I'd been thinking about getting my nipples pierced for quite some time. I always thought they looked cool, and I figured that since my nipples weren't as sensitive as I would have liked them to be, a little added sensitivity wouldn't hurt. So I researched the piercing off and on for a few months; I read a lot of user submitted stories here on BME. And something inside just kept nagging at me to get them done. So I decided to go through with it. I felt ready, my only dilemma being a lack of money. So I had to wait till payday – which fell on a Wednesday.
At A Glance Author stykz Contact stykz@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Kristin Studio Underground Tattoo and Body Piercing Location Wichita Falls, Tx I had to wait to pick up and cash my check until 3:00 p.m. So my friend Sarai and I spent most of the day running errands – like buying a set of sports bras to sleep in until the piercings heal, and all the while I'm anticipating the experience, getting more and more anxious. We went out to dinner (I don't like being pierced on an empty stomach) and then Sarai, Erica and I were off to the local tattoo and body piercing studios.
We went to a few of them before we decided on Underground, but due to the fact that giving the other studios bad publicity would be un-cool (because they're not bad places) I'll let them remain nameless.
The first one we went to, the vibe just didn't feel right. No one greeted us when we walked in, and granted they were kind of busy, but I have a customer service oriented job [read: food service] and I know that even if you are swamped, you should at least greet people. So we left after a few minutes and moved to the next place – which was right across the street. This place was also busy, but not too busy to greet us. So we spent a few minutes looking through the artist's tattoo portfolios before the guy finally got a chance to ask us what it was we were interested in that evening. The only problem with this second studio was that their main piercer also happens to be a tattoo artist, and was backed up on tattoos at the moment. So the guy made a phone call to their secondary piercer, who did not answer her phone. We waited for about 10 or 15 more minutes to see if she would call back, but she never did. So we left.
At this point I felt a little disappointed – thinking that I'd end up having to wait, and then once again not have the money. But Erica mentioned Underground, which I had forgotten was there, and she called them to see if they had anyone available to pierce at that moment, and luckily, they did. (And the peasants rejoice!) So off we went.
We walked in, I filled out my paperwork, and we chatted with the girl at the front desk, who turned out to be the piercer, Kristin. She excused herself to go prepare her room, and the nervous anticipation began to return. I was so ready for this. I asked Sarai and Erica to be in the room with me, hoping that it wouldn't be a problem since the last time Sarai had been with someone getting their nipples pierced, she'd passed out. Thankfully, there was no passing out this time.
We chatted with Kristin some more while I removed my shirt and bra and while she finished preparing. Come to find out, she'd apprenticed under one of the best piercers in town – who had since retired, so that really put me at ease, since she was the one who would be pushing surgical steel through my flesh.
I sat down, she sterilized my nipples with iodine and marked them, taking care to make sure they weren't crooked, and had me check the placement of the marks in the mirror to be sure I was satisfied. Then came the clamps. It was at this point I really needed some extra support. I had asked Sarai and Erica to be in the room with me for the reason of support, but it just wasn't enough, so I made Sarai hold my hand.
Kristin asked me if I was ready, and I nodded. She pushed the needle in while telling me to breath in, and breath out when it came out the other side. There was a stinging burning pain for about .5 seconds, and then it was over. So she moved her table to the other side of the chair, and we were ready to pierce the other side.
Now, I was a little worried, because I'd heard that the second one always hurts more than the first, and she'd pierced the least sensitive nipple first. But there was no way I was backing out now. And honestly, the second one hurt just as much as the first had – no more, no less.
It was over. She secured the captive beads in place, explained cleaning and after care procedure and that was that. I had achieved my dream of having pierced nipples. I put my bra and shirt back on, paid and tipped Kristin, and left.
In my experience, they haven't really hurt as much as I expected them to. I clean them and do sea salt soaks a minimum of twice a day, and the only time it's even remotely painful is while I'm moving the jewelry around to clean it. The amount of pain for me rates about the same as an ear piercing. But everyone's pain tolerance is different.
So I say to anyone who wants this piercing, my experience so far has been a good one overall, and I highly recommend getting it done.