For the past year, I've been fascinated by body piercings for some reason I can't describe. Maybe it was knowing that I would turn 18 soon, and needing to take advantage of this new power I would have.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Cynthia Studio Holier Than Thou Location Wichita, KS I honestly don't know what made me focus on nipple piercings. The belly button's a little overdone, and my work doesn't allow me to have facial piercings. Anything below the belt is a little too wild for my personality, so nipple just kind of fits.
I turned 18 on October 24. I called ahead of time to Holier Than Thou to make an appointment for October 26. The woman on the phone warned me of the different risks a female is exposed to when getting her nipple pierced before age 25. She emphasized the high chance of rejection, because development hasn't finished taking place yet.
I decided then to only get my right nipple done, just in case there was complication in it. I'm trying this one out for the next few years and, if all goes well, will be getting the left one at a later date.
I chose this studio because they have the best reputation in Wichita, and they've denied services to two of my friends. This may sound like it should be a bad thing, but it proves that: A) They're genuinely concerned about the customer's safety and B) They have enough business to turn people away.
(One friend was turned away because her DL had expired the day before, and therefore was invalid. The other was turned away because, according to Holier Than Thou, the piercing would have rejected with her body type. This friend looks 12 and she has an out of state DL, so I personally think they didn't believe her ID was real.)
I didn't make a huge effort to shop around different locations (Wichita, KS isn't a huge competitive field for the body mutilation industry). I'd never met my piercer before my appointment, and I never saw her portfolio. I guess I owe it to luck that everything turned out so well.
I had a snack about an hour & a half before I got pierced, and at no point did I ever feel dizzy or lightheaded at all.
I got to my appointment 10 minutes early. There were no other customers there, so I didn't spend too much time waiting in the lobby. They showed me ring/barbell options, and we decided on a 12G barbell. I personally favored the 16G because I'm a wimp, but they said 12G helps healing process and cleaning. I figure there's going to be a needle jammed through my body anyway, I might as well go big while I'm at it. I (well, my boyfriend) ended up paying $60 (excluding tip) for one nipple barbell.
While I was filling out paperwork and learning how to clean it, both women working at the time stressed the risk of rejection. They were fairly discouraging of the procedure, but still agreed to do it.
Heading back to the room, I'm still not very nervous. Moreso anxious. I call myself a wimp, but when it comes down to it, I know pain is temporary, and it doesn't scare me.
Cynthia meets me in the room and starts preparing her tools. She has a somewhat intimidating air about her, but is helpful and knowledgeable. She tells me she took 4 (maybe 6? I don't remember exactly...) years of college classes in a medical field, so she's familiar with the human body. Comforting. Listens to questions and gives answers without treating me like I'm stupid, which is actually more than I expected.
Some Q&A:
Will antibiotics affect the piercing or try to attack it in any way?
(No, antibiotics won't directly affect the piercing at all.)
Where do you aim to place the piercing?
(As deep to the body as possible, superficial to the areola but far into the nub part of the nipple.)
Will it swell any more after today?
(Not if it heals properly. Swelling well into healing phase is cause for concern.)
Which hurts worse: Clamp or Needle?
(She doesn't use a clamp. Needle wins by default.)
What can I do for pain in the future?
(Put a cup of water over it, lay on your back. Cool or warm, whichever is more soothing.)
She also told me about when she got her nipples pierced for the first time, when she was 22, and how hers rejected and started pushing themselves outward. She said it had moved about 1/16th of an inch when she took them out, and she has ugly scars from them. A few years later she got them redone, and has been pleased with those results. Again discouraged me from getting it done.
I do anyway. I'm not sure why... I trust myself enough to notice early if any rejection takes place, and get it out in time to avoid too horrible scarring. And there will only be scars on one nipple.
Take my shirt off, make markings with a toothpick and blue/purple ink. She asks me to make sure they're parallel to the floor. Looks perfect.
I lay back down and she tells me to keep breathing deep, keeping my mind focused on what I'm doing this weekend or a good recent memory. She lets me keep my sweatshirt in my hands in case I need to squeeze something. She has me relax every muscle in my body, focusing on my toes and working my way up. I'm now laying topless in a dentist's chair with a woman thisclose to my nipple with a 12G needle and I'm relaxing my toes...
I feel the needle break skin. I'm still relaxed - there is no pain.
I feel the needle start to pass into the center of my nipple. Still tolerable pain, just minor irritation.
She passes through the middle and the pain flares up. The pain was focused exactly where the needle was - no soreness or aching through my entire breast at all.
I'm about to hit my maximum pain tolerance and I'm afraid I'm going to tense up or clench my teeth soon, and she's done.
I didn't look for any of it, so I don't even know the exact procedure she did.
I know that as soon as the ball is screwed on, the pain is gone.
I sit right up (no lightheadedness or illness at all) and look back in the mirror. I can still see the ink marks behind the barbell, and they're perfectly aligned.
Very impressive, especially for freehanding without a clamp.
A tiny bit of blood gathered in the inside corner, but it wasn't even enough to dab off with a pad when I tried.
I'd brought a baggy T-shirt, expecting to have NO desire to wear a bra back outside. I was wrong. I ended up instantly putting my normal underwire bra back on (with a protective pad inside the cup, to protect clothing from possible blood). Walked out, felt fine. Felt great, actually. I went home that night and slept on my stomach without a problem.
Since then, I've been cleaning it every morning in the shower with body wash.
IMPORTANT: Do not use a loofah for this. Beyond the fact that the loofah has touched every other part of your body and carries germs, it snags easily.
I just use my hand to do it, and Cynthia also told me to make sure I did that last thing in the shower (maybe my hands get cleaner throughout shower time? Not sure why I do this last...).
I use a pinch of sea salt and coffee cup of warm water at night to clean it. I just press the cup against my skin securely, making sure it's covering the piercing well, and lay back. I usually keep it on for 3-4 minutes.
Two weeks after the piercing, I love it. It bled 1 drop into my bra once about a week ago. I don't know why, and it hasn't happened since or shown any other signs, so I've ignored it.
I haven't had any crusties or pus at all.
At one point, the skin on my nipple was drying and starting to peel. I called Holier Than Thou and asked about it, and the woman on the phone told me to use less sea salt in proportion to water. That was 4 days ago and the skin has already healed.
A few days ago, I was wearing a tank top and pulled it down for a second to look at the piercing. When I let go of the tank top to cover back up, it snagged on the ball of the piercing. It didn't hurt, it was just uncomfortable enough to get my attention. It doesn't look like it tore at all, and tearing should probably be more painful than my experience was.
I haven't had a period since getting pierced, so I don't know yet how I will react to the sensitivity.
Before getting pierced, I was told that nipping would always cause pain, because it tenses the area around the piercing. I have yet to experience this.
Overall, my experience has been perfect. I love having my little secret and something to feel somewhat scandalous about.
I got my ears double pierced in March, and that pain was SO much worse than this. I had a burning pain in my ears for days afterward. My boyfriend tells me that my piercing was more painful for him (waiting for me out in the lobby, nervous and afraid of me screaming) than it was me. I agree. :)
The only trouble I'm having with my piercing is waiting another few years to get the other nipple done...