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Seven years ago while living in India, where it is pretty safe to say that every woman has a nose piercing, I entered the tiny shop on the side of the narrow road that ran through my town and asked the proprietor to pierce my nose.

He pulled a piece of green velvet folded into the shape of an envelope from a drawer and laid it out, unfolded, on the counter between us. On the open velvet lay several silver studs used for both ear and nose piercing. The ends were blunt and he took a file from a drawer, dunked it in a bottle of whiskey and began to sharpen the end of the stud.

Had I not had a friend with me who was literally barring the door (knowing my resolve to have this done) I would have bolted right then and there. It didn't take long to sharpen however and the man came from behind the counter, poured some of the whiskey on his fingers and sticking his thumb up my nose and using the fingers to push the stud through it was all over in one painless though frightening second.

The left side of my face turned red and tears streamed from my left eye but I felt pretty good about the whole situation. Then he reached back up into my nostril to place the backing in the stud and the sensitive area burst into screaming pain.

I punched him in the jaw and he laughed as I apologized profusely. "They always do that." He said with a chuckle as he asked for his 50 rupees. (The equivalent of about a dollar.)

I left that simple silver earing stud in my nose for many months before venturing into more exotic territory. However, once I became aware of the many different types of nose rings there was no stopping me from purchasing them every trip I made to town.

There is of course the plain stud. Some have a slight backing which should be quite different from the backing of an earing. It is usually round and slim and flat. There is also the stud which has a small rounded ball at the tip instead of a backing. This is the type of ring I prefer and am in fact wearing at this moment. You can also find hoops which can be wound through the piercing or hoops which have a small bulb in the middle so that they can not be moved through the nose. There are bones and safety pins and chains that go from the nose to the ear. There are gold, silver, plastic and wood rings. They come in all shapes and sizes!

If you are thinking of getting your nose pierced or already have a piercing the chances are high that your experience will not be anything like mine was. That will probably work in your favor as you can speak with your piercing artist about the types of rings available and where to best purchase them. I wouldn't trade my experience for the world however!

Learn more about this author, Emily Branwell.
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