these piercings for work.

Septum piercings go through the central part of the nose between the two nostrils. When done correctly, a septum piercing does not actually pierce the cartilage like a nostril piercing. There is a small fleshy area in the septum where the septal cartilage ends, this is the sweet spot for a septum piercing and will result in a piercing that is not only relatively pain-free to pierce, but also often heals rather quickly.

Other Nose Piercing Options

A few other less common nose piercings which don’t work quite as well with ring jewelry are bridge piercings, septril piercings, and the vertical tip piercing.

Regardless of which type of nose piercing you ultimately decide to get, it’s imperative to select an experienced piercing artist from a clean and reputable shop such as Pierced. Our piercing artists, located in the Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket, and soon to open second location in Mississauga, have vast experience and operate under the strictest safety and sanitation guidelines to assure your new piercing is placed properly and heals correctly.

Tips When Changing Nose Piercing Jewelry

Once your nose piercing has fully healed, you’ll be able to take full advantage of the wide variety of jewelry styles available. While changing your jewelry may seem like a straightforward process, there are some things you may want to keep in mind in order to assure you don’t do any damage to your piercing or risk an infection.

Steps When Changing Jewelry

First, it’s imperative that you make sure your piercing is fully healed before changing the jewelry. If you are unsure of whether or not it’s a safe time for a change, consult your piercer.

Next, make sure your new jewelry is the right size. Though most nose piercings are done with a 16 gauge needle, if you’re unsure of your gauge ask your piercer before attempting to put in a new piece of jewelry. Attempting to force a piece of jewelry that's the wrong size could result in tearing or infection. Putting in your new jewelry should not be a painful process. If you’re finding it difficult to get your new ring in but you know you have the right size, you can use a bit of antibacterial soap as a lubricant.

Finally, make sure your new jewelry is clean. This also means cleaning any area that may come in contact with your jewelry, so make sure to wipe down any surface you may place your ring and give your hands a thorough scrubbing. Any bacteria allowed to remain in contact with your jewelry or piercing is a risk for infection.

If you encounter any problems when attempting to change your jewelry, talk to your piercer.

Our Favourite Nose Piercing Jewelry

How to Put in a Nose Ring

Wash your hands: clean hands should always be the first step when doing anything involving your jewelry and piercings. Make sure to wash your hands thoroughly before getting started.

Remove your old hoop ring: Carefully remove your old stud or ring. Wash and dry your old jewelry completely before putting it away for safekeeping.

Clean your nose ring and the piercing site: Using either a sea salt solution, saline wipe, or piercing spray, clean your piercing and new hoop nose ring. If your new nose ring has a captive bead, make sure to remove the bead in order to clean completely. To remove the bead in a captive bead ring, gently pull the sides apart to release the tension, this will free the ball or bead. Once your jewelry is clean, make sure not to place it on any surface which hasn't been sterilized.

Open your ring: If using a captive bead ring, your jewelry should already be open and ready to use. If your jewelry doesn't have a captive ring, pull the hoop apart so you’re left with a wide enough opening to comfortably insert the ring into your piercing. If you’re unable to do this with your fingers you can use a pair of pliers, but be gentle in order to avoid damaging the jewelry.

Slowly slide your new jewelry into your piercing: take it slow and remember that inserting a new piece of jewelry should not hurt. You can use a small amount of antibacterial soap as a lubricant to help ease the process.

Close the ring: by applying pressure to the ring using your fingers, gently push the ends back together and make sure it’s closed tightly enough that there is no risk of your new ring falling out. If your ring has a captive bead, pinch the ends into the bead until the ring has enough tension to hold the bead securely in place.

How to Put in a Septum Ring

Wash your hands: make sure your hands are clean before touching your piercing or septum ring.

Remove your old hoop or ring: Gently open your old ring by pulling the two ends up and down rather than out. If wearing hoops or rings with threaded beads at the end, simply remove one of the beads and slide the jewelry out. Clean and dry your old ring before putting it away.

Clean the piercing site and your new jewelry: using a sea salt solution, saline wipes, or piercing spray, clean the piercing site and your new septum ring thoroughly. Be careful not to place your new ring on any surface that isn’t sterilized or it will need to be cleaned again before being inserted.

Open your new ring: make sure to open your septum ring by twisting it open, pulling the ends up and down rather than away from each other. For thicker accessories, you may find it necessary to use pliers. Just make sure to not squeeze too tightly with the pliers in order to avoid damaging your septum ring.

Take your time: it can be a bit tricky to find the hole for your septum piercing the first few times. Don’t rush, pinch just below your septum and pull it down in order to get a better view of the hole if you’re having difficulties. You can also use your old jewelry as a means to guide your new ring in, simply slide the old one out while guiding the new piece in so there is no break in the cycle.

Slide your new septum ring into the piercing: once you’ve located the hole, gently slide your new ring in. A small amount of antibacterial soap can be used to lubricate the jewelry if necessary.

Close your ring: twist your ring back together or reinsert the captive bead and assure your new ring is straight and secure.

Choosing the Right Metal for your Jewelry

Though there are many cheap options on the market made with a variety of metals, we highly recommend sticking to jewelry made from quality, hypo-allergenic metals. Reactions to cheaper metals can cause discomfort, discolouration, or even infections. Some metals can even leach toxic chemicals into your body! We recommend the following metals for any face or body jewelry in order to avoid any risk of a reaction, listed in order from best to worst.

Titanium: Titanium is the hardest and highest grade of metal you can get for body jewelry. It is incredibly sturdy, meaning you are unlikely to scratch or damage it, and contains virtually no nickel (a metal known for causing allergic reactions in many). Titanium can come in a classic silver-tone or even in a variety of colours.

24-karat gold or rose gold: Gold and rose gold make for beautiful, elegant options. However, gold is a very soft metal. Because of its softness, gold is prone to imperfections that can hold bacteria. This is why gold is usually only recommended for fully healed piercings and not for new piercings.

Nose Piercing Jewelry Styles

Captive bead nose rings: Captive bead rings feature a metal ring with a single bead held in place using tension. The beads can come in a variety of shapes, materials, and colours.

Bar closure nose rings: Like captive bead nose rings except with a bar in place of the bead. The bar is usually put through the actual piercing in order to give the appearance of a continuous metal ring.

Hoop nose ring: these simple nose rings are elegant and easy to put in. They are usually plain rings with a small stopper at one end to keep the ring from falling out. Hoop nose rings are best for nostril piercings and not recommended for septum piercings.

Septum clickers: Septum clickers have become incredibly popular due to how easy they are to put in. They consist of a small bar and a larger circular piece attached by a hinge that clicks into place. Unlike captive rings, you don’t need to worry about losing the captive bar or bead when placing a septum clicker.

Circular barbell or horseshoe ring: a circular barbell or horseshoe ring consists of a bar shaped like a horseshoe or little crescent moon with two beads at the end. This style is especially popular for septum piercings for a couple of reasons. First, they are easy to customize because you can usually replace the beads on the ends any time you want to change your look. Secondly, you can easily flip this style of nose ring up to hide it for work or other occasions where piercings aren’t accepted.

Need Help Finding the Perfect Hoop Nose Ring or other Nose Piercing jewelry?

If you happen to be in or around the Newmarket or Mississauga area, then give us a call or drop by our highly rated piercing parlour today. Our team is passionate, experienced, and talented, making sure all of our customers have a pleasant and enjoyable experience selecting the perfect piercing and jewelry combination.