Septum piercings are having a major moment right now, and they're not just for bad girls anymore. The popular '90s facial piercing is the cool-girl accessory to rock right now, and we're thankful we're well beyond the years of asking our parents for permission, because these nose adornments are cute AF.

"Septum piercings are making a huge comeback," says celebrity piercer and owner of Body Electric Tattoo, Brian Keith Thompson. "We've been doing septum piercings back to back to back lately."

While septum piercings harken back to hardcore punk, celebrities as diverse as Zoe Kravitz, Scarlett Johansson, Bella Thorne (one of Thompson's clients) and Zendaya have been spotted flaunting them — proving that they work with any fashion sensibility.

If you're thinking about getting a septum piercing, it's likely you have some burning questions around it (like how much it hurts). Here, everything you need to know about getting a septum piercing — plus, 17 gorgeous ways to rock it.

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The price of your septum piercing will vary from shop to shop, but you can expect to drop at least $65 to $80 for a quality piercing — and the type of jewelry you select is extremely important for this sensitive area.

"It's best to stick to high quality jewelry made of titanium and gold, " Thompson says. "They're both hypoallergenic so they're very safe to be pierced with." Precious metals like gold don't tarnish (gold also repels bacteria), which means the metal doesn't oxidize in your body like cut-rate jewelry.

What happens when that metal oxidizes in your skin? It can result in hypertrophic scarring and one pissed-off septum piercing. Cheaper metals like silver and nickel cause more irritation, especially for those who are sensitive to piercings. In fact, if the studio is offering $20 jewelry, you can bet your bottom dollar it's complete sh*t. "No one is going to give away high quality jewelry," Thompson says. "But it's so important to use high quality metal." So do yourself a favor, and go for the higher-grade metal so you don't have people asking about the extra growth on your nose.

Now perhaps the biggest question of all: What is the pain level of a septum piercing? Rest your nerves, because according to Thompson septum piercing pain is little-to-none. This is due to the "sweet spot" in the septum, which is a membrane of skin up from the cartilage of the nose. "This is where we pierce," Thompson says. "It heals a lot faster and is a lot less painful than piercing through cartilage."

Only problem? Not everyone possesses the sacred sweet spot. For those who have a deviated septum (aka a crooked septum), this can change the entire outcome of the piercing, from the angle and healing time to the pain level. "Not everyone is the perfect candidate for a septum piercing, but it would have to be an extreme deviation for me to turn someone away," Thompson says. "Usually it just changes the angle slightly, and is a bit more painful -- but still comes out looking great." As for the general public, rest assured your pain level is easy breezy.

"The nervous system is for protection, so you have way more nerve endings on the outside of your nose than on the inside of your nose," Thompson explains. "There's not a lot of nerve endings in that part of your septum, so a nostril piercing is going to hurt ten times more than a septum piercing." On a scale of one to ten, ten being extremely painful, Thompson rates the pain of a septum piercing at a two or three.

So you've made the commitment to your new badass septum piercing and are likely anxious to show it off to the world (get your selfie stick ready), but first, we need to talk septum piercing aftercare. "Septum piercings have a three to four month healing time," Thompson says. "And the more you take care of it right off the bat, the faster it will heal. You really have to try to screw up a septum piercing to get an infection." If you suddenly find you have swollen lymph nodes and a high fever, these are telltale signs of an infection. If you're experiencing either of these symptoms, get in to see your doc right away.

Thompson recommends washing your septum piercing once a day, preferably in the shower, using soap (Thompson loves Dr. Bronners Pure Castile Liquid Soap, $13.49) and water for the outside of the piercing, and a saline solution for the inside portion of the septum piercing. "You never want to use soap or astringent on the inside the nostril itself, because it's a mucus membrane and you'll just dry it out and irritate it," Thompson explains. "The nostril's job is to trap and kill bacteria. It doesn't need your help to do that."

While you should be diligent with cleaning your freshly pierced septum, Thompson warns not to over wash, or more importantly, not to constantly play with it (yes, we know that's tough). If you think about it, you use your hands all day, every day. So you're picking up multiple strains of bacteria every time you touch something. "If you don't wash your hands and you're playing with or touching your septum jewelry, you're transferring germs and bacteria to that area," Thompson says. "So stop touching your piercings. If you can't, make sure you're washing your hands prior to." Judging from his dramatic sigh as he said this, this is a common error many clients make.

Not sure why you'd want to, but hey, it's your face. Should you ever decide it's time to retire your edgy septum piercing, rest assured your nose will look the same as it did before you pierced it. While scarring is inevitable (hello, you drove metal through your body), the good news is no one sees the scar tissue inside your nose. "If you let your piercing heal completely (keeping it in over a year), the hole will probably stay open for the rest of your life," Thompson says. "The opening will shrink, but you'll be able to put something back in should you ever decide you want it back."

We should also note that septum piercings possess a unique quality that few other facial piercings can replicate: You can hide it. If your septum piercing jewelry has a space (think: curved barbell), you can easily hide the piercing within your nose so you don't have to deal with smartass remarks from conservative family members. Have a job interview coming up? Simply slide that baby up, even after immediately getting it pierced, and your hidden gem will stay concealed.

Need further convincing to keep your septum piercing in forever? Scroll on to see the hottest septum piercings we're totally dying to debut.