I should probably start by saying, I would imagine deciding to get my nipples pierced was less of an issue for me than it might be for some other women. My nipples have always been (for want of a better word) 'dormant'. Sadly, they weren't very sensitive and I wasn't bothered whether any of my previous boyfriends played with them or not. If they wanted to, that was fine, but I never asked for it.
At A Glance Author Green Star Contact Green Star@bme.anon IAM Green Star When Three months ago Artist Krystal Studio Chrome Location Camden, London The other problem with my nipples was that they were quite 'flat'. It wasn't that they were inverted but due to lack of feeling they never stood up very much. Is it possible for nipples to look bored? If it is, then mine were.
I had always liked the way pierced nipples looked and when I met my current boyfriend he suggested I get them done. One of his friends who I like a lot is a piercer, which meant I had someone I trusted to do the job. I had a good think about it and decided to go ahead. I hoped the piercings would make my nipples stand up a bit more and possibly even increase the sensitivity.
We spoke to Krystal on the phone and arranged to go to Chrome in Camden to get the piercings done. My boyfriend needed to go in anyway as he had had the bridge of his nose pierced three times a few weeks earlier and needed to have the PTFE shortened now it had healed.
That evening we met a couple of friends on the bus. After discussing the fact that I was getting my nipples pierced they helpfully interjected – 'When I had mine done they really hurt. I almost didn't go through with the second one. They were definitely the worst, most painful piercings I've ever had.' I decided to put that down exaggeration and hope I was right.
We turned up at the shop and I filled out my forms. I was starting to get very nervous about this. Although I didn't have a lot to lose, I suddenly started worrying about things getting worse. What if I had them pierced and could no longer feel anything at all? What if they went hard and lumpy? What if the first one hurt so much I was too much of a baby to go through with the second one?'
After my boyfriend had been in to have his bars shortened it was my turn. Krystal asked me if I wanted to have bars or rings. I decided to have bars as I like the way they look, I've always preferred bars for girls and rings for boys – I have no idea why. I should say at this point that the studio was immaculate and Krystal changed her gloves every time she touched something. I also saw all of the equipment coming out of the autoclave.
She marked me and I sat up and looked at the position. It was fine so we went ahead. She clamped my nipple and had me count to three, pushing the needle through on the 'three'. It was fine, it hurt for a second and then I couldn't feel anything. I looked down to see the needle through my nipple – it was weird but not painful. I won't lie, when she pulled the needle back trough and screwed the ball on the bar it hurt quite bit, but it was over quickly. As usual, the second one hurt a lot more than the first but it wasn't unbearable by any stretch of the imagination.
When she had finished, she angled the mirror so that I could see what they looked like. I sat up and looked at them, I was so happy. They looked just the way I had hoped they would.
That night my nipples were really sore and I had to wear a bra to sleep so that they wouldn't get rubbed or pulled on in my sleep. They bled a little bit the first few days and I couldn't touch them, but they weren't really painful. It was more annoying than anything as I kept bashing them by accident. I soaked them with hot salt solution three times a day for the next few weeks. They gradually began to feel less sensitive and I could slide the bars along more easily to clean them.
They are completely healed now and I still love them as much as I did when they had just been pierced. They look great and they stand up much more than before. The biggest bonus/surprise is how much more sensitive they are now, at least ten times more than they were before. When they were properly healed and no longer sore I let me boyfriend get his hands on them and I was fairly shocked. I'd gone from being able to feel almost nothing at all to having incredibly sensitive nipples – I hadn't felt anything like that before. I hadn't expected this at all and it's made me realise what I've been missing out on. Now my nipples are no longer bored – they're excited almost all of the time!!
My advice for women who are thinking of having their nipples pierced, particularly if they don't have much feeling in their nipples, is to get them done. You really do have nothing to lose. My piercings have made me so happy, not just for the way they look but because they have actually made a part of my body function much better than it did before.
It's interesting how piercings can also give you a new found confidence. I don't really like being braless, even with my boyfriend, as I have very large boobs and I'm self conscious. Because I like my piercings so much, I've started to like my boobs more and I now have the confidence to wander around without a bra on when I'm in the house. It sounds a bit dramatic but getting my nipples pierced has totally changed my relationship with this rather significant part of my body.