An excellent and completely flattering view of me getting my septum pierced on Snapchat! (HelenaHavocSnap, by the way.) Does it hurt? the short answer is: No. I've heard it described as the worst facial piercing you can get, but in my experience it isn't even comparable to the hype that people give it. It didn't hurt at the time and it didn't hurt much through the healing process. The needle does obviously pinch when going through, like any needle would, but afterwards... I'd say it felt to me like I blew my nose too hard/too frequently with scratchy tissue paper. That's it. That said, pain tolerance differs from person to person so take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. Either way, it's nothing so horrible that you shouldn't do it if it's a piercing that you want!