Questions about nose piercings

[Procrastatron]

Hiya, I know there are old threads in this but I have some specific questions if those with experience are happy to answer…

I’d like to get a very minimalist nose piercing and I know I need to start with a stud even if I want a ring down the line. So questions:

if you now wear a minimalist ring what diameter and gage do you wear? Anonymised photos as examples would be helpful as google suggests 8mm but that seems massive.

if I get a stud with a 1.5mm ball/jewel at the start is that too small? Does it risk embedding into my nose?

does it really close up neatly if I absolutely hate it and/or have problems with it?

Finally, a less technical Q, do people really notice when you have it done? it’s for me and my ideal outcome is that it doesn’t scream “look at my fancy new piercing”

Hello! I have a stud at the moment, it's about 3.5-4mm I think. It was fixed in by the piercer so I can't take it out by myself so don't know what the hole is like but my friend got one at the same time, had issues with it and removed it. I can't see any mark so it must have healed fine. I have had it about a year and a half and had no problems.
I think people don't seem to notice it, after I had it done no one said anything unless I pointed it out. My dad has never mentioned it and he hates piercings and tattoos so I'm sure he would have said something if he had noticed. He hasn't seen the five tattoos I have recently got either 😂I am 47 and hiding my choices from him, ridiculous but what he doesn't know won't bother him I reckon 😂

Ah thank you that’s really helpful!

You are a similar age to me, did you ever question whether you were too old for doing this? I’m usually firmly in the camp of age not mattering, and I have loads of earrings but this seems different. Not the wearing it, but the feeling like it’s an act of rebellion to get it done.

I got mine done this year. I don't think you get a choice in the size it's pierced with as it needs to be big enough to take into consideration swelling. I had mine done in August and just downsized this weekend to one that's a 3mm flat stud with a 20 gauge (pierced with an 18 gauge which is bigger again to take into consideration swelling) so the stud it was pierced with much have been quite a bit bigger and this is much smaller.

Don't underestimate how long it takes to heal and that you might end up with a granuloma. I did and I'm glad I had that big stud at the time!!

As for people noticing, not one person did. I had to tell my friends and they were shocked they hadn't noticed. I sent a photo to my mum and she made a comment about where I was sitting in the photo and didn't notice the piercing at all. I also met my MIL and FIL the afternoon I got it done and they still haven't mentioned it.

@Procrastatron I did worry I was too old or at least that people would think I was! But then I have always dressed a little alternatively, became more conservative when I became a mum and more recently I have thought stuff it, who cares what anyone else thinks. I am currently sporting frankly ridiculously chunky boots out at the shopping mall. I am swinging between loving them and thinking I possibly look like I am trying to be young. But I'm not, I'm aware of my age but want to wear what I like. I lost a lovely colleague just before Christmas who was over ten years younger than me, made me think just do it, you only get one shot at life and it might be shorter than you think.

I’ve got a tiny diamanté one in my nose, I think it was two years before my friend noticed it.

100 percent! Couldn’t agree more! ❤

I got one a few years ago - hitting 50 - celebrating my divorce, lol. I sometimes change the stud for a hoop, but generally wear a small stud. People frequently don’t even notice unless I put in a bigger or more colourful stud. I love it!

If you're piercing is wider than you want wearing a thinner post will shrink it, I wore nothing for years and it definitely shrank, had to wear a very fine posted stud when I started wearing it again. And also can wear gradually thicker ones to widen it.
I wear a diamante stud, except in winter when I seem to always have a cold so wear nothing, then have the eye-watering re-insertion in the spring when I decide to wear it again!

I'm in my mid forties and have had nose piercing since I was 18. I wear a 1.7mm stud. You will get pierced with a big stud, I hated it because I've only got a small nose. You have to make sure it is completely healed before changing. It can take longer than you think.

Il going to be honest. Many years ago I noticed my friend had a new nose piercing but just didn't mention it. At first I thought it was a spot (it was a ruby stone) then I just didn't mention after discovering it must have actually been a piercing.

The ring I wear is 6mm in diameter, (6-8 seems common) and in terms of guage is probably like 0.6mm - I prefer the look of thinner rings. Once you're fully healed, you can probably go thinner if you really wanted, some silver rings (Vs steel or titanium) come in very thin wires, but I'd be worried about a cheesewire effect!

For the initial stud, 1.5mm end is quite tiny, it's what I wear 90% of the time and never feel like it sinks in, but maybe for a fresh piercing they'd recommend something a bit larger. The main issue is not the size of the gem, but the length of the stud itself - that needs to be longer at first to allow for swelling. Your best bet is to find a piercer who is willing to find you jewellery you like to start with, as it might be months before you can swap it. Is recommend a labret over a screw too -much comfier and less likely to fall out

I had mine pierced a few years ago, I always wanted something very tiny and delicate as well. I wear 1-1.5mm gem/studs or a 22 gauge ring. Not sure on the diameter of the ring, but that partly depends on where you site the piercing - how big you need the diameter to be (or how small you can get away with!) Photo of my 1mm stud attached - I never have a problem with it trying to disappear through the piercing.

