So I finally did it!! It has taken me roughly 18 months of making a decision and chickening out, over and over again and now I wish I had done it sooner!
At A Glance Author pops Contact pops@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Paul Studio Indigo Tattoo Location Northwich, Cheshire I have wanted to have my nipples pierced for a long time and after looking at lots and lots of breasts on BME I finally decided to go for both nipples, vertical with bars.
About 4 months ago I went to a different studio in Northwich to get them done... It didn't go entirely to plan as I came out with a nice new off centre labret piercing. I chickened out when I got in there. For such an intimate piercing I just didn't feel comfortable with the place and the piercer. It was a girl I went to school with so there was a little awkwardness with getting my top off in front of her. The shop is a little weird too and not very private, as the piercings take place pretty much in the shop front, separated by a curtain. So I arrived, decided it wasn't for me, and got the next piercing down on my wish list.
So finally I went to Indigo Tattoo in Northwich. My husband was booked in for his tattoo so I figured it was easy to be in there and get it done at the same time. I got myself ready mentally, went in and asked the guy on the counter.... And the piercer was out for the day!!! Eeeeek.... So it wasn't meant to be. I booked in the diary for the next day and left a little deflated but entirely more comfortable with the place and the friendliness of the staff.
The next day I had the longest day at work ever, anticipating the pain and the awkward "top off" moment. 3pm arrived and I arrived, filled in the forms and sat waiting. The piercer is also a tattooist and does his piercings inbetween tattoo appointments, and he was just finishing off his previous appointment. A long ten minutes later I was in the room ready to go with him talking me through the whole procedure. He was really thorough in describing what he would be doing and making me feel a lot less worried about the pain.
I took my top off and he marked up with pen where he was going to put the piercing, making them look straight when I was standing up, then asked me to lie down on the table. He said he would do the nipple closest to him then I would lie at the other end of the bed and he would do the other nipple. I lay down and he clamped the first one, left nipple first, and told me to take a deep breath in... as I took the breath in the needle went through and then he said take another deep breath and he put the jewellery through. I was shocked at how little it hurt, I guess that's maybe because I had built myself up for it being the most painful thing ever.
It really wasn't so bad, but my next concern was that I had read loads of stories saying the second one hurts a lot more as you know what to expect and because your adrenaline has worn off. Second one went without a hitch, no different pain-wise. He showed me both in the mirror while I was still lying down and then covered them with big square plasters to catch any blood spots. I got up and got my top back on and asked roughly a million questions about them growing out and if I would know when it was happening etc. He answered all my questions and made feel fine about the whole thing. I payed and then left!
I got in my car and suddenly after the fresh air and the whole thing over, they started to ache really, really bad. I was warned about catching my seatbelt on them, so I was really careful... and to date there have been no knocking or catching incidents.
So its now a week and a day and I am really pleased with having them done. Bizarrely they are healing completely differently. When the left one was first pierced it bled quite a lot, and now is healing lots better than the right, which didn't bleed at all. The right one isn't healing that well... it seems to be a couple of millimetres further back and the bar rubs a little. Hopefully it will catch up. I keep doing the salt wash, two or three times a day and they get better every day.
I cant wait now to get them in back in action!! My husband is desperate to see what they can do...