I had always wanted a piercing. I spent many hours of the day here on BMEzine looking at pictures and experiences, often saying "Oh wow! I should get that done someday!", but never actually thinking that I would.
At A Glance Author Heather Contact Heather@bme.anon When It just happened I began seriously considering getting my nipple pierced when a friend of mine, Stephanie, was talking about how she wanted another piercing. My fiend Allison and I, along with Stephanie, discussed her previous piercings, who had one them (Keith) and how well they had all turned out. Allison wanted to get a piercing as well, so we decided that we'd go together, as a sort of 'bonding experience'. I knew that I needed something that would be easy to hide, as both of my parents are strictly 'anti-mod', constantly telling me that I would be kicked out of my house if I came home with a piercing. Not wanting to go with a genital piercing (they're just not for me) I decided that my safest bet would be the nipple. Nice, and easy enough to show people if they wanted to see, but easy enough to hide. I knew then that I was getting this on the date we had set: The afternoon of Friday the 19th, right after our English mid-year exam.
But then there was the catch: the studio. Or should I say, Keith's basement. After reading so many articles and experiences about piercings and tattoos done in people's homes, I was pretty hesitant, and ended up telling Allison that I wouldn't be able to go through with the piercing. As disappointed as I was with it, I knew (or thought) that it would be for the best. In just a few month's I would be moving for University, and would be much closer to a much more respectable studio. I'd get it done then! Allison, however, didn't seem to mind where it was done, and decided to go ahead with the piercing anyways.
The days went by, and it eventually rolled around to Friday. The exam was over with, and it was time for Allison to do this. A lot of people wanted to come and watch, so seven of us all piled into our friend Steve's van and we were on our way.
We arrived, and ended up being turned away because our piercer had just woken up and wasn't quite ready. "Come back in an hour" he said. So, we drove around for an hour, Allison getting nervous about getting the piercing, and me getting nervous about her getting the piercing.
The time had finally elapsed, so we made our way back. We walked in, and I thought that it was going to be trouble. "We can't do the piercing in the basement. The dog's in heat. We'll have to do it in the kitchen." Oh boy. My best friend is about to get her nipple pierced in some guy's kitchen. I ended up not being able to even watch Allison get the piercing, thinking it was way against what I believed was professional for a piercing, so I sat in Steve's van for a half hour.
When Allison came out, she had such a smile on her face that I knew she hadn't chickened out. When she showed me, I knew that it couldn't be all bad in there. She told me that Keith hadn't done her piercing, it was his wife, and she was very nice about everything. It was a perfect piercing. Nice, straight, not too deep...perfect. I decided before we even left the driveway that I was going to get it done too. Now.
Steve brought me to the bank where I withdrew my money, and we made our way back to Keith's place. I was nervous, no doubt about it, but I knew that if I decided that it wasn't up to my standards when I went in, I wouldn't do it.
I walked in, and told Keith's wife that I wanted my nipple pierced as well. She immediately started getting the things together. A ready-autoclaved needle, gloves, marker, clamps, and my jewellery. I was sure to keep a close eye over what she did, asking her to re-clean the clamps with alcohol at one point, just to be on the safe side. She eventually asked me to sit down, and reclined me back so that she could do the piercing. I took off my hoodie, and t-shirt, then pulled the right side of my tank-top down so that she could mark me. It felt strange, sitting there with my breast exposed to my friends. But, all the same, it was something I had told myself I was going to do, and I wasn't about to back out then. She marked me up, made sure that I was okay with the placement, and then cleaned my nipple with an alcohol wipe. This made the markings fade, so she re-marked me, and then told me to lean back while she put the clamps on. I had heard that these were the worst part, so I braced myself. They weren't comfortable, that's for sure, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. When she told me she was going to put the needle through, I put out both of my hands. Steve grabbed the right one, Allison the left. In went the needle, out came a little yell. It wasn't an "I'm in pain!" yell, more of a "Wow! There's a needle in my nipple!" yell. In just a few seconds I looked down, and I had a gorgeous 14 g straight barbell in my right nipple. She cleaned off the excess marking, I paid, and we left.
Ever since, I've gotten so many questions about it. Everything from "Did it hurt?" (To which I reply that getting my ears pierced with a gun hurt more!) to "Can I see?? (My answer is simply a lift of my shirt.)
My aftercare has been pretty simple and complication free. There was a little bit of bleeding the first couple of days when I cleaned and turned the barbell, but ever since there has been minimal trouble. I'm extremely pleased with my piercing. While I think that I could have lived with myself had I decided to wait the extra couple of months, I don't think that I could have gotten a better piercing. Placement is amazing, it's healing extremely well, and it looks great.
All in all, I would advise anybody considering this piercing to get it. It's a great addition to your body, and it quite easy to take care of. It's an easy piercing to hide for anybody who has parents like mine who are anti-mod, or even for people whose place of employment or study won't allow visible mods. However, I don't advise going to somebody's basement or kitchen for the piercing. It was an impulse pierce for me, and I know that I won't be going back to Keith's for any more of my future piercings. But i know that this piercing is just the beginning of what will be a very long road of various mods for me!