I have had my nipples pierced two separate times before. The first time I was in college, I didn't leave them alone for them to heal and I ended up having to take them out after approximately eleven months. The second time they migrated horribly and I gave up after about seven months of nothing but pain. This was going to be attempt number three.
At A Glance Author Anarashka Contact shadowsbane@gmail.com When A week ago Artist Derrick Studio Crown Location Charlotte, NC I went to Derrick at Crown because he is known for his wonderful and innovative work. He has done quite a few exotic and unique piercings on a few of my friends and I have been in to see him quite a few times. I let him know about my previous failed attempts with getting my nipples pierced. He examined me and thought for a few seconds while setting things up. He then explained to me what he wanted to do.
I have a problem with fourteen gauge migration. He suggested that I let him pierce me one step higher, at a twelve gauge. He was then going to give them two weeks of heal time so that the cells began to reinforce the pierced area. He was then going to stretch them one step further, to a ten gauge. The thought of stretching my nipples nearly made me sick, but after about ten minutes of discussing the pros and cons of his suggested process, his logic made sense. He also assured me on nearly everything but his life that unless it was a problem with the metal (which I know it is not) then a ten gauge would not reject or migrate. He warned me that while it was the process that would do the least amount of tissue damage, it was also the most painful. If I were that worried about the pain, I wouldn't be sitting on his table in a cold room discussing it with him. And that was that.
Derrick is pretty weird sometimes. He goes from loud to soft, bounces around (when he isn't piercing) and is generally a loose canon. I learned the other side of him that day as he calmly and very scientifically explained to me what he wanted to do. I have severe anxiety problems and as he lay me down to prepare to pierce me, I started to hyperventilate. He immediately took control (another side of him I learned that day) and calmed me down, worked through breathing exercises with me and before I knew it, they were pierced.
I won't lie, it hurts like hell. Oh god it hurts, I nearly cried. He had to pierce deep and through two other layers of scar tissue. It was a good 10-20 seconds of one of the hardest pains I have had to cope with. But it was over before I knew it. He continued to talk to me about what he wanted to do as he fed the jewelry through, keeping my mind off of what was happening. He talked about my friends, asked me how they were doing, discussed their piercing plans, etc etc. The entire experience was quick and easy (or as easy as it could have been).
It took a few days for the size of the jewelry to grow on me. Not so much the gauge, that was fine. The size of the rings really surprised me when he pulled them out of the package to show them to me. Because I have so much scar tissue (and the permanent swelling that piercing causes) the rings had to be large enough that the curve of the ring itself didn't cause tearing or pulling. Once I was able to look at them and clean them, I realized that I definitely liked them. Even at the size they were (about as big as a key chain ring) they still gave the look that I wanted, and I missed the glint of silver so very much.
That was approximately one and a half weeks ago. In two days, I head back in for the stretching. I am scared to death, I won't lie, but if this is what it takes for them to finally heal correctly, I am willing to go through with it. I have been cleaning twice daily with orange liquid dial soap (the unscented antibacterial kind) and spritzing with H2Ocean three to four times a day and after each washing. The weather is dry and the soap is drying my skin out a little, but other than that they are fine. They still hurt like hell when I wash each evening, but even that is quickly going away. They have already reached the itch like crazy stage, that's always fun to go through. I can't wait for this to be all over with! I feel that this is more than worth whatever I have to go through. I trust Derrick and his word; he has not proven me wrong yet. I can highly recommend that anyone in the area drop by and visit him if you are looking for a piercing or if you have had problems with piercings in the past. He may very well be the answer to your problems.