But there’s also another more pragmatic reason to love nose cuffs: They offer a gentler option compared to piercings, which can lead to keloids. “When the skin is injured or inflamed, certain cells in the skin and immune system work together to heal the wound and create scar tissue to seal it, and after the wound is healed the scarring process turns off,” says Dr. Arianne Shadi Kourosh, director of Community Health and Pigmentary Disorder and Multiethnic Skin Clinic. “But for people with keloids, the normal wound healing process of the skin mistakenly goes into overdrive and won’t shut off long after it was supposed to stop. So the scar tissue keeps growing, like a tumor, outside of the boundaries of the original scar.”
While keloids can happen to anyone, the condition is shown to be more prevalent in Black, Asian and Latinx communities, especially people with darker skin (or high percentage of melanin). “One reason for this could be that melanocytes (the cells in our skin that produce our melanin pigment) play a role in promoting keloid development,” says Dr. Kourosh. There’s no one-and-done cure for keloids, which is why Dr. Kourosh stresses avoiding them in the first place is key. “One of the most important ways to prevent keloids is minimizing any possible trauma to skin—piercings and tattoos traumatize the skin,” explains Dr. Kourosh.
Whether you rock a delicate one to channel your inner Zoe Kravitz or go for the statement-making avant-garde piece, nose cuffs are, simply put, cool. They’re reflective of rich histories and cultures. And, most importantly, they’re pretty damn practical.
