Introduction
At A Glance Author Andy U Contact firespinner@btinternet.com Artist Michelle Studio Toxic Shock Location Birmingham, England Sorry for this long experience but I felt I had to include everything :)
OK, where do I start? My fascination with piercings first appeared maybe two years ago while I was on holiday (vacation for you non Brits) in Los Angeles, USA. My brother and I took a day out to visit Venice beach where there are a lot of tattoo parlours and body piercing specialists. The thought of body piercings was definitely an intriguing one. The amounts of pain people go through for the idea of a perfect body... Pure bliss.
After that, I sort of put piercings aside for a while until my family and I went on holiday to Walt Disney World (we do love USA :D). My interest returned when I saw this guy walking in the opposite direction to me. And in his right nipple, a ring was adorned. I thought to myself that this was the best place to get pierced since it could easily be hidden and only those who I wanted to see it would. You see, the main thing that put me off from getting a piercing is because of my school. Schools in the UK are extremely conservative; it's a jacket and tie affair so visible piercings were definitely a no-no. I toyed with the idea of a tongue piercing for a while but that was risky seeing as it can still be spotted by people.
Fast-forward nine months. My girlfriend has been 'egging' me on to get my nipple pierced if I wanted one so I decided to do a bit of research on the subject. I stumbled across BME and read a lot of the experiences of people having their nipples pierced. I familiarised myself with the piercing process and most of my questions had been answered. To my joy and delight, the legal age to get pierced in the UK is 16 and above (although I have seen places refuse people who are under 18!) providing ID is presented. I had heard good things about a place called "Toxic Shock" in Birmingham. So, the place and time were set. Thursday at 13:15.
Prior To The Piercing
I arrive at Toxic Shock with 15 minutes to spare. I check myself in at the counter and I pay the £20 for the piercing and the barbell. I decided to choose a regular stainless steel 14-gauge barbell. I take a seat and wait for my turn to be pierced. Before me in the line were two women who had decided to get their belly buttons pierced. A woman came out called those two in. A few minutes later, a piercing (forgive the pun) shriek echoes around the studio. Out come the two women with their fresh piercings. They apologised for the screams and everyone laughed and they both waddled off out of the studio. It was now my turn. A lady called Michelle called me into one of the rooms. She had a lot of the space on her ears pierced as well as a piercing in her lip, which looked very elegant on her. As I entered, I took a look around the room. It was spotless and resembled a hospital rather than a piercing studio. It smelled extremely clean too, which put my already nervous self at ease. Michelle asked me to take off my shirt and she went ahead to clean and mark my left nipple with a purple pen. She asked me to give it the once over and I approved. I was asked to make myself comfortable on the bed. She went on to remove the stuff from their sealed bags, which was good to see.
The Piercing
Michelle went on to clamp my nipple. Despite what people said, this did not hurt at all! I guess all the adrenaline rushing around my body diverted the pain. She asked me to breathe in and that she would pierce me when I exhaled. I breathed in and breathed out and boom, the needle was pushed through. The feeling was strange. It didn't hurt much like the clamps. It felt like pressure being concentrated on my nipple. I could definitely feel the needle passing though and it was a bit of a turn on. Very sensual. :) She went on to say "its not as bad as people say it is" with a smile on her face. I couldn't help but laugh and smile back. Michelle then warned me that I would feel some discomfort while she inserted the barbell. And damn, she was right! I let out an "argh" and she giggled. Seconds later, she said, "all done" and handed me a mirror. I stared at my newly pierced nipple and let out a sigh of relief. It looked great! :D She gave me the after care instructions and told me to call back if I had any questions or problems. She taped a sterile dressing over it and was told not to remove until after 4 hours or so. I thanked her and left the studio with a pleased look on my face.
Afterwards
I immediately noticed that my left nipple was more sensitive than my right. The feeling was amazing. And it didn't hurt either which was a plus. An hour later, the pain began to kick in. It wasn't an incredible pain, just a dull, bruising sensation. I cleaned it once I had gotten home with antibacterial soap. It hurt quite a bit to rotate the piercing so I left it alone. The pain was almost gone by the next day. I gave it a sea-salt soak that helped a lot. Today on day three, the pain has totally disappeared. There haven't been any crusties and it appears to be doing very well. I have decided to get the other one pierced soon to even things up and will also get my tongue pierced over the summer.
Thank you all for taking the time to read my experience and I am sorry that it was so long :)