Every so often, I go through certain phases in piercings. This time had set my stubborn mind on a nipple piercing. I decided I was going to get the first one done, no matter what I had to do to get it. Now after getting 4 ½ months grounding from getting my conches pierced, I was hardly going to ask permission (I am still only 17 after all). In my head I was tossing up between getting all the supplies and doing it myself or somehow finding a piercer to do it for me. After searching BME for a while and reading through many experiences and finally discovering I couldn't get any supplies without the use of a credit card, I decided to try and find a piercer that could do if for me. My usual piercer's studio is in Newcastle, a 3.5 hour trip from here, I didn't think I could wait the many weeks it would take to convince my mother to let me visit my Dad in Newcastle and then have the piercing done on the sly. Still adamant that I wanted this piercing, I was corresponding with a close friend in Canada about procedures and such in the event that I could obtain the needles to do it myself.
At A Glance Author Bek Contact beks_unleashed_ferocity@yahoo.com.au IAM tatsu When A month ago Artist Jake Studio Sacred Art Body Piercing Location Newcastle, Australia Being the chatter box that I am, I couldn't contain my excitement about wanting this piercing to my good friend Larissa. She listened intently, and being 18, she offered to sign the forms for me if we could find a piercer locally who was willing to help out. After no avail, and great disappointment, we couldn't find anyone who would do it. In our study lesson at school that day, I burst out in anger and frustration, and exclaimed that I wished we could have gone to Newcastle to visit Jake at Sacred Art Body Piercing (he also did my tongue and conches). This little outburst got Larissa's mind into overdrive, she suggested that we should go to Newcastle, and we began planning. Our study lesson was almost over so we decided that I should contact Jake and ask if he would do the piercing for me if we came up, and we would make the final decision to go based on what he said. I contacted Jake and he agreed, I rang Lars and gave her the good news. I promised to pay all petrol costs (being 3.5 hour drive both ways and after it was purely for me to get my nipple done) if she could drive. She agreed. So the next day I got ready for school as normal but underneath my uniform I wore casual clothes, caught my bus to school, walked across the grounds to the student car park, got into Larissa's 4WD and proceeded out the driveway, and were seen by two teachers driving in at the same time. We drove down to the local oval to get changed then preceded to drive to Newcastle. We arrived at Jake's studio at around 1pm, he was standing outside, and as Lars and I approached I could feel the butterflies in my stomach getting worse.
I had never been this nervous about getting a piercing before. I'm not quite sure whether it was because of the fact I was there to get a piercing or I was just terrified at showing my breasts to an almost perfect stranger. I stopped in my tracks and told Lars I couldn't do it, I was just too nervous. She stared at me and said "I didn't drive all this way for nothing" and with a deep breath and a shove, we continued walking and was greeted by Jake at the door. We had a quick chat before going upstairs; he already knew what I wanted so he didn't need to ask. I signed the forms, and then he asked whether or not I wanted to get my nipple numbed... I said I would until he told me it would take the patch about an hour to work effectively. Well, unfortunately Lars and I didn't have an hour (we had to still drive back home and not get caught out by our parents) so I just said not worry about it and I'd just get it pierced without it. He asked if I wanted a CBR (captive ball ring) or a BBB (bent barbell), and remembering a good friend's advice, I opted for the barbell. Jake left waiting area and went into the piercing room to get ready for me. He came back out 5 minutes later and said "ready", my knees were weak, adrenaline was coursing through my veins, I was pumped. Lars and I followed Jake into the immaculate piercing room.
I sat on the bed thing, and he walked me through the procedure and aftercare (which I knew already but it never hurts to get told again). I adjusted my top and bra (and went red with embarrassment in the process, but hey, I was allowed to be and I was euphoric). Jake then cleaned my nipple down with Betadine and then an alcohol swab. He marked the entry and exit holes in purple marker and measured the diameter my nipple with callipers so he could get the size of the bar right. He put on a fresh set of gloves and removed the needle from the sterile packet, this is what I was waiting for, he asked me to take a nice big breath and exhale slowly as he pushed the needle through.
At this point I couldn't talk, the insertion hurt but it wasn't the most painful thing I had experienced, the most painful piercing I have to date however (at least with this piercing I didn't faint as I did when I had my conches done). But what hurt the most during this experience was when Jake rotated the bar in the hole for the first time in order to stretch it, that's what REALLY hurt. He cleaned the site down again and covered it over with a small piece of gauze before walking me through aftercare once again and asked how I was feeling. "Bloody fantastic" was my reply; I was on top of the world, and very euphoric.
I was proud of myself for going through with the piercing, at one point I was scared I wouldn't have the guts. I'm so glad I had the piercing done professionally; I honestly don't think I could have done it myself. I would chicken out before the needle touched my skin.
Caring for nipple piercings is quite simple, twice a day, morning and night; you merely bathe the piercing in a warm saline solution. Now, 2 months later, I have found that my piercing has regressed a few times due to stress. Crusties are quite common, and in periods of stress, the quantity of lymphatic liquid being secreted can vary significantly. More recently I have found that because I have bumped my nipple a few times that it has bled a small amount. It's nothing to really worry about, unless it becomes a more significant amount. I would thoroughly recommend this piercing to anyone, it's beautiful, easy to look after and it feels great.
When I look at my newest addition, I sometimes find it hard to believe that I actually had it done. But in some small way, it closed a gap in my soul, and opened the door to further body modification with the strong influence of BME.