Nipples with bars and rings have to be one of the sexiest and most beautiful body enhancements I have seen. I wanted to pierce mine immediately after I saw my first pair up close. Unfortunately, 16-year-old girl with nipple piercings would not have gone over well with my mother (understatement of the year). I figured when I got to be 18, I would get them done and hide them.
At A Glance Author Jessica Contact jemott@vt.edu IAM LittleGirlieBitch When Six months ago Studio Bulldog Tattoo Location Blacksburg, VA When I was old enough to actually do it, I left that idea behind for a vertical hood piercing. The hood piercing was the beginning of my tattooing and piercing obsession. After the hood came facial piercings and ink. A friend of mine had one nipple pierced and I started talking to her about it one time when we were drunk. My lust for the piercing came back in a rush. I went home resolved to get stabbed the next day. When I woke up and eventually remembered my pledge to pierce my nipples I began to think about it. It seemed like a much better idea when I was 16. Since that time my nipples had gotten 10x more sensitive. I had recently had an experience with a friend and some nipple clamps; just the thought of the pain was enough to deter me yet again.
Months later I was joking around with my roommate and she joked me that I was just a huge chicken and yet I always acted like I was a badass when it came to pain. She of course was right; I swore that all my piercings really didn't hurt. Thinking on it, none of them really did. So I decided to screw the pain and go for it. Around the same time I got a response to a project that author Shelley Jackson was working on. I was going to get a word tattooed on me as part of her living essay. My word was "and," it was to go between my breasts. I decided if I was going to walk around shirtless I might as well do them at the same time.
I headed to Bulldog Tattoo in Blacksburg, VA. I gave them the template for the tattoo and told them I wanted my nipples done with 12g curved barbells. First I went back to get pierced. My nipples were wiped down with alcoholic pads and marked while standing with a disposable marker. The marks were fine when I examined them in the floor length mirror. I lay down on the table ready to be pierced. The pain was enough to elicit a groan but it wasn't horrible. I noticed when I got up that the barbells didn't look curved or 12g. Also the bars were not where the markings were at all. I figured maybe the swelling was distorting things (we convince ourselves of such things when we don't want to admit that something is wrong). I tried to forget about it and get ready for the tattoo, which wasn't hard as my breasts were throbbing.
I walked into the next room and got my word tattooed. I then did one of the stupider things you can do having been not only pierced but tattooed as well. I went out to a bar with my friend and got sloshed. The next morning I woke up to very swollen nipples and a very painful chest in general. I took some ibuprofen and waited for the hangover to recede. Over the next few days I noticed that my tattoo was healing, although it wasn't done well, the artist had gone outside of the lines, something I will eventually have to get fixed. My nipples were not healing. They were lymphing and still slightly bleeding after 5 days. I knew they had been badly done; the entry and exits of both piercings went through the outer areola instead of close in near the nipple. The balls were sinking into the surrounding tissue and they were getting more painful rather than less. I used sea salt, Provon, and Dial to try and heal them. After two weeks I gave up and went into Ancient Art Tattoo in Blacksburg, VA to have one final opinion before removing them. The artist who looked at them literally jumped back when he saw them and got worried that he did them. I told him no and he instructed me to take them out immediately. I went straight home and took them out in the shower. Took out the 14g straight barbells...so much for listening to the customer. God forbid I think I know my body better than they do.
The wounds took a good two months to heal. There are still scars on my areolas from the butchery. Now when I get really cold my nipples are extremely painful.
Once I get the money I will have my trusted piercer do them the right way. The lesson here is to be very watchful of someone who is piercing you. If something looks wrong say it right away. Even if the piercer has been considered a professional for a long time, everyone makes mistakes and has bad days. Also "professionals" are not guaranteed to be true to their namesake.
I still think of nipple piercings as beautiful and worth the pain of getting them. I was ready to get them redone the moment I took them out. What is beauty without pain anyways?