Let me begin by saying that I have had my nipples pierced twice previously, both times at Metal Morphosis in Soho, London. Both were perfectly fine and uneventful experiences, undertaken with the benefit of Xylocaine to keep the pain in check.
At A Glance Author Chris Contact Chris@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Marcus Studio Holier Than Thou Location Manchester, UK However, when I moved to Manchester I added a PA and Septum at Manchester Piercing Studio on Oldham Street in the Northern Quarter and realised the difference. Manchester Piercing Studio was run by true piercing enthusiasts and was actually the first licensed piercing studio in the UK. Altogether very different from Metal Morphosis which felt somewhat more factory like. It was kind of the difference between buying a new kitchen from a Ikea or having one custom made. Both do the job by somehow the latter does it with more panache. Metal Morphosis is now quite a big company with studios in Selfridges in both London and Manchester.
Whilst I don't have a fantastic amount, yet, I am passionate about body modification and felt the difference was what I had been missing. In the time since my Septum, Manchester Piercing Studio has become Holier Than Thou and moved up the street and in the process has gotten even better, I have to say.
The first time I had my nipples done I ended up taking them out for a family holiday. The second time they got annoying when I suffered some health problems but I had stretched them to 6ga (4mm) and in the process gotten into the stretching thing. So when it came time to get them done for the third, and hopefully last, time, I knew that I wanted to get a head start if at all possible and have them done as large as possible.
A quick phone call to Holier Than Thou on Friday let me know that not only could Marcus do the piercing at up to 3.2mm but that they were open until 6pm on Saturday (very unusual for an independent business in the United Kingdom). Marcus told me there was no need for an appointment.
I spent most of Saturday morning in bed on account of having had a very long week with work. Suffice to say that I had had a lot of early mornings and late nights. I got up at about midday and showered and dressed. I grabbed a sandwich from the convenience store under my apartment building as well as a couple of bottles of Coke - one to have with lunch and the other to take with me - knowing that I needed to have something in my tummy for getting pierced and that afterwards I would want the sugar. I then decided to drive over to the studio since I live on the other side of town. It was a bit lazy, really, since it would have only been a 20 minute walk, but there you go. I got parking near the studio and only had to walk accross the street.
Marcus and the other girl there were very helpful with jewellery choices, etc. and I settled on 14mm diameter, 8ga (3.2mm) CBRs. The jewellery was taken to be autoclaved and I had to wait whilst the girl ahead of me was getting a lip piercing. Marcus and I had a bit of a chat which was nice as it put me at ease. Then we went back to the piercing room to begin.
At this point let me just say that as well as being an absolutely lovely guy, Marcus is absolutely georgeous. Without the piercings and other mods (he has some very cool sub-dermal implants in his hands) he would look like the very sexy boy next door. With them he looks like an intriguingly contradicted person in the sexiest way possible.
I took my shirt off as Marcus explained to me that he would be using a bladed steel needle instead of a cannula needle because of the size of the piercings. He didn't need to explain the difference since he knew I dropped in fairly regularly and knew what we were talking about. We also discussed the pros and cons of anasthetics and I explained that I was nervous as I hadn't had them done without before. He put me at rest and had a very calming manner in the piercing room.
First, Marcus felt my nipples for any bits of scar tissue from the old piercings he needed to avoid and indicated his satisfaction. He got me to stand up with my arms at my side, wiped both nipples with alcohol swabs and carefully measured and marked my nipples getting the placing right first time. I checked them in the mirror and confirmed I was happy and then he had me lie down. He opted to do my right nipple first and clamped it accordingly, being sure to show me that he was removing all the tools from their sterile wrapping in front of me and constantly changing his gloves. I was very impressed by the efforts made to not only be clean and sterile but make sure I knew they were being clean and sterile without it being thrust down my throat since he knew I knew what to look for.
Most people on here seem to say that the clamps were the worst thing but actually I quite liked the sensation! He got me to take a deep breath and then on the exhale just pushed straight on through with that enormous needle. I was expecting to have the build up of three breaths but was actually quite glad he just got on with it with no fuss. It was quite an intense pain as the needle went through but was far from unbearable and subsided as quickly as it began. I groaned through it and could feel the needle break through the final side. Marcus asked me if I wanted a short rest before he fitted the jewellery, which I did, so he corked it off. After a couple of moments the endorphines kicked in and I gave him the nod to fit the jewellery which he did deftly and painlessly.
We had a bit of a break and I sipped some Coke. Marcus was very patient and didn't push me to get on with it and we just chatted for a few moments before I gave him the nod again and laid back. Same process as before except this one hurt a bit less for some reason. He corked it off and gave me a moment before finishing up. I satyed lying down for a few moments and we chatted before I got up and had a look at the finished result which was brilliant. I am really pleased with them. He then covered me up with mepore and checked I was satisfied with how to care for them before sending me on my way.
For the rest of yesterday they were throbbing satisfyingly. This morning I removed the mepore and gave them their first salt soak which was uneventful. Now they are barely throbbing at all and seem to be starting to heal really nicely.
All in all this was a fantastic piercing experience and I would recommend Marcus and Holier Than Thou to anyone in the North West of the United Kingdom. I am really pleased to have my nipple piercings back.
Now for some more tattoo work...