I’ve been a creature of the needle for years, but my story with it began long before I ever held one. My first professional piercing was a septum at 17, and the moment that ring settled into that sweet spot in the center of my nose, I knew I’d found trouble of the most beautiful kind.
Body modification had already been pulsing in me since I was thirteen — quiet, electric, inevitable. That septum was the first line in a lifetime poem of transformation.
I didn’t do it to chase trends. The septum has lived far longer than fashion ever could. Across continents and centuries, it’s been worn by warriors, shamans, and women of power. Among Indigenous peoples, it marked identity, adulthood, or spiritual transition. In certain African tribes, it stood as a symbol of beauty and strength — the curved ring echoing the tusks of the creatures they revered, or the crescent moon they honored. In those traditions, jewelry wasn’t decoration; it was declaration.
That’s what called to me — that echo of something older than mirrors or magazines. I wanted the long, proud tusks I’d seen in photos of my ancestors and the women who walked before me — figures who seemed to exist somewhere between folklore and living memory. It wasn’t about imitation; it was reverence. I wanted to honor them with my own flesh as the medium.
But honesty demands confession: I butchered the early years. I swapped jewelry too soon, stretched too fast, and thought pain meant progress. It was the misfit saints of the Tumblr era and BME who saved me from myself — the early digital mentors who preached patience, hygiene, and the holy truth of quality jewelry.
With their guidance, I stretched my septum to a full inch over six long years. These days, I rest comfortably at a half-inch — balanced, confident, healed. 17 years later, that septum isn’t just a piercing. It’s part of me — as constant as a scar, as personal as a prayer.
Why the septum? Because it’s honest. It can roar or whisper. Flip it up and vanish into the everyday world, drop it down and you become impossible to ignore. It’s intimate, theatrical, and deeply human — a piece of anatomy that wears both rebellion and ritual with equal grace.
The Poetry of Stacking
I’ve been wearing a stacked septum for over a decade now, and truthfully, I can’t imagine my reflection without it. The weight, the symmetry, the quiet defiance—it’s become part of my face, my story, my signature. I began stacking horseshoes soon after my original piercing healed, drawn to the layered beauty I’d seen in traditional tribal adornments. I wanted to honor those ancestral silhouettes while shaping something of my own—modern, personal, and just a touch dangerous.
Back then, the jewelry landscape was barren. Circular barbells and captive bead rings were the whole vocabulary—simple, serviceable, and uninspired. But time refines both craft and taste. Now, we live in an era where artisans like Invictus Body Jewelry have turned adornment into art. Their hinged segment clickers, sleek titanium tunnels, and ornate gold pieces with genuine stones have given us a language as vast as imagination itself. There’s something for every mood, every body, every soul that craves transformation. Here are some of my favorites that scream for attention but are still stackable:
We begin the parade with titanium:
TISGRHR1261: Titanium Radiant Pointed Hoop Front Facing Hinged Segment Clicker — This simple piece can be an addition to anyone setup.
TISGRHO4610: Titanium Pronged Round CZ Duo Snake Front Facing Hinged Segment Clicker — I feel that if Medusa were a baddie today she would have a septum and this would be her jewelry of choice.
TISGRHN12608CWO*: Titanium Prong Set Marquise Gem & Opal Cluster Fan Front Facing Hinged Segment Clicker — Opal and diamonds are truly a girl’s best friend.
Now here comes the gold:
14KSGRH51-1608C: 14Kt Yellow Gold Barbed Wire Wrap with Prong Set Gem Front Facing Hinged Segment Clicker — Punk and glamorous all mixed in one piece.
14KSGRHK42:14Kt Gold Alternating Round & Princess Cut Prong Set Gem Front Facing Hinged Segment Clicker— Have you ever looked at something and felt like royalty? This is the piece that would have you acting differently!
14KSGRHD17-62: 14Kt Yellow Gold with Double Row Prong Set Clear CZ & Synthetic Turquoise Front Facing Hinged Segment Clicker— When I saw this piece, I swear to you, I started to drool. This is the piece that will make you want to change your whole set up.
That’s the beauty of stacking—it moves with you. Some people go dramatic, layering oversized rings through tunnels that command the room; others keep it quiet, a few thin clickers that catch the light and nothing more. My own stack has passed through every phase: once bold and heavy, later stripped back and minimal. These days, it’s a mix of both—large-gauge clickers paired with smaller accents, a tunnel here, a hint of negative space there. It’s a living composition, shifting with how I feel that morning—like a mood ring made of metal and intent.
For me, my septum stack isn’t just decoration—it’s dialogue. Clients always notice it first; they ask, they stare, they want to understand. I tell them about the history, the craft, the evolution from humble rings to engineered clickers and sculptural tunnels. I show them what’s possible when patience meets imagination. And when they realize that a septum can be built like an altar—personal, expressive, alive—their eyes light up in that way I’ll never get tired of.
Because the septum, at its core, is freedom. Freedom to shift, to experiment, to build and unbuild yourself in metal and meaning. Freedom to mix materials and moods—gold with steel, weight with air, quiet with spectacle.
Thanks to the craftmarker of Invictus Body Jewelry who keep pushing boundaries, the modern world of piercing is limitless. We’re no longer bound by what’s available; we create what’s possible. So yes, call me biased. The septum will always be my favorite and with the jewelry selection of Invictus Body Jewelry, who can blame me?
