After having one nipple done in June of this year and enjoying having it done, I have been toying with the idea of having my other done, amongst other piercings. I had my conch done a few weeks ago, and it is triggering a domino effect - I want to have more piercings, desperately!
At A Glance Author A. non. When Six months ago Artist Toni Studio Toni's, Guildford Location Surrey, England Now, I had the second nipple done yesterday. After meeting with my friend, we went around town for a while before heading to the studio. I spoke with Toni's assistant, asking how much it was and what time they were open until. He had pierced both me (lobes) and my friend (navel) before, and I had felt comfortable with him, so I wasn't nervous. We went off for a while for lunch and whatnot, and came back an hour or so later, I had decided.
It turned out Toni was going to the be the one who would pierce me, and although I have read several bad reviews of him on here, I have few criticisms. I had not met him properly before, but my friend's brother has had his piercings done here, I suspect by him, so I trusted him. Of course, since I had my other done at another studio (Tony's in Leatherhead - by a woman), I was comparing what happened as it was all different.
The main differences were
- not marking the place to pierce
- different cleaning spray
- different aftercare instructions (fewer, but I will use my instincts for the most part)
- a stranger present
He checked my ID and I signed the book confirming who I am and what I was having done, then he checked the size of bar he needed to sterilize. He then had to get one of the female hairdressers to sit in there with me, a security precaution so he couldn't be accused of abuse or unnecessary fondling etc.
He asked if my friend wanted to sit in, but he hates needles, so he waited outside in the waiting room - looking more scared than me when he left! Toni made sure I understood why the other woman had to be present and that when the door was shut, nothing that happened in there would leave (ie. the woman wouldn't go out and say anything about it). He made sure I was ok with everything that was happening as it went on, which made me feel more relaxed.
So I sat down and had my tops off (it was cold outside..), and was quite conscious that he hadn't marked on where he was piercing, but (probably foolishly) I didn't question this. He had my other piercing to align it with so I was trusting him. He cleaned the area thoroughly and looked carefully at the nipple to see where he would pierce it, checking in line with the other too, before unwrapping the needle.
It was then that I realised the cleaning spray he had used was not the numbing one I had had for my other piercing. I had hardly felt anything on my first, and was painfully aware that I would feel both the needle and jewellery going through strongly this time!
So with his hand between my face and my nipple - I couldn't see when he was going to pierce it. Without warning or a count down, he pushed the needle through. Although I was expecting the worst pain ever, it was not as bad as I expected - nothing compared my broken fingers years ago. Maybe I have a high pain threshold. I breathed in sharply and it felt uncomfortable, but was relieved more than anything, I had it done! He checked I was ok and proceeded to put in the jewellery (a plain barbell) and cleaned and bandaged it. The barbell going through was worse, a sharper pain, but was quicker. He gave me the cleaning stuff and a few extra bandages to wear on the following days/on my other piercing if it was irritated (see below).
Just as I was about to leave, he said, 'Did that hurt too much?' and offered me a lolly. A friendly bloke! It was a pleasant end to, although my most painful piercing experience, one of my proudest piercings.
Whilst there, he also checked my other piercing and insisted on my changing the bar to a bigger one as it was digging in slightly, something I had not noticed. He made sure I had the bigger barbell at home, I have two, and said he also sells them if I do need one. He also made sure I knew if I needed any other advice, for free, I could phone or visit the store, and that if I needed any more barbells, they sold a wide range.
Altogether a rather pleasant piercing experience.