Rhino Piercing: Cost, Pain, Aftercare, Risk, Jewelry, More

If you want a truly bold, unique, and highly conspicuous bodily modification, a rhino piercing is well worth considering. Indeed, in recent years, we have been seeing more and more people who wish to make audacious and unapologetic fashion statements opting for rhino piercings.

We also have many who seek to know how exactly the rhino nose piercing is done, how painful it is, and how the pain associated with it can be managed. Other common queries are on what (if any) risks associated with rhino piercing are, how much time it takes to heal, the necessary aftercare following rhino piercing, and the best jewelry to use with rhino piercings. This article addresses all these questions.

What is Rhino Piercing?

Rhino piercing is best described as a bodily modification that is specifically done on the nose and entails making a vertical piercing on the tip of the nose. When jewelry is subsequently inserted into the piercing, it gives a look not very unlike that of a miniature rhinoceros horn – and that can be very captivating.

So, the rhino piercing is distinct from other nose piercings such as septum and nostril piercings in that it is vertical, and focused on the tip of the nose.

Cost of Rhino Piercing

Though it is quite intricate, rhino piercing is actually not too expensive. Most pierces who undertake the rhino nose piercing procedure will typically charge between $50 and $100.

Worth noting is the fact that this amount is usually for the procedure alone. Over and above that, you of course also have to factor in the rhino piercing nose jewelry cost. And that may end up costing a further $50 to $100 for basic good quality pieces.

How to Manage Rhino Piercing Pain

Like any other type of bodily piercing procedure, rhino piercing usually comes with a bit of pain (though, thankfully, most people find that it is not as excruciatingly painful as one would expect). All in all, while going for this sort of procedure, you need to have proactively thought of how to manage the pain. Some of the things you can do, in terms of pain management, include:

• Use over-the-counter medications: The pain associated with rhino piercings tends to be only intense in the period immediately after the procedure is carried out. Thus, right after the piercing is done, it may be advisable to take an over-the-counter painkiller such as ibuprofen (which has the added advantage of warding off any inflammation).
• Cold therapy: This is only helpful before you get pierced. So, you get some ice packs and apply them to the area where the piercing is to be done. This has a numbing effect, which can ultimately translate into a much less painful procedure overall.
• Deep breathing: There is evidence that engaging in deep breathing can help you to really minimize the sensation of pain following a rhino piercing.

Healing Time

Rhino piercing is one of those bodily modification procedures that tend to take quite a bit of time to heal. This is mostly because it involves cartilage – whose healing is somewhat slow.

Therefore, once the rhino piercing is done, it is reasonable to expect that you would need a year – that is up to 12 months – for full healing to take place. However, the initial pain goes away within just a few days. What takes a year is full/complete healing of the piercing.

Health Risks

Given the fact that rhino piercing entails making an opening into the body, it follows that this is something that comes with certain health risks. Specifically, you are looking at things like:

• Infection: If pathogens such as bacteria or viruses happen to find their way into the location where rhino piercing is done, an infection may take root. This is what necessitates the use of sterilized equipment and general observance of high standards of hygiene throughout the procedure.
• Scarring: This is where fibrous tissue grows where the piercing was done, and it can be quite unsightly.
• Nerve damage: This may ultimately lead to excess pain or loss of sensation and the way to avoid it is by only getting the piercing done by an experienced professional using the most appropriate tools.
• Excessive bleeding: Though it rarely happens, excessive bleeding may occur if, for instance, there is undue impact on blood vessels during the piercing process.

Tips for Safe Rhino Piercing

There are some simple but critical things you can do to enhance safety during rhino piercing. If you act on these tips, you minimize the chances of any complications arising from the rhino piercing procedure:

• The rhino piercing should only be done using thoroughly sterilized tools. Only a single-use needle should be utilized. Other equipment for use in the procedure needs to have been properly cleaned.
• The rhino piercing should be done in hygienic surroundings. Otherwise, bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens may find their way in, bringing about infections, slow healing, and other complications.
• The person doing the rhino piercing should be someone with adequate training and experience. Given the sensitivity of the tip of the nose, this is not something to be done on a trial-and-error basis.
• You need to adhere to the aftercare protocol to the letter. This will promote quick and complication-free healing.
• Don’t change the rhino piercing nose jewelry until you have healed fully. It is best to consult the piercer, who would be best placed to tell you when full healing has taken place – whereupon you would be free to change the initial jewelry.

Aftercare

Some of the specific things you need to do with regard to rhino piercing aftercare include:

• Daily rinsing: This should be done using a saline spray (or by soaking the pierced tip of the nose in a saline solution).
• Washing hands before touching the piercings: The key thing here is never touching the pierced area with unwashed hands, as this can very easily introduce pathogens – leading to infections.
• Keeping off potential irritants: Those include things like alcohol-based solutions, which may irritate the piercing and slow down healing.
• Regular drying: This should be done using cotton swabs (or gauze), the goal being to get rid of crusts and other buildups around the piercing.

Suitable Rhino Piercing Jewelry

For the rhino piercing to yield the bold, unique, and highly conspicuous look you set out in search of, you need to acquire the most appropriate jewelry for it. The most suitable rhino piercing nose jewelry pieces include:

• Curved barbells: As we observed earlier, the rhino piercing is done vertically at the tip of the nose. Now if a curved barbell is inserted there, it tends to give a very distinctive look especially if one opts for a regular rhino piercing (which doesn’t go too far in).
• Long labret bars: There are piercers who may recommend the use of these labret bars as the initial jewelry that goes into the rhino piercing before full healing allows for the use of other jewelry pieces.
• Straight barbells: These tend to work best if you opt for deep rhino piercing – the final result being a somewhat authentic horn-like look!

Conclusion

Clearly, then, a rhino piercing is definitely something you can opt for if you want to end up with a rare and truly distinctive look. It is not too expensive – both the procedure itself and the jewelry to go with it. True, it does take a little longer to heal (up to one year for complete healing), but once you are through with it, it is something you can enjoy for decades thereafter. If you observe the safety and aftercare tips we have given here, chances are that rhino piercing would be a successful, complication-free procedure for you.