Nipple piercings, while fairly vanilla in comparison to many other piercings, can be quite an enjoyable experience. Having one rip out, however, is most certainly not. This is a story of one large chested girl and her quest to bejewel her tatas. An initially harrowing tale with a, fortunately, happy ending and a good example of why it's a good idea to go into a piercing armed to the teeth with knowledge, research, planning, and trust of your piercer.
At A Glance Author girl incognito Contact girl incognito@bme.anon When A year ago Artist Alex Studio Chicago Tattooing & Piercing Co, Inc. Location Chicago It has taken two attempts, but I finally have my nipples pierced and couldn't be happier with them. They look great, feel wonderful, and generally were well worth the battle against my boobs it took to get them there. Admittedly, the failing of my first piercing was partially (okay mostly) my fault. I'd wanted to have my nipples pierced for a while and chose to have one of them done on a whim while passing Chicago Tattooing & Piercing Co., Inc. I knew a girl who worked there at the time and I was hoping she'd be on staff that night as I knew and trusted her work. She wasn't and it would have been a good idea to make an appointment for when she was working and come back later. Patience, my friends, is a virtue. One I'm working on developing. Moving on.
I decided to go ahead with it anyway and the piercer who was working that night, Alex, could take me within a few minutes. When they called my name, I was led into a curtained off room toward the back of the shop that contained a doctor's office style bed and lots of packaged, new, very sterile equipment, needles, and jewelry. I was pleased by the hospital-like quality of the place and let out a breath I'd been unknowingly holding. So far, so good. Alex spent some time making sure I was comfortable, measuring and marking the chosen nipple, and then asked me which type of jewelry I'd like to be pierced with - barbell or hoop. I opted for the hoop. Bad idea. He instructed me on my breathing, put the needle through on the exhale, and it was done. The piercing itself was much less painful than I'd expected and the hardest part was the stinging when he put the jewelry through. Alex told me the after care instructions and I bought some Provon, planning to use that as well as the sea salt soaks. Easy enough, right? Wrong.
From me to you, this is a note to all new piercing enthusiasts and large chested girls in particular: It is usually better to initially get a nipple piercing, and most piercings for that matter in my personal experience, done with a barbell and change to hoop jewelry after the piercing heals and you're used to it. If you have a large chest or, a curved barbell is likely to be an even better option for you. Make sure you discuss this with your piercer and also what gauge will be best for you individually. Why? A hoop is more likely to get snagged, and gives you a greater chance of injury if your piercing hasn't healed and if you're just not ready for it. If you have the wrong gauge jewelry for your body in the piercing or have no idea what gauge you were pierced with (*cough*), it is also more likely you'll have problems. Such as, the potential for migrating and snagging.
Those alarm bells? Here's where they come in. My piercer knew this, I had some vague idea of it - yet neither of us said anything. It's not your piercer's job to do your homework for you. This is where preplanning, research, and gaining knowledge about the piercing you're interested in is a good idea. Not just a good idea, it's essential. As I learned the hard way. It would have been nice if I'd realized this before I had a hoop in my nipple that would get snagged on something and rip halfway out. Ouch, you say? You have no idea. It also didn't help that my piercing showed itself to be somewhat crooked and off center after a few days when the swelling went down before it got snagged, but that's another story.
In any case, I gave the piercing a couple weeks to see if it would correct itself after the crooked/snagging bit then ended up calling the shop and explaining my situation. They were really great about it and made an appointment for me to come in right away and have it looked at. They took the jewelry out, cleaned it, and told me to give it a few months minimum to heal and then we could try piercing it again - at no charge - if that's what I'd like. I let the piercing heal completely then went back to have them both done. My friend was no longer there at this point, but had explained everything to Alex. I made a point of talking to him about the gauge this time, suggesting curved barbells (which he agreed with), and keeping absolutely still to make a straight piercing easier. It hurt a bit more to pierce the nipple I'd originally had pierced, but I hardly felt it when he did the second nipple. True to their word, I was only charged for the nipple I hadn't had pierced before. I've had the piercings for over a year now and they've turned out beautifully the second time around.