I've had my nipples pierced for about 7 years now. I started with a basic 12g CBR done at planet 3 in savannah georgia before they moved to their new location. the nice thing about planet 3 is they really only prefer to do custom work, so it's not a McBodyArt place, which I must prefer. My nerves were shot for a bit, and I'm glad I brought a friend because I passed out a little but with the first needle. Yes, that makes me a wuss, but I've also never broken a bone or spent a night in a hospital. Giving blood or getting blood drawn makes me very woozy, but that tells you how much i wanted these new rings in my chest. I left them in for several months with no issue, but for some reason that escapes me now I took them out one day and could not get them back in. The studio that did them was 3 hours away and I just left them out after many hours of trying to get them back in.
At A Glance Author IAMUR Contact IAMUR@bme.anon When N/A Artist Multiple Studio Planet 3 Location Savannah, GA I wanted them repierced, but in the interim, a few months later, I had black lines like a sunburst tattooed around each one. It's a simple design of straight black lines going out like the lines that people often draw around a sun to show the rays of light. These really made me happy. My very first ink. Some people say you don't own something until you mark it up and that's how I feel about it too. It's your body, and you can't take it with you after you pass away so why not enjoy it. To die with a perfect unmarked body is somewhat like being a never removed from box (NRFB) barbie doll. yes, it's worth more, but it's also never been loved and used. Of course, now that I had the new ink, I HAD to have the rings put back in them. However, I waited until the tattoo was completely done.
Anyway, so next I'm in Columbia SC and I have them repierced with 10g by a place I believe was called BodyRites in 5 Points. They were very professional and also friendly. As a side note, I've never found the piercing experience to be very painful, I've stubbed my toe and had it hurt worse. I prefer for the needle to go through quickly. My main complaint is if the room is too cold, that really annoys me and does not help me relax. Also, cold clamps are bad. I asked them to wait until they had warmed up to me and they did, as I said, BodyRites is very cool.
So the title is Expanders and I'm on Paragraph 4 and not gotten there yet. So after I had the 10 G in for a little while, I slid an old 14g in behind it. Not exceptionally painful, but uncomfortable in an arousing way at first. I used this same technique to get them down to 8G. However, at 8g, I decided to buy a circular expander. The problem with this is that you have to have the time to dedicate to it slowly. So I put it in with some gel to lube it up and slowly worked it through while reading a book. The same day, I was down to 6g. It did ache a little bit and I really noticed how sensitive they were at first when I put my shirt on again.
However, I had hurt horror stories about people going to fast, so I stayed at 6g for a long long time. But after I started stretching them again, they seemed eager for more, so I used more expanders and also put in smaller jewelry with them to preserver the stretch.
I don't have a goal size, I just keep waiting until the moment is right and moving in whatever direction is right at that moment. However, at some size (00g?) I may say "that's enough" and then I'll have some custom jewelry made. I also want to expand on my tattoos as soon as I have a design I really like.
My thoughts on permanent jewelry are that I'd love to have something like a fish on either side of my nipple, maybe integrated by turning the tattoo into part of it. If not a fish, then maybe something like a planet. It has to be simple, and I'm not fond of captive bead rings. A custom nipple shield has crossed my mind many times, but I'd want it to be flat and simple, not overly ornate.
So in closure, I've had some success with very slow stretching over the years and gotten a great deal of pleasure from my piercings. My only advice is to listen to your body. if it protests, don't force it. If a room is too cold, or an artist is not communicating with you, it's your responsibility to communicate with your body and with those who would modify it.