I've been wanting to get my nipples pierced for a while now - ever since my boyfriend told me he finds it attractive. I tried to convince him to get his done, but I don't think he's ever going to do anything to his body more extreme than abuse it with bad food and maybe get a haircut every ten years.
At A Glance Author Jess Contact Jess@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Brendan Studio Tribal Urge Location Newcastle, NSW, Australia After moving out of home, the whole idea started looking more and more possible. I did my research - mainly on BME - and decided that the benefits outweighed the risks.
That was all dandy, I'd made up my mind. Now to break the news to the boyfriend.
He wasn't happy. I don't think he likes change. He got the sads when I got my tongue pierced, and had a fit when I suggested getting my eyebrow pierced. I talked him around though, and got "permission" to get one nipple done. The only condition was that he got to choose which one. He picked left. That was fine - I didn't really have a preference.
On the day of the piercing, the nerves were starting to get to me. My flatmates were really encouraging and ensured me that I wouldn't back out. This was, after all, my eighth piercing. One of my flatmates was meant to drive me down to the studio, but couldn't, as she was asked to do something more pressing at the last minute, so I resorted to taking Doug - the boyfriend.
I was running late, so I sped most of the way into town and got to the studio as quickly as I could. After some confusion among the staff about what I had come in for ("Jess? Ink, wasn't it?"...not yet), I was taken out the back into the spotlessly clean and shiny piercing room. To my surprise, the piercer allowed Doug into the room with me. Every other place has refused when I've asked to have a friend in with me.
I was glad he was allowed in - I've never been so nervous before a piercing. Probably because I knew this one would frikkin well hurt.
But before any preparation started, Brendan (piercer) made sure I completely understood the aftercare and healing process. Admittedly, I felt like walking out when he said it takes 6-12 months to heal. He compared it to the healing of a navel piercing, which also worried me, because I had real problems with my navel and had to retire it. But when I told him this, he assured me that it wasn't likely to happen again - he had a few bad things to say about the place I got it done, too. He encouraged me to come straight back if there's anything I'm worried about.
So out comes the felt-tip marker. I was happy with the placement of the line he drew, so I went ahead and lay back on the bench. Despite being told to watch my head, I still managed to scone myself on the corner of the cupboard above the bench as I lay down. 24 hours after the piercing, the bump on the back of my head was actually hurting more than my nipple.
I've been told that the clamping is the worst part of the whole procedure. This gave me a lot of false hope. I was expecting the clamp to be pinchy and awful, but I actually found it to be quite a pleasurable sensation.
"Okay. Ready?"
I grabbed Doug's hand.
"Take a big deep breath..."
I hate pain. I tried to make as little noise as possible because I didn't want to put off the people sitting in the waiting room. I just wanted it to be over. When I looked down, I saw a white plastic tube stuck through my nipple, but I had to look away again because it was time for the CBR to be inserted.
"Alright, one big push..."
More pain. Not as bad as the first lot though.
Brendan asked if I wanted to get up and look at it in the mirror, but I thought I better not. I was bleeding a fair bit, so he taped a piece of paper towel to me, then brought me a cup of water. I managed to get my poor boob back into my top, handed over my dollars, and walked straight across the road to the chemist to buy anti-bacterial soap and Betadine cream.
This is the fourth day now. The bleeding stopped within 5-6 hours. There's basically no pain, not a lot of crustiness, and a hell of an itch. I do three salt-washes a day, one Dettol soap wash in the shower, and put Betadine on it overnight. My advice is to make sure you own a VERY comfortable bra - one that you can sleep in if you need to. I sleep wearing mine because I don't want to get browny-yellow Betadine stains all over my sheets (I put a round cotton make-up removal pad in my bra), and also because I'm worried I'll catch the ring on something and tear my skin.
I can tell already that the piercing's increased my nipple's sensitivity, just from cleaning it. It's looking like it's going to heal up pretty nicely, and I'm 100% satisfied. Tribal Urge are a great studio, for those of you in Newcastle area. There are quite a few other reputable places around here too. If you're thinking about it, go for it. But, as with any piercing, be prepared to do the aftercare.