A popular form of body modification today is actually a very old tradition which has been performed since the Paleolithic era. This form of body modification is known as the nose or nostril piercing. Second to only an earlobe piercing, the nose piercing is considered to be a very popular choice especially among women.

Nose piercing can be mostly attributed to India. In the northern part of India, it was common place for the left nostril to be pierced while in southern India the right nostril was the chosen location. Furthermore, it is believed in India that nose piercing is a form of fertility as it is considered that the nostril is associated with the female reproductive system according to Ayurvedic medical beliefs.

Nose piercing in India are still common place today and is considered to be a mark of social status as well as beauty for the wearer. It is also considered in Hinduism that a pierced nostril is an honor to the goddess of marriage, Parvathi.

Once again, it was the founder of modern day industrialized body modification founder Jim Ward who brought the concept of nostril piercing to the US in the 1970’s with the help of the founder of Muzak. While it is traditional for only a small jewel and a single piercing to be found on the nostril, today this has changed drastically and it is not uncommon to find both men and women with multiple piercing not only of the nostril, but also between nostrils like that of a bull ring.

In general, because of the many nerve endings found in the nose, a nose piercing can be considered to be fairly painful. This becomes even more of the case when discussing a septum piercing such as the previously described bull ring. In the case of the septum piercing, the piercing itself is not usually done through the cartilage, but rather just below though flesh only. The through small steps, one is able to graduate up in gauge sizes until they get to their desired size.

There is also a large selection of nose piercing jewelry choices and for those who opt for a septum piercing, they can eventually upgrade to a flesh plug once they stretch the hole large enough for one.

Another popular choice amongst the die hard body modifiers is the bridge piercing in which the skin between the eyes is pierced and a curved barbell is used for the jewelry. The biggest down fall with the bridge piercing is the high potential of rejection and scarring associated with it.