12/14/2001 - Venice Beach, California
At A Glance Author Mark Contact Mark@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Ian Studio Asylum Tattoo Location on Windward Ave. near the beach, Venice Beach, Ca I just got both nipples horizontally pierced. The experience and sensations were very wild. On a pain scale of one to ten, ten being like cutting a leg off, it was a seven. I never stopped to think about (really think about) the pain. I brushed it off to fear.
I have both nipples pierced a little into the aureoloe. They are pierced with 14 guage surgical stainless steel captive bead rings (CBRs). The rings I got were only 1/2 inch in diameter. Looking back I would have got them in about a 3/4 inch diameter. I think that the 14 guage holes were enough for now. They don't dangle very well because of the small ring. My t-shirts make me appear to have 4 nipples.
Here's my story about how this came about. It all started a few years ago in the town we used to live in.
A friend and his wife both had both of their nipples pierced. I don't remember how this came up in our conversations. I was dying to ask what they looked like, but didn't. He got his pierced and had 12 guage surgical stainless steel captive bead rings put in. Their piercings was done in Seattle a few years ago. The aftercare reccomended by their piercer was washing with Provon soap and soaking often (twice a day) in hot water with epsom salts. Just recently he had his piercing stretched and 10 guage niobium captive bead rings put in his nipples.
I did searches online and found some pictures and stories about piercings and nipple piercing in particular on the BME web site. Looking at the pictures over the last three years did nothing but fuel the desire to get my own nipples pierced. Reading all the stories about the good experiences and the resulting pleasure got me real hot for it. The bad experiences did bring up fears and doubt. But the promise of all that fun outweiged the fears and doubt. My friend and I emailed back and forth about some vacation plans around Christmas this year (2001). I couldn't resist and finally asked about his and his wife's piercings. He gave me all the details about his piercings, aftercare, pain, type of jewelry, healing, etc. I asked about the piercer he used and the shop, I thought I could get a referral to a shop and piercer in Southern California. He told me that piercers sometimes move around alot and their piercer no longer worked at that shop. Our original plan was to go up to Seattle, he reccomended that I not get it done while in the traveling mode. On his advice I went back to the BME web site and looked up various cities around me.
I found a story about a woman's nipple piercing at the "Asylum" in Venice Beach, California. I went looking for their address online and found the shop called "Tattoo Asylum" on Windward near the beach. I took my lunch hour and went to the shop. I met this piercer, a large very intimidating looking visibly pierced guy. He introduced himself as Ian, he turned out to be very friendly, informative and professional.
We talked about different jewelry, aftercare, pain and cost. I had anticipated around $100.00. I was suprised that it was a little less. My fears and anxieties about getting my nipples pierced (the procedure, pain, aftercare, what if something goes wrong, etc.) were quickly going away. After making sure he would be there on Saturday, I told him I was ready to get them pierced and would be back on Saturday.
I couldn't wait. I called I told my wife that evening that I was going to get "them" pierced after work on Friday. She got upset at the thought that she would miss out and wouldn't be there. So she came along on the 1/2-hour drive over to Venice Beach.
It was fast. From the initial discussion, verifying the type of jewelry, showing me the sterilized needles and such, until we left the shop, pierced.
The anxiety and anticipation was justified. It hurt, but only for about 15 seconds. The pain from each one radiated like fire all the way around my whole torso. Wow! He laid me down to put on the beads. Once it was done my anxiety dropped all the way down.
Ian was cool about everything. His after-care instructions were simple, use anti-bacterial liquid Dial twice a day rotating the CBRs while I cleaned it and rinsed it, also, and use Bactine three times a day again rotating the CBRs. That was it. The sensations that first night's cleaning were very pleasurable and only slightly painful.
Here I am at work on Tuesday. Only a mild throb every once in a while, and only when I think about the piercing.
-- Mark, Redondo Beach, California