I have been in to body piercing since I was about 12 years old. It was only about 2 years ago that I discovered Belfast City Skinworks and I have not went to another body piercing/tattooing studio since.
At A Glance Author anonymous When It just happened Artist Donal Studio Belfast city skinworks Location Belfast I had previously had one of my nipples pierced about two years ago by my boyfriends friend who did all of his piercings (approximately 30 or more of them). It was not a pleasant experience. To start with said friend told me that the stuff he was spraying on my nipple was freezing solution, yeah right. He then proceeded to clamp my nipple with an oversized clamp, and then without any warning he shoved the needle through my nipple. I have never felt pain like it and kept asking if it was done yet to which he replied nearly. That 'nearly' seemed to last a very long time. When it was finally over I thought never again.
A few weeks later when my piercing had nearly healed, my boyfriend was playing with it and he decided that I should get my other one pierced as I looked lopsided and he wanted more to play with. I have to say I agreed it felt a bit strange only having one done. I then decided to look for a different piercing studio as I decided my boyfriend could keep his friend to do his piercings and not mine. My mum suggested Donal at Belfast City Skinworks so I decided to go to him and haven't looked back since (when you read on you will see my reasoning for this). I found Donal very professional, helpful and friendly, he really put me at ease. My stubborn boyfriend has even started to get pierced and tattooed here.
However, 6 months later, due to movement in the ball closure rings they still hadn't healed fully and had started to reject so I had to remove them.
Not long after I decided to get them both repierced as I missed them and so did my boyfriend. So three days ago I paid Donal another visit.
I was already booked in to have a tattoo done by Romper (who I would highly recommend), so after said tattoo I proceeded to read all the appropriate information on nipple piercing given to me by Donal. I then had to sign a form to say I had no medical problems, was old enough and was happy to let Donal perform the piercing. Now it was time to begin.
I followed him into the piercing room, which is very hygienic and sterile. At the same time Tommy Gunn (who he highly recommends) was tattooing my boyfriend. Donal asked me before we began if my boyfriend would rather be present for the piercings and if so we could wait till he was finished being tattooed, but as Donal is so professional my boyfriend didn't mind so we proceeded ourselves. He then proceeded to lie out all the equipment he would need for the two piercings. Due to my last nipple piercings rejecting I had requested to have my nipples pierced with PTFE disposable fibre bars as the movement would be limited (PTFE fibre aids the healing process as it is non-allergenic). I then sat down on the chair and removed my top and bra. To start with Donal used an antiseptic solution to clean my nipples to reduce the risk of infection. Using a fibre tip pen Donal marked a dot on either side of both nipples. He then showed me them in a mirror to make sure I was happy with the positioning of both the piercings, which I was, they were perfect. Donal then proceeded to show me him opening both the needle packets so I knew they were sterile (he left them in the packets until he was ready to pierce my nipple). He then clamped my left nipple (which hurt a wee bit, as they are very tight, but not much), and sprayed the freezing spray on to it, which was very cold. The needle was then removed from the plastic packet and he pierced it through my left nipple. He then removed the needle leaving the plastic tube that was round it in my nipple to keep the new hole open while he got the PTFE disposable fibre bar. This plastic tube was then cut at either end so that the clamps could be removed. The fibre bar was then inserted into the plastic tube and slid through my nipple and the piercing was finished. I found the piercing relatively pain free apart from the clamps, which nipped a bit. Now it was time to start all over again. Donal performed the exact same p rocedure with my right nipple. He wore gloves at all times and kept ch anging them if he touched anything that could possibly infect my new piercing. When both nipples were pierced he showed me them in a mirror and they looked great. Donal then provided me with an aftercare leaflet, which covers all types of piercings. He also talked me through the aftercare procedure to make sure I understood everything.
It was nice to see a bar through both my nipples again. My boy friend is also happy again and is talking me into a clit piercing to match his Prince Albert, (won't take much persuasion, sounds great)!
We would very highly recommend Belfast City Skinworks to anyone in this area who is considering a very high quality piercing or tattoo. All members of the team are very welcoming whether you are getting work done or not.