03/24/02
At A Glance Author Jason Weinstein Contact counterculturevt@att.net When A week ago Artist Derek Mastropietro Studio Counter Culture Location 132 Church Street Burlington, Vermont 50401 On Tuesday, March 19 2002, I got my first piercing. I am one year new to really understanding the life of pierced individuals and learning everyone has a story behind each one. Here is mine.
My girlfriend and I recently purchased an existing tattoo and piercing shop in Vermont. I have gotten a few tattoos over the last 10 years, but never had interest in piercing other than watching the far and few between Discovery Channel specials. My partner has her lip, labret, and 00 gauge stretched ears. She has quite an exotic look. I have watched her make her changes to herself. The process of psyching herself up, waiting for the preparation, watching the pierce, the aftercare and healing process (appropriately renamed the "Don't touch me" or the "You can't kiss me now" stage) has new meaning for me since I now have been psyched up, waited for the preparation, been pierced (twice) and am actively caring for my new body décor.
We bought the existing shop where the work was done in January 2002. My girlfriend canvassed Burlington last summer for a shop willing to give her an apprenticeship. There are 6 shops in the downtown area. One called, offered the apprenticeship and that was the beginning. I did not spend much time there, but got to hear all the stories of pierces she watched and things she learned. The owner offered the shop for sale in November and we worked out the details. Since neither myself nor my partner tattoo or pierce, we added a retail section of various tattoo and piercing accessories and an artist's consignment gallery. She manages the day-to-day operation, I do the accounting and record keeping. Unfortunately, I still must work full time outside the shop to make it all work out. This is only some background to give an idea of how I came to get my nipples pierced.
As I said, I have a few tattoos, nothing major, and have been immersed into an existing family of tattoo artists and piercers at my new shop. I now HAD to be there to make sure remodelling, the new shop set up, and accounting were taken care of. I worked daily with everyone who has multiple pierced sections of his or her bodies including my partner. I felt like a fish out of water in the beginning. Definitely out of place, looking fairly conservative. I have always liked the look piercing gives people...other people.
I decided on the nipples by default. Several months ago I decided I wanted to pierce my ears and stretch them to an 8 or 6 gauge. I like the look of the selections you can wear in those sizes. I sell retail high-end furniture and mattresses outside of my new business venture. This calls for a specified "appearance" to the general public. I asked the owner if he would mind if I pierced my ears, fully knowing that the answer would be "No", but I asked, he answered, and I respect his preference not to pierce the ears. I even had a plan to use 14 gauge hoops until they healed, then use clear plugs when at work. No dice.
I recall having a conversation with one of the shop's piercers a week or two ago about getting my frenum pierced, but also stated I would never get my nipples pierced. Tuesday morning (my day off from the bed store), my partner said over 6:30am coffee, "I think you should get your nipples pierced." I said lets see how the day goes. My mind was on paperwork and accounting. We went to the shop, told Derek we might do this, and then went about the morning stuff I had to do. I figured if I was to do this, I wanted no jobs that required concentration that needed my serious attention after. I had heard stories of girls who can't lift their arms for a day or two, swelling, pain, etc. I just wanted to be prepared. I have a pretty high pain tolerance and feel to an extent that pain tolerance is a challenge. I have wanted to know the feeling for a while, but never to just put a hole in my body. The time was right. I told Derek I was ready. He had already prepared everythi ng earlier. I selected 14 gauge, ¾" curved stainless steel barbells for the jewellery. The cool thing about this was after deciding I was ready, I didn't have to wait for the prep and think too much about the process or how it would feel...so I thought.
Let me say first the entire experience was great. Nothing goes as simply as I plan in most instances. The problem presented with my misconception that my chest was symmetrical (its not just women who have different sizes). My left chest muscle is shaped slightly different than the right. This causes my nipple to sit at a lower angle. This caused difficulty in measuring and marking the points of entry and exit to get them level. Adding to the task, my right nipple is slightly larger and softer than the left. This affected the ease of the needle entering it. I spoke to Derek and my girlfriend who videoed the right nipple being pierced with a digital camera as Derek prepared to go to work. He used a 13-gauge needle to ease the inserting of the 14-gauge jewellery. Clamping my nipples was difficult since they are small, but he got them and after the initial resistance of the right nipple, intense pain for and instant only, it was done. It really was not that bad. Onl y 1 small drop of blood appeared. What a rush! I sat there thinking it was fast, but I had to feel that sharp push and skin resistance again. Now I was thinking about it since I knew what it was like. I didn't. The left nipple pierced much easier. No resistance. No sharp pain. I guess you really don't know what it will feel like until it is done.
Aftercare seems to be going well. Five days after, I have been able to move the barbells to clean them fairly easily. The left, being the smaller nipple moves with ease and is completely comfortable (it has been for at least 3 days). The right nipple has less room to move, but still enough. I have to squeeze the nipple when it is not erect to move it, but it is not uncomfortable. It might be slightly deeper than the left, but it is a fine pierce. The sensation is amazing. I am more aware of my nipples. They are more sensitive to touch. My girl likes them and so do I. I am extremely happy that I decided to do this. I am continuing to consider other things I might do in the future, but for now, I will enjoy my new found nipples.
As a bonus, Ian, the shops other piercer, congratulated me on not only getting my first piercing, but getting the nipples done as it is one of the more painful pierces to receive. Cool!
Thanks for Reading!
Jason
P.S. I almost lost the ball of the right barbell in the shower about 15 minutes ago. I am going to switch to a 14 gauge captive bead or a circular barbell today to try and eliminate this. I like the curved barbell look so I am going to order a longer one.