There’s so much to love about septum piercings. Unlike other facial piercings, these popular nose piercings can also be easily disguised, which makes them a great way for students or professionals to showcase their style whilst also remaining professional.
Need to conceal your septum piercing? Here’s how you can disguise your piercing with the flip up technique, septum retainers, and more.
Can You Hide A Septum Piercing?
Yes, it’s possible to hide a septum piercing, and in most cases, it’s pretty easy. All you’ll need is some small, discreet jewelry to be able to flip the piercing up inside your nose.
This way, it won’t be visible when anyone is looking at you head-on. This is great news if you need to hide your piercing for work, school, or a formal event!
How To Hide Your Septum Piercing
Hiding your septum piercing is simple - but there are a few things you should know, first. Here’s everything you need to know about hiding your septum piercing.
Keep The Piercing In For 6-8 Weeks
Before you go changing jewelry or removing your piercing, you’ll need to keep your septum piercing in for at least 6-8 weeks, or until it’s fully healed. If you remove your septum piercing before it’s healed, it’ll be at higher risk of infection, and it may even close up altogether.
If you remove the piercing before it’s healed, you’ll also have a much harder time putting it back in, and it may be extremely painful.
Choose A Discreet Ring
There are many types of septum jewelry out there, but if you want to be discreet about your piercing, you’ll need to choose something that’s easy to disguise. Talk to a piercer about thin septum jewelry, and opt for something that’s around 16 grams.
You should also avoid choosing any septum jewelry that contains accessories like diamonds, as they can be harder to disguise. Choose a thin piece of silver or black piece of jewelry that won’t catch anyone’s attention when it’s flipped inside your nose (more on that next).
Flip Up Your Jewelry
Flipping a septum piercing up inside your nose is one of the quickest and easiest ways to disguise your piercing. However, it’s not recommended on fresh piercings, as it’s likely to irritate the tissue. You may also cause extra tearing or damage to the piercing site which can increase your risk of infection.
Once your piercing has finished healing, you’ll be able to flip your septum piercing up inside your nose. To do this, you’ll need a horseshoe-shaped septum jewelry that can sit comfortably inside your nose.
Ensure the horseshoe ends of your piercing are facing down (towards the top of your mouth), and place your fingers on either side of the piercing. Then, gently push the horseshoe ends towards nostril holes, and keep going until they sit comfortably inside.
What If I Can’t Flip My Septum Piercing Up?
Unfortunately, some people may struggle to flip their septum piercing up inside their nose, depending on the size of their jewelry, or their anatomy. In most cases, this issue can be fixed by either widening or decreasing the size of the jewelry.
How you do this will depend on whether you’re using plastic, acrylic or metal jewelry, or another tough material such as titanium or steel.
If you’re using plastic jewelry, you’ll probably be able to manipulate the shape of your piercing with your hands.
If the horseshoe ends of your piercing are too close together and you’re struggling to flip the piercing up, gently grip each horseshoe end of the piercing and pull the jewelry outward until the opening increases.
If your opening is already too large, do the opposite, and push the ends together until they’re smaller.
If you have silver or metal jewelry, you’ll probably need an external tool like a pair of pliers. Avoid manipulating the jewelry with pliers when it’s inside your nose to avoid injury.
You can use the pliers to either widen or decrease the size of your jewelry. Experiment with different sizes until you can comfortably fit the jewerly inside your nose.
Once you’ve manipulated your jewelery to the correct size, remember to disinfect it thoroughly before putting it back in your nose to reduce the risk of infection.
Other Ways To Disguise Or Protect A Septum Piercing
Flipping up your septum piercing is one of the easiest ways to protect or disguise your piercing, but it’s not always possible. If you’re unable to flip up your piercing, you could try using one of these other methods:
Use A Septum Retainer
If you need to hide your septum piercing during the healing process, it’s best to use a septum retainer.
Septum retainers are usually made from plastic, and they’re virtually invisible, so you can wear them discreetly while your septum piercing is healing. Although you can flip them up and down if desired, it usually isn’t recommended (or necessary).
If you need to use a retainer to disguise your piercing during healing, talk to your piercer for more information.
Use Skin-Colored Tape
This isn’t the most effective way to disguise a new piercing, but it’s a great way to disguise and protect the piercing in a sporting situation. You can use breathable sports tape (or a skin-colored fabric plaster) and place it over the top of your jewelry.
If you can’t flip up or remove your septum piercing during healing, this can be a great method to use. Just remember to remove your tape each day and keep the piercing clean to prevent infection or inflammation.
Remember: whatever method you use, you’ll need to keep your piercing clean. Wash your piercing several times a day with a saltwater wash or a saline solution to remove dirt, debris, blood and pus, and prevent infection.
Final Thoughts
Once your septum is healed, you can insert a small piece of septum jewelry and disguise it inside your nose without needing to remove your piercing! Just remember to keep your jewelry clean, and avoid using this technique if your piercing is still healing.
