My nipple piercings were done rather unexpectedly. I had been talking to my girlfriend for quite some time about having the piercings performed, and while I had decided that I would eventually get the piercings done, I expected that it would not be for a while due to financial restrictions. Body Mods can sure cost a lot and rent was more important at the time. A few months later mine and my girlfriend's one year anniversary had come around. We had made plans to go to dinner etc. and she mentioned she wanted to go to Body Works (our APP approved studio) to look for new plugs for her ears. When we arrived I began browsing the jewelery when Sarah, who was running the front desk, asked if she could help us with anything. I was about to explain that we were just looking at jewelery when my girlfriend replied, "he has an appointment to have his nipples pierced." I was simply stunned. All I could say was "I what? I do?" I filled out the paper work and tried to mentally prepare myself which I must say is rather difficult when you find out minutes before you're taken into the piercing suite.
At A Glance Author Cryptonym Contact Cryptonym@bme.anon Artist Derek Lowe and David Vidra Studio Body Work Productions Inc. Location Cleveland, Ohio Derek came out into the waiting room a few minutes after I had filled out the paper work and took me into the suite. Once in the suite, David and Derek put me at ease, explaining everthing they were doing. We began trying to determine what gauge jewlery could be put in the piercings. I had wanted to eventually go up to 10 gauge jewelery but I knew given the size of my nipples that that was not possible in the fresh piercings so I hoped to place 12 gauge jewelery in the them. In the piercing suite I explained this desire at which point Derek took a few measurements. He told me he thought we may be able to squeeze 12 gauge barbells in but he wanted to have David take a look because it was a tough call. David upon examining me decided that it would be better to start with 14 gauge jewelery. He did not want to put too much stress on the piercing, which I agreed with given that it might affect healing time and the amount of scar tissue. Once the gauge was determined David and Derek began to clean the area and mark my nipples in preparation for the piercing. This was done with gauze pads that had a cleaning agent on them. The markings were done in the form of a cross-hair using a purple ink. They spent a great deal of time doing this to insure proper placement, which I appreciated. The marks were made and wiped off sdeveral times before we were ready to go on. I would rather take the time and have the piercings staight and centered than find later that they were not.
With the marking done, Derek and David gathered the jewelery, clamps etc. and began to set up to perform the piercing. When they were ready, they explained that they were going to clamp my nipples and stretch them a bit so could perform the piercings. They asked me to let them know if the clampsd hurt or were too tight, then they clamped my nipples and teased them back and forth to stretch them. This was probably the wierdest part of the procedure, knowing I was laying there with my nipples clamped and being stetched by two men while my girlfriend sat and watched.
With everything pretty much set up for the procedure, all that was left was to try and mentally and spiritually prepare myself. I did finally come to some terms with what was going on and relax myself, although this was difficult because the whole thing was sudden. All my previous piercings were done with at least a week to prepare before the appointment which made it more difficult to relax and put myself in the right place with this particular experience; this was all important because for me piercing is a spiritual experience that allows me to understand myself better. I wanted to be as prepared, aware, and open when I was pierced as possible. My nipples were pierced in tandem which I think helped to make the experience more intense and enjoyable. I felt a need for symmetry in the piercings themselves, and being done simultaneously I think they seemed more symmetrical in a way. I think if each nipple had been done on separate occassions it would have detracted from the experience.
The stretch of time I spent laying down relaxing myself before I was pierced seemed like hours. David asked me to take deep breaths and finally came the moment. He had me take one last deep breath; he and Derek pierced me as I exhaled. When the actual piercing was performed, I remember forcing the air out and as it happened all sense of the room I was in and the people around began to dissipate. All else seemed rather distant and it was as though I had somehow buried my consciousness in my flesh. It was almost like I was a spectator of the experience from the inside. The piercing was one of the most intense experiences I've had to date. As the needles passed through I felt a hot sensation go from the location of the piercings through every nerve vein and limb in my body. I was so intimately aware on my body and my consciousness. As the hot sensation subsided I felt what I can only descibe as a wave of cool white light wash over me. I felt clean and pure and so connected with myself it was amazing. While all of this went on inside me I didn't even realize Derek and David removed the needles and put the jewelery in place. I couldn't call the experience painful, just extremely intense and pleasant at the same time.
In the weeks that followed I felt more confident and had a sense of myself as beautiful that I had never had prior to the piercings. The moments during the piercing have to this date, stayed vivid in my memory. The actual healing of the piercing went fairly well. I can remember many occasions on which my girlfriend laughed at me as I stood in the shower with shot glasses of salt water held up to my nipples. For the first two days after the piercing my nipples bled a small amount. The piercing was done in the winter, so for the first few weeks a cold gust of wind held quite a shock making my nipples hard and reminding me the piercing were there and still quite soar. The one scare I did have related to the healing process occurred one morning about a month and a half after the piercing. I woke up and found that one of my nipples was soar, so I went and washed my hands and then shifted the barbell in the nipple. As I did so I apparently broke a seal that had formed and a milky discharge came out. Worried I might be facing the onset of an infection I stepped up my cleaning efforts. Whereas I had started to sea salt the piercings less often at this point (probably every fourth or fifth day) I moved it back up to once a day. Fortunately, I did not have any more discharge after the initial scare; looking back on it, I do not believe it was an infection at all. I believe it was simply just my body cleaning and flushing the area out as it became accustomed to the new piercings. Since that incident I have had no further problems, and my nipples have fully healed and toughened up. I would recommend the piercing to anyone.