I have been familiar with BME and the IAM community for many years now. Like everyone else, I love body modifications of all sorts. However, I have been holding a steady job at a music and art retail store with a stream of conservative clientele. Having this job means that I can't have any visible tattoos or piercings. This also means that I have to be creative with what I chose to get done.
At A Glance Author Elyse Contact cattykittie@comcast.net IAM CattyKittie When Three months ago Artist Sean Philips Studio Marlow Ink Location Fairfax, VA After a discrete tattoo and a septum piercing, I decided I wanted something a little bit more personal. I have larger breasts, so in the past I strayed away from the idea of nipple piercings, even though I thought they were very attractive. Yet while reading through experiences, and finding that some of my friends with big breasts had their nipples pierced, I decided it might be worth a try.
I contacted Sean Philips, and he told me it would be around $60-70 for both. The big day came, and my boyfriend and I headed down to the shop. We went through the usual process of filling out sheets and photocopying our driver's license to verify our ages (my boyfriend was also getting three frenums done). Sean disappeared into his room for a bit to prepare, and then called us in.
I went first. He had me take off my shirt and bra, making sure nothing was affecting the natural hang of my breasts. He then marked where he would be piercing my nipples, taking his time to make sure that they were even. I have pretty sensitive nipples, so just having them touched made them a little stiff. He laughed and asked if I was nervous. It was a little strange having another man see and touch my breasts, so that made me more nervous than the actual piercing. Sean is very professional though, so I got used to it pretty quickly. He had me lay down while he washed his hands and put on gloves.
Up to this point, I had not even thought about asking about the jewelry. I had been pierced by him before, and he had showed me how knowledgeable he is, plus we had already gone over use of an autoclave and things like that. But I asked about it, and sure enough he was using 12 gauge CBRs. I asked if we could do barbells instead. I like the way they look better, and I also read that there can be less pressure on the piercing if you get it done with them. He disputed this. I can't exactly remember why, but it had something to do with unequal weight causing the barbells to reject. He said I could easily switch to barbells after they are done healing, so I went along with it. Different people have different opinions on that though.
Finally, it was time to get pierced. Sean does not use clamps, which I find to be the most unpleasant part of the piercing process, so that was a relief. He cleaned my nipples, and then asked if I was ready. I nodded, so he put the needle up to my nipple and pressed it through. The only bad part about not using clamps is that it takes longer to push the needle through, because he had to make sure the needle exited where he had marked. This didn't bother me, and the pain was over so quickly that it's not worth mentioning. It's different for everyone though!
Same deal with my other nipple. Some people say that the second one hurts more, but I didn't notice anything like that. I stood up and put my bra on very gently, leaving some of the hooks undone so that it wouldn't be as tight. I waited for him to do Hugh's frenums, and when he was done Sean went over the usual aftercare of warm salt water soaks. After the process, my nipples did feel quite sore. Riding home in the car was pretty painful...any bump in the road which caused them to jiggle a bit made me really uncomfortable.
Later that night I found some small plastic Dixie cups that come with little plastic lids, I think they are used for condiments or something small like that. I heated up some bottled water, checked to make sure it wasn't to hot with the top of my cleaned hands, and soaked my nipples with some sea salt. The little cups worked really well for me.
My right nipple was doing fine. About a week or so after the fact, my left nipple somehow tugged in my bra and ripped. I decided to take it out, because the tear left it uneven and I figured it might reject after that sort of trauma. Sean re-pierced it after it had healed up some, but it never really felt right. So after having it redone, I decided again to take it out. Just yesterday I took my right one out because I hated how unsymmetrical it was. I will most likely contact Sean soon and see about getting them both redone, probably vertically instead of horizontally. I'm not ready to give up on them completely though, because I absolutely loved the look and feeling of having a nipple piercing. If you are interested, whether for feeling or aesthetic reasons, I would just consider how happy you might be when you get it, instead of worrying to much about the pain. Just make sure you find a trustworthy piercer whom you are comfortable with!