I had known for years that I wanted to get "something" pierced, but didn't know what I wanted once I turned 18. The fact that my parents were strongly against piercings made my list of options considerably shorter, since I'm not into multiple ear piercings or navel piercings. I decided last minute that I was going to get my nipples pierced when a friend invited me to go with her—she was getting a nostril piercing. I wondered if it was a good idea for me to get something pierced without really thinking it over for long, but I had always admired nipple piercings and thought it was something I'd like to get someday anyways.
At A Glance Author anonymous When Three months ago Artist Erin Studio Chameleon Tattoo and Body Piercing Location Cambridge, MA
We went to Chameleon because a friend of ours had gotten her navel pierced there recently, and it was doing well so far. I was impressed by my first studio, and mentally compared it to what I had heard a "good" studio looks like. It was clean and pretty spacious. I was a bit put off by the price—over $100 to have them done with barbells, but I figured that meant I was getting my money's worth. We had to wait for about 40 minutes, and I was extremely nervous. I remember hating getting my ears pierced so much as a kid that after I got one done, I begged my mom not to get the other one. Of course, those were done with a gun, but I was convinced that my nipples would hurt a lot.
I volunteered to go first, since my friend was more nervous and I knew I would be more scared if I watched her first. Erin, the piercer, introduced herself and walked us into a side room. She explained everything to me as she laid the tools out. I noticed that she changed her gloves frequently and that everything was in sterile packages, which reassured me. She was also very friendly and told me that I was well suited to getting my nipples pierced. I was a bit worried for a second when she told me she was going to pierce them at 16g, having read on BME's encyclopedia that a larger gauge is better for women, but I trusted her judgment and didn't speak up, which I would later regret. After she marked my nipples, I looked away and prepared myself for a lot of pain.
I definitely felt them travel through my nipples. It was a very sharp pain when they entered, which turned into an almost burning sensation as they traveled through my nipple and out the other side. After getting the first one, it was worse to have to get the other one once I knew what was coming for me. I yelled as the second one went through, but once the balls were screwed on I forgot about the pain. My friend complimented me on them, even though initially she didn't want to look at my chest! They were sore for most of that day, but after my first sea salt soaks they felt noticeably better. I was happy that I had gone through with it, and over the next few weeks I showed off my new nipples to almost everyone. Most people didn't believe I had gotten them done until I showed them, and people still have that reaction. Of course, they don't realize that I have no problem flashing my new additions at anyone who asks!
In a few months, however, I realized that the barbells were too short and were slowly sinking into the sides of my nipple. I had questioned it for a few weeks, but finally realized that what I suspected was most likely true. By then I was at college, and had found a nearby piercer, Zack, that I trusted implicitly. I had him take a look at it, and he agreed with me. He was about to switch them for longer bars when he realized that they were done at 16g, and told me I'd have to taper them up to 14g. I didn't mind, since I felt more comfortable having them at 14. Tapering them, however, hurt much worse than getting them pierced, and I was mentally kicking myself for not questioning Erin's decision to pierce me at 16g. While I know she has a lot of experience and is a competent piercer, I shouldn't have assumed that she knew what was best—especially when her mistake caused my nipples a lot of pain! Zack understood what I was going through though, since he used to stretch his nipples, and didn't make me feel like a baby for whimpering. I was afraid that the stretch would set back my healing time, but my nipples quickly recovered and the bars turned out to be the perfect length. The bigger balls even looked better on me, and even after what I had to deal with, I'm still glad I got my nipples pierced.