Nose Rings

History of Nose Rings

The very first nose, or nostril, piercings occurred over 4,000 years ago in the Middle East. in fact, this practice is even mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible. A nostril ring was one gift that was given to Rebekah, the beautiful wife of Isaac, on her wedding day.

Nose Piercings in India

In India, nose rings have been common among women since the 16th century, when the Mughals ruled the country. Some people associate nose jewelry with the Hindu religion because of this; however, Muslim women and children in India, as well as Pakistan, also wear nostril rings. The original nostril ring was not a ring at all. Instead, it was the type of jewelry that we now call a nose screw. Usually, the screw had an ornamental stone or flower pattern on its visible surface. Today, nostril rings are still popular in India and often are used as a symbol of beauty or class.

Types of Nose Piercings

There are two main types of piercings that are performed on the nose area: the nostril piercing (which is by far the most common) and the septum piercing . Many women opt for the nostril piercing, which can be performed with different body jewelry, either a ring (captive bead ring or CBR), a nose bone (a straight nose stud with a small bulb at the base to avoid its falling out) or a nose screw (a bent nose stud that screws into the piercing hole).

The septum piercing is usually performed with a CBR or curved barbell (horseshoe barbell) and is placed in the thin strip of cartilage that is located between the two nostrils. This piercing looks like the nose jewelry found in a bull, and many men choose this type of nose adornment over the nostril piercing.

Piercing the Nose: Healing and Pain Level

Nose rings are not the least painful of body modifications (many consider a simple earlobe piercing to be the least painful), but they are not the most painful either. The nostril area is a bit thicker than the earlobe, and requires a bit more force to pop through the tissues. Most noses are pierced with an 18 ga or 20 ga needle, which is thinner than the gauge used for earrings, thus decreasing the pain level.

Nostril and septum rings tend to take a while to heal, mostly because they are in a mucus membrane that is irritated frequently. They typically take around six months to heal completely, and even then you should not leave your jewelry out for more than a few hours. Your nose piercing hole will grow shut very quickly.

It's also important to be careful around your new nose ring. Snagging your jewelry with a towel or hairbrush can cause the jewelry to be yanked out of the hole. It can be very hard to get jewelry back into a newly pierced nose, as well as quite painful. Take special care of your nose jewelry and you can have a beautiful piercing for years to come.

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