A Journey of discovery
At A Glance Author Alexandra Contact alex_grierson@hotmail.com IAM Pink Lady When Three months ago Artist Kath Studio Chioko Location Camden, London My name's Alex and I had my nipple pierced on the 22nd of May 2006. The process in itself can be read about on BMEZine under the title, "My Dirty Little Secret".
The feedback I received via email from various people that read my experience was that it was one that was helpful and informative although I did also receive some weird emails regarding my breasts and what people wanted to do with them, however, I have decided to help people further in their decision regarding this piercing by writing about how the piercing has worked out for me and others as well as how the healing process is going as I am fully aware that I probably have a bit of a way to go for my nipple to be fully healed. It's the 25th of July and here's the diary of my healing process 2 months down the line, it contains the first week of healing which is probably the most important along with any things that have effected my healing along the way.
Week 1
Day1
I returned home from Camden feeling slightly flushed and in serious pain, not an arrgghhhhh pain but a niggling throbbing, I can't take certain pain killers due to other medication I'm on so I decided it was a pain I could live with. My nipple stung even with the slightest of movement and I was very conscious of its presence, especially with a younger brother who's at the "I'll punch whatever I see in sight" stage of his adolescence. With Kath's advice in mind, I slept with my bra on along with the dressing I had been provided with to keep my nipple from being irritated, I've never slept in a bra before and it was extremely uncomfortable but it did the job!
Day 2
Woke up and found my bra slung across my bedroom, I obviously got fed up with it in the night but everything was still in tact, the pain had subsided in fact my nipple was virtually numb. I did a quick whip around the entrance and exit holes with a cotton bud and some warm salt water. Saw a black mark on my exit hole, which I assumed was some left over gentian violet that had been left over from the piercing but later that day discovered that it was a scab, but I peeled it off and it seems to have no adverse effects. The fact that I've barely told anybody is starting to eat away at me and for shock factor, actually told my brother as I assumed he'd tell my mum and dad and it would save me the hassle, he didn't believe me and I wasn't going to prove it to him funnily enough! I found that all the shot glasses I had stolen from drunken nights out were a life saver for cleaning, just shove it on and let the salty water and suction do it's job!
Day 3
The swelling has completely gone and the bar is visible on both sides. The pain has also disappeared; the throbbing is no longer the bain of my life! I commented in my original experience that I didn't understand how anybody could catch their nipple on things like the shower door and night clothes but it's fully understandable. I've gone back to sleeping buck naked and find that if I cross my arms across my chest my wrist catches the barbell and the pain is phenomenal but it goes in a few seconds it's just an inconvenience, in the past 3 days I have caught the piercing on my bra, a towel, my wrist and bed sheets. There seems to be a constant stream of what I'm guessing to be lymph, which is easily picked off once it has dried.
Day 4
I'm still wearing cotton wool pads or folded up tissue to prevent my nipple from chafing on my bra but it's fine. It's still quite tender but it's slowly going back to normal. Decided it was time to tell mum and dad, they found it hilarious and my mum's intrigued by it. I find it weird that whenever anyone finds out about it, they want to see it and I'm not too familiar with whipping my boobs out in public. I'm still cleaning regularly with shot glasses and warm salt water, nipple slightly red
Day 5
I've found that the skin around my nipples is beginning to dry out and flake so I've been moisturising them regularly with non scented moisturiser for sensitive skin and it seems to be doing the job. The crusties are building up but I can deal with them and the bar now moves freely.
Day 6
I babysat today and my 1 year old cousin found climbing over me in bed great glee except for every time she trod on my chest I had an excruciating pain not just from the nipple, note to self, don't let toddlers climb all over a freshly pierced chest.
Week 2
My cleaning regime has slowed down slightly probably because the novelty has worn off and I've just forgotten about it because there's no pain, the nipple is not even any more sensitive when touched. I had my ex boyfriend round for a booty call later in the week and on sight of my pierced nipple he decided he wanted to bite it, suffice to say this hurt, a lot and even 2 days after wards the pain was still there.
Week 6
Went to get the bar down sized early in the week but my nipples are as I believed, I have burger nipples, big old nipples, I was told if the bar was any shorter that it'd rub and cause problems so maybe they didn't swell as badly as I thought they had if the bar is the perfect length for my now back to normal nipple. I'm no longer conscious of it but I'm still aware if someone hits me. Kath said I may experience some leakage from the holes during my period and I had a tiny bit but not enough to worry about. Nipples still dry so I am still moisturising.
Week 8
I'm on holiday and a bikini's a bitch, coming out of the water looks like I have 3 nipples on my left nipple but my friends assured me that it wasn't noticeable, whilst trying to suppress giggles! I'm experiencing shooting pains down my left breast but not sure whether this is to do with my piercing or just because of the amount of cigarettes I have smoked in this past week. No more crusties, which is a good thing I hope and my nipple feels like it's old self, just with an added accessory.
Having my nipple pierced was a big decision for me, I'm very feminine and my breasts mean a lot to me and if anything was to have gone wrong concerning them I'd have been devastated. There is nothing I could do to discourage anybody from getting their nipple/s pierced as I have had both an amazing piercing experience and a healing one as well. As long as a cleaning regime is stuck to then little is likely to go wrong, just be aware that you will have to be patient but the results are fantastic. Since I have had it done I feel like I have a little extra to me, something that no one else need know about and I love it. I'm yet to post pictures since I'm still uncomfortable regarding standing half naked and taking a photo to post on a website for all to see, these are for myself and anyone else lucky enough to stumble upon them.
Once again I would like to say thank you to Kath at Chioko, Camden and BMEzine for allowing me to share my experience with others and wish that they continue to inform and entertain their devoted readers.