Believe it or not, this happens more often than you may know. You wake up, take your daily shower, clean your nose piercing, head off to work (or to your day-off routine), and at some point throughout the day, you reach up to scratch your nose and realize… Holy hell, your nose ring is gone!!! Or (worse still), realize that your nose jewelry is missing, and have no idea when you remember (for SURE) that you had the ring/stud in last (it happened to me, so I completely understand THAT struggle)!

So, what can you possibly do about that missing nose ring/piercing? Well, to be honest, it depends on about how long it’s been missing (or about how long you believe it’s been missing). What we’ve done is compiled a few lists of things you can do about a missing piercing based on how long it’s been missing, and the options available to you. Bear with us (and with that missing piercing), because all is not necessarily lost just yet!

A Couple (or a Few) Days

If you’re like many people, you can remember with a fair amount of certainty the last time you had your nose ring in, and (roughly) where you might have lost your jewelry. If you’re like me, however, you may have a time frame of anywhere from 1-4 days or more, and far more than one (large) area or location in which you could have lost it. In this case, you may be panicking, especially if you don’t have any other jewelry on hand to replace your lost ring, or if you aren’t sure whether a new piece will even go into your piercing.

First, take a deep breath and think back. While a cartilage piercing (such as your nose) can be a bit more difficult to reopen), it isn’t completely hopeless. If you’re working in a period of about 24-48 hours or so, you’re probably still ok. If you can narrow down where you most likely lost your nose ring/stud to 1-2 places, even better. Just remember to clean and sanitize your ring thoroughly when you find it, and BEFORE you put it back in your nose. You should be able to simply reinsert the jewelry with little or no resistance, IF you fall into the “first few days after losing” category. You may want to be a bit gentler than you would if you were just changing out the jewelry, but otherwise it should be no problem!

2-4 Weeks

If the last time you can clearly remember having in your nose ring/stud is at LEAST two weeks from the time you notice it missing, you may be in for a bigger struggle. Honestly, how MUCH more depends a great deal on YOU: your piercing cleaning/changing habits, your daily routine, the rate at which your body heals, how your body responded to the piercing when you first got it, etc.

Some lucky people can still just put in a new nose ring, albeit only with the gentlest hands and greatest of care. Others, however, must have a little assistance. Although we do not recommend trying this at home (not without a little help!), some people sterilize needles or safety pins and guide those through the closing piercing. Perhaps a safer alternative to this would be to use a nose ring designed for piercing, or one for a smaller gauge than your current piercing. This should minimize any pain or discomfort and make reopening your piercing a bit easier. If you have any nose rings with sharper or more narrow points on the end that match your gauge, these would also serve the same purpose (but perhaps with a bit more discomfort).

Six Weeks or More

The good news, if your piercing has been removed for more than a month is that it is not impossible to get it back. The bad news, however, is that the chances are slim that you can redo this piercing all on your own. In fact, depending on the way the piercing healed (and closed), and the amount of scar tissue where your current piercing is located, you may require a piercing specialist (preferably the one who gave you your piercing in the beginning, since he or she will likely remember you and any details about the piercing itself that might be critical to a successful re-piercing) to restore the awesomeness that was your bad ass piercing.

If this is the case, BEFORE you try any at-home piercing techniques, we IMPLORE you to call your piercing specialist. Discuss any methods you wish to try with him or her, and heed any and all advice he or she gives you. Remember, we know our own bodies, but our piercing specialists know piercings and piercing success rates better than we do!

Piercing Uh-Oh’s

It’s Halloween season, so if you have a scary missing piercing story to share, we wanna hear it!