I just got my septum pierced, and although I'm obviously not going to be changing my jewelry for a long while, I'm really starting to hate my retainer. I have a really small nose and it's too long for it, the tips of the legs keep poking the inside of my nose when it's flipped up (which is more or less constant, since I'm leaving it up to heal)

So I've got a question about the bullet keepers BAF sells. http://www.bodyartforms.com/productdetails.asp?ProductID=422

Basically:

1. How much more/less visible is it than a standard retainer?

2. I've already ordered the glass GWS clear septum retainer. If you own both, which do you prefer in terms of comfort/invisibility?

3. For someone with a small nose and thin septum, do you think the 14g bullet keeper would stick out too much? Apparently the wearable area is 3/8", which to me seems kinda long...:S 

 I LOVE the bullet keepers. When i first got my 14g one I thought the wearable area was pretty long too. But once it was in, it fits pretty nicely.  My nostrils kinda flare up on the outsideso whenever  flip up anything, it's still visable.  But with the bullet you can't see it!  I really love them.  Super comfortable too.  The only thing that sucks is that the o-rings are tinnny.  And I've never had a GWS retainer, so I can't really say about that one.  Hope I helped!

lol yeah, I'm a bit worried about the tiny o-rings, I'm kinda scared they'll somehow go up my nose. XD

Thanks though! 

(I <3 Muse btw :D) 

 the septum bullet is ok.  I prefer my gws df septum plug tho.  however you have to be loose at whatever size you are at before you can wear it.  I generally wear both every day because no matter what jewelry I wear when I sleep, it falls out.  So I wear the bullet right after I wake up to loosen the hole back up and in a little bit I put the df plug in.  

and now that I am re-reading your post I'm guessing you are talking about the staple like shaped retainer.  I coudln't do that.  I'd be afraid I'd break it.  

and I wouldnt' worry about orings.  you can always wear the bullet without them.

I tend to have a little difficulty getting the o-ring on my bullet keeper, but I have long fingernails so that probably makes it a little harder.  As far as wearable area, it feels like it's a little too long, but everyone I ask says they can't see it at all, unless they actually look up my nose. They're really comfortable and great when you have a cold or allergies. Plus they're cheap!!!

 I always had a problem with the flare sticking out my nose, but it's all relative as to where your pierced. As for the length, it only seems kinda long till you put the o-ring on.. as for wearing the bullet without an o-ring I could never do it, the flare always acted like a weight and that would be the side it would fall out of, in my exp. But the bullets are cheap enough to try, and experiment with to find out what works for you.

As for the gws retainer (heh heh I has both the plug and retainer..) The wearable is kinda long and awkard for me (@ 8g, i dunno about 14g), but comfy nonetheless

 I bought a bullet keeper hoping that it would be a good alternative for my retainer, but it was really visible on me, and I'm at 14g. If they made them in niobium or a darker color than polish then maybe they'd be fine but it's very noticable as it is. It's not too expensive though so I didn't mind the cost to try it out.

i agree about the gws df septum plug. best retainer in my experience...though they don't make them smaller than 8ga :(

Personally I couldn't live without my bullet keeper.

I wear it for work because it is completely invisible, and it's totally comfortable. I wore a staple-shaped retainer when I initially got pierced but I couldn't find one that really fit properly and I can't risk it falling down while at work. With the bullet retainer in I don't have to worry about that.

I've got through a few o-rings though, probably about 10 in 2 years so it's not too bad, I probably lose one every couple months - I'm pretty sure I've never inhaled one, but I could be wrong.    

I'm going to vote in the "try it" column - it's super cheap and decent quality. If you find you'd rather wear a different retainer you can always keep it as a back-up.

ladystardust:

i agree about the gws df septum plug. best retainer in my experience...though they don't make them smaller than 8ga :(

 

I know, I'm really sad about that :( I wasn't planning to stretch up (since I really don't like the look of septum jewelry in anything past a 12g...)

Btw, thanks for the input everyone...I think I'm going to go ahead and buy it. Even if I don't end up liking it, it's only a few bucks, so oh well :) 

The picture of the clear GWS retainer on the page is mine, and while my septum was small, I liked it. It was lightweight and comfortable, and stayed put for the most part, as well as being invisible. Now that I have begun stretching my septum, I almost exclusively wear bullets because they are inexpensive and I need to keep my septum hidden. The only problem is that sometimes they're just right, and sometimes they are too long, and then they annoy me sometimes, but not as much as retainers do when the legs fall out of my nose.

 i hated my 12 g bullet.  for some people, though, it works.  the problem i had with it was... it just felt funny and, since one side is flared, you could see the very bottom of the flare and it looked like a booger ;D