I'm not a particularly wild girl. My hair has never been pink or blue and I didn't have any tattoos or piercings. I was by no means opposed, I just hadn't given piercing anything besides my ears much thought at all until a few weeks before I got my nipple pierced. My boyfriend at the time put the idea in my head and I was immediately fascinated. My curiosity was piqued and it wasn't long in my search for more information before I stumbled across bme and saw all the pictures of adorned nipples and read about how much fun people thought they were that I was convinced I wanted one. I went around for about a week mulling over the idea and considering the prospect of having my boob fall off from some nasty infection but decided it would be worth the risk anyway.
At A Glance Author anonymous When Six months ago Studio Curious Tattoo Location College Park, MD So I woke up one day and I was convinced that I must get pierced that day. I was close to skipping class to get it done as soon as possible but realized I could at least wait until the afternoon to get it done but being patient was still tough. It's hard to be impulsive around a busy class schedule. Finally, classes ended and I headed down with my boyfriend to the shop right off campus where a bunch of people I knew had gotten tattoos, I had seen it before and it was a very clean and friendly shop. So we go in and I ask the guy there about getting my nipple pierced and he doesn't say much but takes out all the papers for me to sign and checks my id. I'm nervous so I try to make small talk by asking him about the huge tunnels in his ears (they looked like Petri dishes to me) but instead made an ass of myself, but I don't think he minded that much.
We all headed to the back room and the guy pulled out all the piercing gear. This being my first time, I wasn't sure what all the needles and clamps looked like, and even after reading dozens of experiences, I was still unsure about everything he was doing. I was trying to pay attention to make sure there was no cross-contamination but I was too nervous to stay focused on everywhere his hands went. He had gloves and everything was wrapped so I figured I was safe.
The time had come and he asked me to take off my shirt, which I was not shy about at all (I recently had surgery on my breasts to remove some obnoxious little bumps, so at this point I was used to strange men seeing me topless). He asked me which one I wanted done and I suddenly realized I hadn't given it much thought. My right nipple was smaller but kinda odd shaped so I decided on the left one. He marked me up and everything looked nice and level in the mirror. Now for the fun part...
I lied down on the bed and realized I had no idea what this was going to feel like. The only thing I could try to compare it to was the time I pierced the second hole in my lobe in the bathroom with a sharpened earring and an apple, but something about the huge hollow needle glistening above me suggested this would hurt a bit more. The guy put the clamp on (which didn't really hurt much at all, I was kinda too panicky over the needle to notice the clamp) and got the needle set to go in. This whole time my boyfriend was standing idly in the corner and I told him to watch for me because I was not about to look down. Count of one, two, three.. OW! The clamp was by no means the worst part, that sharp pointed object that cored my nipple was the worst part! I looked down and wondered for a split second if a tiny piece of my nipple was lodged in the needle but didn't have too much time to think before the piercer grabbed the jewelry and with some gentle tugging (which honestly hurt as much as the piercing its elf) pulled the curved barbell into place. I got up and looked in the mirror and I could see my shiny new barbell looking gorgeous and perfectly straight! I was thrilled, especially since the sharp ow, ow, ow of the piercing process was over and now all I felt was a mild, dull ache, more like hot throbbing than actual pain. I giddily put my clothes back on, paid, and floated out the door with my boyfriend.
I had originally planned to keep it a secret from my friends and certainly my family and I hadn't discussed it with anyone except my boyfriend beforehand. But I was so happy and smug about what I had done, all it took was a few drinks at my friend's apartment before I was flashing everyone at the party. I felt like such a secret little badass, but I didn't want to keep it a secret! I eventually showed my sister too, and she was surprised but amused and bought me some sparkly new jewelry for Christmas, but thankfully gave it to me while my mom was not around.
I did saline soaks but they didn't seem to do much, especially since my piercing was not sore and had barely any crusties, so I stopped doing those pretty early on. I kept hands and mouths away from it but did spend an unnecessary amount of time every morning admiring it in the mirror. After about a month, I was impatient with the boring stainless steel jewelry and opted for an upgrade with one of those colorful titanium straight barbells. I had no problem at all changing the jewelry myself in the shower. At some point, a few months after that, I wanted to change it back to the curved barbell it was pierced with because I was afraid the skin under the balls was getting rubbed too much, so I changed the jewelry and went on my way. But I guess my nipple had grown by that point because when I changed for bed that night, I discovered the barbell had fallen out during the day and was nowhere to be found. My jewelry had been out for who knows how many hours and so I scrambled with another barbell to the show er to see if the piercing was salvageable. At first, it seemed hopeless because the bar would only go in about a quarter of the way on each side, but I kept trying to slooowly push it through and it would go in a tiny bit more each time. Eventually, I could get it three-quarters of the way through from each end but for some reason I couldn't get it all the way through. After 45 minutes of wrestling and craning my neck in the shower, I managed to get the jewelry back in place, but I knew the healing process was going to have to start all over again. Damn. Fortunately, after some babying and a few more saline soaks, my piercing was fine and things have been pretty much smooth sailing since (although I would advice against roller coasters with harnesses that go over your chest, I pissed the thing off again after a particularly wild ride.)
I still love it just as much as when I first got it and I love the extra sensation it provides. I love the look on guys' faces when they "discover" my little barbell on an otherwise wholesome and innocent-looking girl. I don't have any visible piercings so the reaction I get is usually a "what-do-we-have-here" mixture of shock and glee. The 10 seconds of pain should not discourage anyone from getting this piercing. If I survived, anyone can do it, and if it's something you want, go for it! Just don't expect it to be your last... My innocent-little-unpierced girl façade is slowly falling apart as plans for an inverse navel, conch, the right nipple and tongue piercing are being added on my list of things to do. Ah well, I was never really that innocent anyway.