Since before I was fifteen I've wanted to get my nipples pierced. I have no idea where I got the idea for it! But I always thought it looked so cool, and I always knew I wanted barbells, before I even knew about how much it would help healing. Right around when I decided "I'm getting it done this year," my boyfriend of 3 1/2 years and I began having serious problems in the relationship. I think a huge part of getting this done was that it was for me. It was something I had wanted for ever, and regardless of how cool he thought it would have been, they were for me to have and know about and show to anyone I wanted!
At A Glance Author Meg Contact Meg@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Owen Studio Chameleon Body Arts Location Cambridge, MA
I asked around on communities and anyone who I knew had anything pierced, and it was pretty much unanimous that Chameleon in Cambridge was the most sterile and they had two awesome piercers!
They don't take appointments for piercings, so in I went. They sent me across the hall to the jewelry shop, where I signed papers and paid to get both nipples pierced. Unlike in a lot of these stories, I didn't pick out my jewelry, and frankly I would have left it up to them anyways. I would have gotten to had I wanted rings, but I heard barbells heal so much better because they get knocked around less than rings. It didn't bother me that I didn't get to choose which barbells, as I'm a firm believer in letting it heal and then changing the jewelry.
Anyways, so I finally got called in by Owen, and my friend who had her nipples done and I stepped into the room.After explaining every tiny detail of the process, he said I could either take off my shirt or pull it down, whichever I was most comfortable with. I had a low cut tank top on, so I took off my bra and pulled the shirt down. He had me stand, and marked me. Then he rubbed iodine on for however many seconds- maybe 30 seconds, maybe a minute, then he did rubbing alcohol. He then had me lay down on one of those sort of doctor's tables. He measured me, and had to run back to that store to get shorter barbells. He came back, changed his gloves, and I said "I hope you're not offended, but I'm going to close my eyes now, and they're not opening until you say it's done."
He said he was going to pierce the right nipple first, then the left one, and he did. He didn't use clamps. He told me to take a deep breath in, and to breathe out when he said to and make sure it's a long, even breath and just concentrate on that. I didn't even feel the first one until he pulled the needle out and started screwing the ball onto the barbell! I was relieved, but I had always heard the second one hurts like a bitch because all of your adrenaline is gone. So I braced myself, took a deep breath when he told me to, and released it when he told me to.
This time I felt it, but trust me, guys have made them hurt much more than Owen did. The jewelry was in, and it actually was nice when he was screwing the ball in- it was sort of like a well needed massage.
I checked out the new additions, did a mental squeal, got dressed, and left!
My right nipple bled just a tiny bit the first day- not enough to feel or even to stain my bra. Basically it was if I had crusties but just of blood.
The healing process was really easy. Every day I used mild, unscented dial hand soap either once or twice, depending on what I had time for, and every 2-3 days I did sea salt soaks, which are so so so relaxing. And yes, they do actually pull the lymph out!
It's been 3ish months now and I haven't run into any problems. At one point, somehow, a piece of crusties got back into the hole, and that hurt like a bitch. Because the nipple was hurting though I did a sea salt soak, and it pulled the crusty right out!
They still lymph a bit- I haven't gotten the barbells shortened yet so I get them caught on a bra once in a while or since they're not so tight to the nipples anymore they get knocked around a bit and that'll make them lymph too.
One piece of advice I'd give to anyone is if you're fooling around with someone and they don't have a piercing, explain to them before doing anything that tugging on the barbells/rings isn't a pleasant sensation, and that as a matter of a fact, it hurts. The other piece of advice is Do. Your. Research. Post any questions to piercing communities, read stories on this and other sites, call different local piercing shops and ask them questions!
They're definitely two of my favorite piercings- I've felt an increase in sensation, but I've heard that's either psychological or extremely rare. Either way, they're two of my favorite secrets. The awesome thing about nipple/genital piercings is no one has to know unless you want them to. If you know it will give your parents a heart attack and you don't want to kill your parents, they never have to know! I'd recommend getting your nipples pierced to anyone!