So it's somewhere around 1994 (my early twenties were somewhat of a blur for me). I was still going to college and waiting tables to pay the bills. Life in Southwest Florida couldn't be much more fun.
At A Glance Author Robbie P. Contact Robbie P.@bme.anon When Ten years ago or more Artist myself Studio my bathroom Location Cape Coma, FL I had my left nipple pierced a few years earlier at a studio (I use this term loosely) in Downtown Fort Myers called "The Leather Tiger". I loved the piercing, even though it wasn't perfectly straight. I had the coolest 14g 5/8" blue niobium captive with a huge sterling silver skull captive charm (rock on) on it. Unfortunately, not too many months after having it done, I was the victim of a break in at my apartment while I was sleeping and the scuffle resulted in the piercing being torn. I decided to remove it and let it heal.
Fast forward to around 1994 again...I have been having the desire to have my nipple pierced again. The big question is, who is going to do it for me. The answer seems easy. Obviously I'll do it myself. Why wouldn't I? I was a professional piercer by that point.
Shortly after my piercing experience at Leather Tiger, I became fascinated with the whole body piercing thing. I read as much about it as I could find at that point, got my hands on a manual produced by Leather Tiger for their "Body Piercing School", found a Canadian supplier that would sell me needles, jewelry, etc. and contacted a local medical supplier for my other necessary supplies. Armed with a copy of Gray's Anatomy, and a good line of bullshit, I found it suprisingly easy to get people to let me pierce them. Hell some of them would even pay me!
Back to 1994...As I was saying, I'm a professional piercer at this point. I even have my own business cards, so I must be good. Most professionals work out of their bathroom or come set up in your kitchen, right? Anyway, I've got a new, even cooler, blue captive for my piercing and this time it's a 12 gauge! I walk into my studio (aka bathroom), get out my needle and throw it and the jewelry in a cup of Wavacide. I then proceed to wipe down my nipple with Betadine. I don't think that I bothered to mark placement, as a professional like myself could eyeball this kind of thing. Now for the forceps. I clamp my nipple and squeeze until I hear the little click (oh god this hurts, someone should invent a way to keep these clamps from pinching so hard...maybe a rubber band or something). Shit, how am I going to get the needle and jewelry out of that little cup with one hand? After struggling for a few minutes, off with the clamps. I set the needle and jewelry on some pa per towel on my bathroom counter (I think high end paper towel like Bounty makes the best sterile field). Back on with the clamps! Yep, still hurts when you hear that little click. Now, all I have to do is push this needle through my nipple into this cork. Ok, one more snag. How am I going to hold the clamps? I usually have the person getting pierced or a friend of theirs hold them. I'm the only one home and I want to pierce my nipple now! So I'm squatting in my bathroom in front of the mirror with forceps clamped onto my nipple, balancing the handle of them on the edge of the counter. I grab the needle and cork from my Bounty sterile field and hold them on opposite sides of my nipple. On the the count of three. One, two, three...nothing. OK, stop being such a puss and pierce your damn nipple. One, two, three...again nothing. Maybe if I tell myself I'm going to do it on three and really do it on two I won't tense up. Wait, I think you need two people for that . Either way, my nipple is really starting to hurt in this clamp and my knees are about to give out from squatting to balance the forceps on the counter. I need to do it this time. One, two, threeeeeeoowwwwwsshhhhiiiittttt@#%*$#*@!@#!@! God I hope the neighbors didn't hear that. Wow, that burns more than I remember. Maybe I should have rinsed the Wavacide off the needle. I think to myself that we must be having electrical problems, because the lights in the bathroom are starting to dim. It must also be hurricane season because the room is spinning too. Time to sit!
So I come to about a minute later on a chair in the living room, I'm not quite sure how I got there, but my knees are sore, there's a needle through my nipple, I'm sweating profusely, and my chest is burning. All right! All I have to do now is put my super cool blue captive in. Maybe I'll even hang that huge silver skull charm from it again.
Back into the studio(bathroom)...I grab the jewelry with the same hands that probably crawled across the carpet to get me into the chair (and yes, we did have a dog and 2 cats in the house) and swiftly slide it in behind the needle. Ow, that burns! I swear next time I'm rinsing off that Wavacide. My vision is still a little blurry, but I think it looks great (other than the fact that it is standing straight up, but I'm sure it will loosen with time).
Fast forward to present...I no longer have my nipple piercing. Even after two years, it just didn't seem to want to heal. But, I'm lucky enough to have an enlarged, scarred up nipple with 2 marks approximately 5/8" apart on either side of it to remind me daily of that fun experience.
Looking back on this experience, I can think of a few things I might do differently next time. The first thing I learned is that when you are piercing your nipple at home standing in front of your bathroom mirror, you should always have a friend there to hold the clamps for you and to watch for hurricanes and electrical problems (keep a flashlight handy). Secondly, if you place your nipple piercing 5/8" deep behind the nipple and it stands straight up, hanging something heavy from it (like a huge sterling silver captive charm) will not always make it lay flat. Last but not least, I learned that cheap paper towels make just as good of a sterile field as the expensive ones. Save your money for antibiotics and booze.
DISCLAIMER: Yes, I was being sarcastic. Although this is a true story of my experience, I don't recommend that you try this at home. Please learn from my mistakes. Always seek out a professional (preferably an APP member) for all your piercing needs.