I cannot remember when I first thought about getting my nipple pierced but I remeber it didn't take much consideration. It was only my 2nd piercing (my lip was the first one, about six months prior to that), and I was 14 at the time, but the only thing that worried me was the money. After about two weeks I was set.
At A Glance Author Andrej Contact andrej_kapor@yahoo.com When Two years ago Artist Danielle Studio Miss Fantasia's Location Dublin, Ireland So one lovely saturday morning I was in the city centre, 40 euro in hand and a smile on my face. I decided to get pierced at Miss Fantasia's, and adult party shop with a piercing studio at the back, the same place where I got my lip pierced earlier that year. The piercing place had a good enough reputation (although nowdays I prefer Bodyshock), so I wasn't too worried about health and safety.
I went in, took a random look at all the bondage gear for about five minutes and walked down to the back of the shop. There I was greeted by Glen and Danielle. Glen was the owner of the piercing place, with enough ink and titanium in his skin to provide for the shop's six month supply of jewlery, and Danielle was his very attractive young apprentice who pierced my lip six months earlier.
I told them what I wanted done and Danielle sat me down in the studio while Glen was surfing the net on his laptop. I wasn't worried about being asked my age, seeing as I looked about five years older, and I got pierced there before with no problem.
She first asked which side I wanted done and what kind of jewlerry I wanted in it. I always felt like the right one would be the less awkward one to pierce, and I wanted a ring for some reason which now (that my knowledge about piercings is much greater) doesn't make sense at all. She took a look at my nipple, clamped it (which didn't hurt at all), and put the needle through.
OUCH!!!
That wasn't pleasant!
The needle took about four seconds to get through and each second hurt more than the one before. When it was done I was left to look at the long needle in my nipple while Danielle got the ring out of the bag. WOW! There's a needle in my nipple!
It was then that Glen said "If you thought that hurt, wait till she puts the ring in." However, Danielle soon reassured me that Glen just had a morbid sense of humour and placing the jewlerry didn't hurt at all. As she gradually moved the needle out, replacing it with the ring, all I felt was a slight discomfort. She fitted the ball on and said that was it. I gave them the money and left the place holding my t-shirt away from my chest so it wouldn't rub off the piercing.
It has been two years now and my nipple still kicks ass. The jewlery in it was a 1.6, and after about nine months of infections I changed it to a bar, which was a far better idea than a ring. It is now fully healed, slightly sideways (which makes it more unique), and I'm having no more trouble with it. I'm getting it stretched to a 2.4 in a few weeks. The piercing does hurt quite a bit, and a certain amount of discomfort stays with the area for a few hours afterwards, but I definitely think it's a good piercing and a worthwhile experience (not to mention it's a great reason to take your top off in public). There's no major swelling, but the jewlerry makes the nipple noticeably bigger so if you care a lot about symmetry you should probably get both of them done. It also makes the nipple more sensitive to contact and the rule applies: the more jewlerry is there, the more you can feel.
Miss Fantasia's are good piercers but they don't tell you much about the do-s and don't-s and aftercare, so it's best to talk to someone in Celestial Ring (top of St. Stephen's green Shopping Centre) about this. I would definitely advise anyone to get a bar first and then maybe change it to a ring after the healing process is complete, as the ring moves around a lot more and lets an awful lot of bacteria in. CLEAN YOUR PIERCING twice a day with warm salt water. Infections are not pleasant! I also wouldn't advise this piercing to people who do a lot of contact sports, get into physical fights or have a low pain tolerance. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions you might have. I'm glad I got it done and would definitely do it again. As with any piercing: Don't think about it. Just do it!