@Akitamum so much of what you wrote could be me. X

@holierthanthou73 are you named after the well known piercing shop in Manchester?

Thank you everyone else for sharing your advice and experience and @CinnamonTwist for the photo, yours looks so elegant.

Taking note that I might need something larger for the initial piercing I might go for something lower profile, I.e flatter like this: www.mariatash.com/plain-pear-shaped-threaded-stud-earring.html?metal=yellow-gold (I know I’m paying over the odds)

I wouldn’t choose anything with a back on. I wouldn’t like to fiddle up my nose. I prefer L shaped studs although you won’t be able to have it pierced with them.
I’m mid 40s and had mine done when I was 16. I tend to swap and change my nose studs quite often when the mood takes me. Currently wearing a small silver ball which I like, but I have flowers and diamantés too. I don’t pay much attention to gauge but I think around the 2mm mark or below works for me. Some of the piercing studs are too fat for my nose these days and I don’t suit rings.

Just make sure you tell the piercer you want to wear a ring as the peircing position is different.

Stud piercings are usually placed higher up the nose. You can of course wear a ring in them but it will have to be a larger diameter and won't sit as close to your nose as it would if the hole was lower down. It all depends on the look you want.

Mine was pierced with quite a small stud - no more than 1.5mm. Any decent piercer will be able to offer you a small initial stud. If they can't then go elsewhere.

Thank you both. I’m all booked for the weekend but having a bit of a wobble. Questioning why I need to do this at my age etc.

I'm mid 50s and had my nose pierced years ago, I still wear a stud in it, I don't notice it anymore, it's just there.
I don't know anything about diameters but I have a diamante stud in, the bar is thin like a stud earring.
I buy them from piercing shops, approx £5 for 925 silver, I buy the ones that have an L shaped bar, I put it in and squeeze the end of the bar so it's tight
Here's a tip though, if you buy one with a diamante stud make sure it's a claw setting because if it's glued it the diamante will come off eventually due to heat, oil in your skin etc.
Take a trip to a piercing shop and tell them what you want and they'll advise you

The least noticeable & most comfy ones are nose curls, or L-shape ones (but L-shaped ones can fall out easily). You line a curl up, poke in, then twirl around. Curls don't fall out. I wear a very cheap silver one because I go swimming a lot, gold would degrade in chlorinated water.

Don't question yourself! You can do whatever you want at any age, if you really want it go for it! I was nervous before I went in, my kids were waiting outside as it was not long after a lockdown, they had just been for their own piercings ( they have lots!) and were having a laugh about how I was going to come out without it as they thought I would back out. They were glad I had and they think it looks good, high praise coming from teens 😂It didn't hurt much, just felt weird, our piercer is lovely so I was distracted by laughing so much. It bled a lot but some people don't bleed much at all apparently. Go get it then take yourself out for a coffee or drink to celebrate 😀Enjoy your new piercing, if you don't like it you can always take it out and at least you won't have to wonder if you should have just gone and done it!

I want my nose done again. I had it done as a teen but took it out and it closed up but I have chronic sinusitis now and the amount of nasal spray I use is ridiculous. Not sure if I should get it repierced.

Hello OP I have my nose and septum pierced. My piercer didn't give and option of the size but a option of the design. Mainly if it swells up. However once it's healed you can go back and they can change it for you :) I changed mines to a hoop which I prefer and suit better tbh! X

I wear a teeny tiny clear stone stud. Love mine! 40 next week.

Nose studs/rings are cute and understated, I have two facial piercings and wear a spiked ring in one. I'm nearly 35 and no plans to remove them because of my age 😄

I am 46 and had my nose pierced last year, and yes some people did notice. I’m afraid I didn’t know what gauge I was was pierced with.
I had a twist/ curl crystal stud for the first 5 months, unfortunately I did get a rather horrible piercing bump but it’s gone now 12 months on. All cartilage piercing carry this risk.
I did visit holier than thou, as I live in Manchester, and get my twist changed for a labret, but I didn’t like how I couldn’t remove it myself and now have a selection of different coloured tiny crystals on screw / twist backs.

I think I phrased my last comment wrong, it’s not about age, I’m firmly in the camp of age not mattering. It’s more about why I’m doing it at this point in my life, is it an emotional reaction etc. Anyway, I had to cancel my appt for logistical reasons and realised that I was very very disappointed which has helped. I’ve found another piercer and rebooked so we are all go with renewed enthusiasm!
Thank you to everyone else who shared experiences, I have a few ear piercings so I know all about piercing bumps and it’s a risk I’m willing to take!