I'm not sure how old I was when I realized that nipple piercings existed, but I was interested right from the start. It was one of those things that I mulled over for years. I knew I could get them pierced before I turned eighteen, but did I really want to turn the fate of my nipples over to a person who was more interested in the cash than a successful piercing? I made the easy decision to wait until I was of legal age to take the plunge, because hey, I like my boobs.
At A Glance Author Jess Contact xbrowniecorex@hotmail.com IAM browniecore When Three months ago Artist Rob Studio Planet Ink Location Rideau Street, Ottawa
My eighteenth birthday came and went. I'd planned some tattoo work for shortly after my birthday, so it left me fairly broke. Around mid January, 2005, I had that familiar itch to be pierced again. I bundled up against the horribly cold winter air, with boyfriend in tow, and headed downtown. I found myself at Planet Ink, contemplating what I wanted to do. Facial piercings were out of the question, I've lost too many battles with them. I wasn't sure about any more ear piercings, as the winter air bothers the pre-existing ones enough. Then I realized that maybe this was the time, the time that I would finally get my nipples pierced.
I told Rob about my choice. I wanted them both done, and with barbells. I paid, and waited while he went to set all of his equipment up. At this point, I was fairly nervous. I was a bit nervous about the piercing itself, but equally nervous about tearing my shirt off for a stranger. He called me back to the piercing room. I sat on the bench, watched him get everything ready. He told me that whenever I was ready, we could get started. I took off my shirt, and shimmied my bra down. He prepped, and marked both of my nipples. I took a peek, was happy with the placement, and gave him the go-ahead. He told me to take a deep breath. When I did, I felt the first needle go through. The pain was similar to any other flesh-type piercing I've had. It was only a split second, and not too severe. The second nipple was exactly like the first, pretty simple. Rob had me watch him dispose of both needles. I sat up, took a look at them, and since they were perfectly straight, I said my thank-yous, got dressed, and headed off on my merry way.
If the sensation of the piercing wasn't enough, my first gust of cool air was. The pain was pretty intense as my nipples hardened. We wandered into a couple of stores on the way back to the bus, and each time me re-entered the cold, I felt the same pain.
For the first couple of days, the healing went as I expected it to. Both were pretty sore, and sensitive to just about anything. I found that my left nipple gave me far more trouble than the right. I wasn't sure if it was just the swelling, but the jewelry looked at bit too tight. I babied it for a couple of days, hoping that things would take a turn for the better. In the meantime, my right nipple was doing very well, the lymphing was very minimal. The problems could've been caused by the fact that I have a larger than average chest, but from what I've heard, barbells generally reduce the stress put on the tissue by the jewelry. I suppose that goes hand-in-hand with proper sized jewelry as well.
After two weeks, my left nipple still wasn't improving. The ball on one end of the barbell was indented into the side of my nipple. Since Planet Ink is pretty out of my way, I wasn't able to find time to go back and get it checked out, so I was forced to use my better judgment. I ended up changing both beads to larger ones, hoping that it would end my problem. About a week later, things were still in the same state, and I was about to leave for a trip. I didn't want to have to deal with a problem like that while one vacation, so after very little deliberation, I chose to remove my left nipple piercing.
The entry and exit wounds healed quickly. I think it was a good decision to remove it when I did. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the barbell used in my left nipple was a good few millimeters shorter than the one used in my right. I have yet to get it re-pierced, but I do hope to in the near future.
My right nipple healed perfectly. I didn't give me any problems during the healing process. I did occasional salt-water soaks, and cleaned it twice a day with my trusty Spectro-Gel. I found it hard to keep from catching it on various things. Towels, and bras were the main things that I had to keep an eye out for. Overall, it was a pretty good experience, as well as a learning experience. From now on, I'm going to ask more questions, and be more aware of the whole piercing process, rather than assuming that the piercer has everything lined up and in control. I think in this case, proper jewelry could've have saved me time, pain, discomfort, and ultimately, money as well.
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been edited. We can not guarantee that the experience is accurate, truthful,
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