So you've had a long hard think about it, and decided it's time to get that nose pierced.
Then it occurs to you: you’re not sure which side of your nose to get pierced? Never mind if you are going to go for a nose ring or a nose stud?
Looking at others with nose rings doesn't help as you soon realise people don't wear their nose rings on any particular side, it's not right for boys and left for girls.
How do you choose which side to pierce?
Or do you just toss a coin and let fate decide?
In this article, I'm going to be looking over some of the things you might consider before choosing which side of your nose to get pierced.
Your Current Style
There are a few factors to do with your own style that might make help to choose a particular side for your new nose piercing.
Hair Style
Your hair style could be something to think about, as if your hair covers one side of your face more than the other, you might want to pierce your nose on the opposite side so that it is more visible, after all you do want to be showing off your new piercing to everyone now.
Additional Piercings
If you have other facial piercings, lip rings or labrets, these might have an influence on which side your nose piercing will look best.
For instance, if you have a Monroe piercing (named because of Marilyn Monroe’s beauty mark) generally on your upper lip, you can choose to get your nose ring on the right side so your piercings don’t to look crowded together.
Ask Your Piercer or a Friend
You can always just ask someone else to help you decide. Your piercer might have some ideas which side would look better as they probably will have done hundreds, if not thousands of nose piercings and should have good instincts for which side will suit your face shape.
If you don't know, or would feel embarrassed to ask in a piercing studio, you can also ask a friend to give you their opinion, remember they will see your face more often than you do and might have a really good idea of what side a piercing would look best.
Leave It Up To Fate
But if it's just too hard to make up your mind, you can always leave it to chance. Flip a coin, let a friend choose a side for you, or just ask your piercer to surprise you. Whichever side you end up choosing it doesn't really matter as nose piercings look great on either side.
Everyday Reasons
There are also a few practical reasons to choose one side over the other. If you have a favourite side to sleep on, you could decide to pierce your nose on the opposite side to avoid any irritations while the piercing is healing. Depending if you’re right- or left-handed, you might also want to work out which side of your nose is easier for you to change your nose ring from. Now these might all sound like simple things but worth thinking about before you go to your piercer.
Try It Out With Fake Nose Ring
If you’re in a panic that after you get one side done that you might change your mind and wish you had gotten the other side done instead. Then getting a fake nose ring is a good way of testing out both sides first and see which suits you best or feels more natural.
Piercing Both Sides
One thing you could do is what a most of people do when they pierce their ears and just get both sides pierced. This then lets you dodge the whole decision, keeps your piercings symmetrical, and also look great.
Remember that most piercing studios will recommend only getting one side pierced at a time and allowing the first piercing to heal completely before piercing the other side. And who knows you might just love the fist side and leave it there.
Septum Piercing
Piercing your septum, although some people claim that getting a septum piercing hurts more than piercing your nostrils as it goes through the cartilage between your nostrils. But it does have one obvious advantage, because the jewelry sits in the middle of your nose, you don’t have to choose a side.
Conclusion
There are a lot of things to think about before you pick which side of your nose to pierce, but when all is said and done it's a personal choice as there is no right or wrong side - as long as you rember Rule 32 "EnjoyThe Little Things"that's all that matters and after all you know you are going to get more piercings done later on anyway.
