I had originally gotten my left nipple pierced in October 2005, but due to improper placement, I decided to take it out about a year after I had gotten the original piercing. Ever since I took it out, I felt lopsided, asymmetrical, like something was off. I HAD to get my nipple repierced to balance out the other one.
At A Glance Author anonymous When A week ago Artist roger rabb!t Studio prix body adornment Location west hollywood, ca My friend and I decided we would go together. She would get both her nipples pierced, and I would get one of mine repierced. We arrived at Prix after being turned away from a reputable (but not **as** great) shop, due to the main piercer's absence. Prix did not look like the APP certified, super-clean, fantastic establishment we later found it out to be from the storefront. It literally just had a neon sign out front that read "TATTOO". We weren't quite sure if we had come to the right place until we walked inside.
The interior of Prix was sparkling, ridiculously clean, and had walls lined with brightly-lit cases that were FILLED with top of the line body jewelry. We told the girl at the front desk what our intentions were, and after showing ID and filling out the form, went back to look longingly at the jewelry. She called us both back and told us that Roger would be our piercer, and that he would have to measure us for the jewelry first to make sure it was the appropriate length. This process was very quick, and Roger was incredible at explaining everything in detail, giving reasons for his jewelry choices so that we would know exactly what we were going to have in our bodies. He selected a curved barbell for me, which was odd considering my previous 2 nipple piercings had been done with a straight piece. I was apprehensive at first (I fear change sometimes), but his extensive knowledge and friendly persona encouraged me to trust him. I'm glad I did.
After we were both measured, we waited for our jewelry to be autoclaved and (once again) went back to admire their gorgeous selection of jewelry, which, alongside what could have easily been the entire catalogues of most high-quality body jewelry manufacturers, included platinum, beautiful organics, and barbell ends with semiprecious stones.
Roger called us both back into the piercing room (we were going in together for moral support), and explained the autoclave and what it does in more detail than I've heard from most piercer's I've talked to. My friend decided she wanted to go first, so he marked, clamped, and pierced her in a rather short amount of time, but never lost sight of being the most careful, precise, and calming piercer. He explained each step as he went along, always pausing to see if either of us had any questions, and always checked to make sure she was alright. In just a matter of minutes, she was perfectly and happily pierced, and it was my turn.
Mine proved to be slightly more difficult (in my mind at least) because it had to match my pre-existing piercing, but he executed the marking process without batting an eye. I took a few minutes to inspect their symmetry, when he decided that it wasn't perfect enough. He remarked me until he was satisfied that it was perfectly straight and a mirror image of its future counterpart. I am pretty compulsive about things being PERFECT (especially when it goes on my body) and all of my obsessive checking could only find his marking immaculate. He told me to take as long as I wanted to make sure I was 100% satisfied with placement, and when I was, I sat down on the chair (after he sanitized it and laid down a new sheet of paper). He again explained the autoclave, his impending procedure, and told me every time he was changing his gloves. I was nothing but completely impressed with his attention to detail and emphasis on cleanliness.
Roger then had me relax, and put the clamps on. He made sure that they weren't on too tight, and quickly but concisely explained what he was about to do. I took two deep breaths, the one in, and on my long exhale he pushed the needle through. It didn't hurt too much at all (about the same as the other nipple, also pierced by an incredible artist), and it was more of a pressure feeling than anything else. Most of that pressure was alleviated when he removed the clamps, and before I knew it, the jewelry had been inserted and capped off with the ball.
He asked if I understood aftercare, to which (after 20 piercings) I emphatically replied "yes", yet he still took the time to go over it with me one more time, even throwing in some tips that had worked for himself and his clients (using a shot glass to do soaks, being careful with towels...which I had learned about the hard way a few months back...ouch). I was spot bleeding a little bit, so he supplied me with some gauze to wear between my new piercing and my bra to avoid getting blood on my clothes/bacteria in my piercing.
My friend and I left Prix totally satisfied and rather overjoyed with the entire experience. The shop was incredible, Roger was amazing (and so nice!), and the girl at the front desk whose name I can't remember was so sweet. I would definitely recommend going to Prix (in West Hollywood or to the original in Pasadena) for anyone looking to get pierced in LA, and plan on going back for future piercings/jewelry purchases. A+.