I went in to this experience nervous and scared. I just knew that sticking needles through my nipples would hurt like a bitch. I also was aprehensive about some strange guy handling my breasts. There aren't many female artists in the Nashville area, so I had to check outside of the city. When I heard about Heather, I decided to go check her out. Her shop was quite a drive for me (over an hour) but I thought I could at least go and see her. What would it hurt?
At A Glance Author Alli Contact Alli@bme.anon Artist Heather Cherish Studio New Needle Tattoo and Piercing Location Dickson, Tennessee I walked in the shop and was immediatley at ease with the atmosphere: clean, orderly and friendly. Everyone was poliete and very courteous from the start (some studios I have been to are too busy or "over it" to even look up when you come in, much less try to help you). Heather came up to me right away and asked what she coudl do. I told her that I wanted my nipples done, but was concerned about pain, healing time and also, because I have large breasts, possible problems. We talked for a while about the procedure and my concerns. She explained after care and even went as far as to explain her other procedures. Then finally I said,"Ok, lets do this".
She asked if I had eaten that day and I told her that I had not. She insisted I get something on my stomach and my friend went and got some apple juice and crackers for me. After I got them down, I had a smoke and we talked some more. She asked me if I was ready, and we went inside.
She had me stand first with my bra off so that she could mark proper placement on my nipples. I had no problems whatsoever with my nipples getting hard right away, there was a fan blowing right on me..lol! :).. I checked in the mirror to make sure I liked the marks and then layed back in the chair. She told me to take deep breaths and on the third exhale she would pierce me. On the third exhale exactly, I felt the needle go in. I sat there, in disbelief and amazement..."Is that it?" I asked. I hadn't felt a thing, literaly. She assured me that was it, leaving the needle in place, then swinging me around for the second. The second hurt just a bit more (which apparently is common due to endorphins) but again, didn't hurt nearly as bad as I thought it would. She then put the CBR's in and let me choose the ball that I wanted, which was a nice shiney black one :). I went home braless and thought everything was A ok. She even sent me home with sea salts for soaking.
The only problem I have encountered was that I had to go back and have the balls switched out. The nice shiney ones I had were not heavy enough to weight the piercing down and the diameter not quite large enough. She changed me three days later, again with no pain and within an hour, they were hanging as they should have been from the start.
I noticed that I didn't feel like wearing a bra as much for a while and to combat this I bought some mens tank tops one size too small. My friends say you can't tell I'm not wearing a bra and its way more comfortable than wearing one.
That was almost three months ago, still no problems at all. The worst I've had to deal with was dry skin, which cleared up when I started using Provon soap instead of Dial. The crusties go in phases, sometimes I will have some real dingers for days on end and then sometimes I won't have any for a week. It's not been a bad process at all and I am very glad I did it. I like the shock that most people exhibit when I tell them I have gotten it done and of course when I tell them it really really didn't hurt. They never believe me!
I must say that I recommend the piering to everyone I know and can't resist the urge to show them as well..lol...The pain is minimal and only lasts for a second! But the rewards last for as long as you would like them to...An yes, it did make mine much much much more sensitive! I can't wait now to get in to some bar bells, I think they would work out much better than the rings..just waiting out the healing time now. I'm happy to say I've followed the rules to the letter and have been religious about cleaning them and not touching them with dirty hands. My rank for pain on this piercing is minimal..I think my cartilage hurt much worse than this one ever did.