Nipple piercings have always fascinated me, ever since I first saw one on a guy about 10 years ago. So I'd been thinking about it, and think about it, and thinking.....
At A Glance Author Christopher Contact wheels@fuse.net Artist Cannon Studio ACME Piercing Location Cincinnati, Ohio Never did anything about it though. All talk and no action. I went with my friend Chris to see him get his nipple pierced (at Bodywork Productions in Cleveland) and it didn't seem so bad, although he told me it hurt like a SOB.
Anyway, here I am, still thinking, while I'm browsing some of the stories on BME. Aside from 2 ear piercings when I was a teenager, I've never had anything pierced. Still, the idea was in my head, and I thought, what the hell, just go check it out. So check it out I did.
I went to ACME Piercing on Short Vine in Cincinnati. When I walked in I was immediately comforted by the friendly, no-pressure folks working there, and the openness and cleanliness of the place. It had a good feeling immediately. After spending about a half-hour browsing and asking questions, I told them, "Sign me up!" Call me an impulse shopper--when I left the house it was only with the idea of "checking things out."
My piercer was Cannon--very nice guy. He 'splained everthing as he went, very similar to what I had witnessed at BodyWorks. His first question was "right or left?" When I told him, "Both," I think he had a moment of surprise, this being my first piercing experience and all.
We selected stainless steel captive bead rings in a larger diameter (I don't remember the measurement & don't have a ruler on hand). We went through the usual setup. He carefully marked both nipples, and had me look to see if I liked the balance. I did. He then did some tissue manipulation.
During this time I did some deep breathing exercises to keep myself calm. I was feeling pretty good, but a little scared & just not sure of what to expect in the way of pain. When I had first inquired about nipple piercing, Cannon had described it as one of the more "ouchy" piercings you can get, and he impressed that on me more than once while prepping me. Still, this was the only piercing I wanted (yet, that is), and ouchy or not, I was ready.
..one, two, three and the needle was in! No problem, very little pain. I had been expecting much worse. A pause, and then the first CBR was through my left nipple. I didn't look because I didn't want to view it until I saw the finished product. Cannon put a cold compress on the right nipple and moved on to the left.
OUCH! The left hurt a lot more than the right. Typical, I understand. It's either expectations or endorphins, but it was real. Still, all in all the pain was nothing that I couldn't handle, and believe me, I am a baby about pain, needles and blood. I once nearly passed out just getting my blood PRESSURE taken. This was a piece of cake in comparison. No blood, no nausea, no dizziness.
Well that was 48 hours ago. Since then I've had intermittent pain, usually a sort of ache/burning sensation, at the worst point spreading across my whole chest. Cleaning has been okay, except for the first morning in the shower, where contemplating the rings as I tried to move them caused me to get so dizzy I almost passed out. Shades of that blood pressure check--perhaps I'm not so tough after all!
I have a nearly irrestible urge to show them off. I'm definitely looking forward to the summer beach season. I think they look great, feel great, and really I would encourage anyone who's even considering a nipple piercing to go for it! I work a white-collar job, and it's been fun to sit there in my dress shirt, feeling the press of the rings between my undershirt and skin. This has been a fanstastic experience, and I'm expecting it to only get better.
The one thing I would change is that I'd get larger rings, possibly in a bright titanium color. I truly want them to be prominent when I take my shirt off. Since it's the middle of winter here right now, I suppose I have plenty of time to allow the healing to take place before I'll want to take off my shirt.
The piercing experience was fantastic, and I'd highly recommend ACME to anyone in Cincinnati. When I left that night, I got a nice sendoff from the guys working there. I told them I didn't know what I'd do to follow up on this, and one of them suggested that I might want to come back for a second, vertical piercing of each nipple. Will I do it? Who knows.......but I am an impulse shopper, after all.