I got my nostril pierced... with a piercing gun. It was painful, but bearable, not too bad... pierced with a straight stud.I left it in about two weeks before I got sick to death of all the stress it caused. The straight stud wouldn't stay in, and because it was swollen, no bent studs would either. It was red, sore, bleeding, etc, so eventually I took it out and left it to heal.A week later, I had the other side pierced with a needle and 14ga CBR. Now that was painful - the clamp had to be pushed right up inside my nose, and the piercing process seemed to last for ages. But it's been much, much better behaved - it actually feels like it's healing and it's not swollen.My needle piercing was about a month ago, and i've nothing to complain about I seriously recommend you *really* avoid piercing guns for nostril piercings. The cost was five times as much, but was *so* worth it.