This is my "I've turned 18 which means I can buy porn or cigarettes, but I'd much rather go get my nipples pierced" story.
At A Glance Author Jil Contact Jil@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Jef Saunders Studio Rockstar Body Piercing Location Providence, RI The choice of nipples was fairly spur of the moment, but at least somewhat premeditated. I knew I wanted a piercing, and I knew it couldn't be very obvious. I contemplated getting my tongue web re-done but I simply kept arriving at the answer of nipples being the better choice.
The day after I decided it was truly what I wanted, I called a good friend and had him come with me. We stepped inside the studio, I showed my ID...and promptly got turned away. My license has expired, and I had to get it renewed before getting any more mods done. I couldn't believe that in my excitement for a new piercing, I had overlooked a key element! A week went by, I got my license renewed, and I tried the whole she-bang over again. This time I was handed the after-care sheet and I knew I was gold.
The shop was close to empty; apparently I was the first customer of the day, so we all headed into the backroom and my friend and I got comfy while my piercer, Jef, spruced things up and got ready. Adrenaline was pumping, and I was very nearly bouncing on the piercing bed but managed to keep fairly still. Jef made lovely small talk, telling me what he was doing, how badly it might hurt, and going over aftercare. Shirt and bra off. "Stand up nice and straight so I can do the markings please." He spend a good few minutes making sure they would look completely horizontal and got ready to put the iodine on. "You know," he says "you and I have similar nipples." And that was it- being as nervous and fidgety as I was, that saying threw me into a fit of giggles. The atmosphere felt a whole lot lighter. After I stopped laughing, the markings were finished and some more chatting about his former nipple piercings was done.
He had me lay down, changed his gloves for a second time, and opened the new needles. He told me the piercing was going to be freehand, because he feels things go much more naturally that way. I couldn't see what he was doing because my eyes were closed at that point, but we focused on my breathing. "Inhale, exhale, inhale (what is this, Lamaze?) Ok, I'm going to pierce you on the next exhale, ready, and..." A small pinch for the first second, a bigger pinch as the needle made its exit, and... done. Now the jewelry, which I always dread, one more big pinch as a squeezed my eyes shut. "Done with this side." Wow, that was a VERY long 3 seconds, but was I ready to go again? Yes! Right away. I turned around and we repeated the same procedure: breathe, pierce, cringe, jewelry.
He told me to stay lying down for a few minutes as he regaled me with stories of people getting up too fast and passing out, and a few hilarious anecdotes about his experiences as a piercer. I asked my friend how everything looked and he gave me the thumbs up (which are always nice to get, especially since I'm fairly shy about how my chest looks because I have so many stretch marks on it). He also told me that apparently my eyelids flutter when I'm getting pierced.
Jef said I could sit up and check them out in the mirror.
JOY.
Just utter joy, looking at the newest addition to my body.
I asked him if I had bled at all and he said "Not a drop! You might bleed tomorrow, but that's natural. You won't bleed at all during the piercing if it's a good one." I thanked him profusely and he gave me a card with all my information on it, what I'm wearing and the like- 12 g ½ inch barbells- and asked that in a few months I come back for a follow up. I told him of course, thanked him once again, tipped him, and basically skipped out of the studio.
It's been a week and I've been cleaning them 3 times a day using a saline solution, and basically using the LITHA method. They're still crusting a bit, but each day that goes by, there's less and less. The piercing was painful enough to make me cringe but only about 2 seconds long per nipple, it was sore for around 30 minutes afterwards, but now it's simply very sensitive. I've become acutely more aware of the fact that, yes, I indeed do have nipples. My significant other was rather disappointed to learn that he has to stay hands-off for a few months, but agrees that they look quite sexy and it will be well worth the wait. Personally, I probably couldn't have planned for my first piercing independent of my parent's knowledge to go as well as it did. I am one happy piercee (read: the receiver of a piercing).