I had gotten my nipples pierced the first time around when I was 18 years old (fresh out of high school) by a less-than-savory piercer whose studio was in her home. I was pierced lying down on her bed, surrounded by her pack of greyhounds. Now, I love animals (I'm a vet tech) but that seemed less than sterile! But what did I know? They didn't exactly teach you piercing safety in the school system. I ended up taking out those piercings about 3 years later (they were 14 gauge hoops) because they were a wee bit crooked. I had loved the look of them, but I had never really thought about getting them redone... until now.
At A Glance Author Wolfie Contact Wolfie@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Jacob Studio Insane Ink Location Leesburg, Virginia I had been getting tattooed by a wonderful artist named Sherry at Insane Ink for a couple of years, so I decided I would go there for my second try at nipple piercing. I was quite nervous the night before (I have a very high pain threshold for tattoos, but piercing is much different, and the only other piercing I had ever had was my traguses... but that's another story)
All I could think about was that my first experience was very painful, very stressful, and done by someone who didn't seem to know what they were doing. I was somewhat reassured by the fact that I knew the reputation of the piercers at Insane Ink to be impeccable, and I was already thrilled with the tattoo work they had done. So I decided to just take the plunge, put my faith in Insane Ink, and get it done.
I went in the next morning around noon, and spoke with Jacob the piercing artist about what I wanted done. I explained that I had been pierced before, and discussed my worries about scar tissue. Jacob was very kind, courteous, and professional, and went over everything with me. He told me that there might be some difficulty with the scar tissue, but nothing that couldn't be dealt with. He went into the back to set up (in his clean, sterile studio... no dogs!) and I waited up front. I had decided on 14 gauge barbells, simply because I liked the look of them, and the hoops I had last time seemed to be more painful during the healing process (possibly because they were always flipping up). Jacob brought me into the piercing room and had me sit down. I took of my shirt and took a deep breath. He put on his gloves and did all of his sterile prepping of the area. He was very friendly and relaxed the whole time, talking easily and helping to set my mind at ease. After my negative first time, I was just a little bit worked up! Then, he was ready. He asked me if I was ready to go, and I smiled weakly and said yes. He counted to three, and in went the needle into the left nipple. It was done, and hardly any pain! I couldn't believe it! "That wasn't bad at all!" I blurted out. He just smiled, because he knew the second nipple would hurt (thankfully, he didn't tell me this!). "The scar tissue wasn't bad in that one" he commented. He threaded the barbell in with no problem. "You ready for the next one?" I nodded my head bravely. "One..Two..Three!" OUCH!!! The right one hurt. Apparently, there was a lot of scar tissue. He pushed in the barbell, and then stopped... it was stuck on scar tissue. The next few minutes were extremely painful. I felt like lightening was shooting through my body. It wasn't Jacob's fault; it was because of the damage from the previous piercing that the barbell was caught up on tissue inside my nipple. Jacob was very gentle, diligent, and mindful of my comfort, doing his best to make sure the experience wasn't a bad one. Only a very skilled piercer could have managed what he did! Well, he got it through, and the piercing looked great! Very even and well balanced. Despite the minor setback, Jacob succeeded in making my second time awesome. So why did I want my nipples pierced? I guess it's a compound answer. Firstly, for purely aesthetic reasons. They look great! I like to adorn my body with jewelry, and I like the look of nipple piercings. Secondly, I guess I like to test how much pain my body can handle. Kind of like a "how tough are you" challenge. I like to see if I can quiet my mind and block out the physical pain, so that I can sharpen my skills on stress management in everyday life. My reasons for getting my nipples pierced the first time around (because my friend had them done) were unsatisfactory for my standards, so I'm glad I am able to better explain the piercing this time around. Some advice to first