At A Glance
Author	Dan
Contact	Dan@bme.anon
When	A week ago
Artist	Nice lady
Studio	Sacred Skin Body Art
Location	Brisbane, Australia

I've wanted a piercing of some kind since I was about 17, but both fear of pain and fear of losing my job have been holding me back. However, over the past few months my interest in getting something done has been going up and up and up, so it's not surprising that last Saturday, after realising that I finished work around noon, that I had time to get my nipples pierced (instead of playing Final Fantasy 12, which is my usual after-work activity).
I'd always loved "hidden" piercings like nipples and genital stuff, so for the time being, those are what I was gonna get. I might get my tongue pierced one day, and maybe my bottom lip, but as long as I was a retail-slave and bound by company policy against visible piercings, those would have to wait.

I'd been researching the local piercing places almost obsessively, and I finally settled on Sacred Skin at Stone's Corner, as i'd heard of other people who had good experiences with them, and it wasn't too far out of my way. Everyone in my town seems to go into the CBD to get pierced, but I decided to support my local businesses.
Plus, I got to avoid all those teenagers that swarm around the Hungry Jacks in the Queen Street Mall, which is a good enough reason as anything for not going into town. All you Brisbane folks will know what I mean!

So, right after work finished, I went there as fast as I could! The studio itself was a little awkward to find (I actually walked past it once without even knowing!) but totally worth it.
I stood outside the front door for about 30 seconds, trying to gather up the nerves to walk in. When I finally did, I walked up to the counter and was greeted by one of the girls working there.
"HIIWANNAGETMYNIPPLESPIERCED" I blurted. She then asked me whether I wanted one or both done, and I told her both. My nerves were starting to settle by this point, and she handed me a clipboard with some things to sign, and I stupidly put in the wrong ID and omitted my phone number completely. I guess my nerves hadn't settled, after all.

After clearing that up, I was told the piercer was busy at the moment, so I took a seat (a very comfy seat, I might add!) and relaxed, by looking at all the tattoo pictures on the wall. Very cool. If the piercer turned out to be any good, maybe I'll give the tattoo guy a try sometime...

When it was my turn, I was greeted by the piercer, who led me into the room and explained how the piercing would be performed, how the needles etc were sterilized, and all that stuff. She was really nice and professional about it, and it really put me at ease. I was then asked to take my shirt off, and she marked where the piercings would go, and did all sorts of other preparations, like cleaning the nipples and stuff.
Then we settled on what gauge to pierce them at, I chose 14- I'd also decided on rings, not barbells and then we were ready to go!

I lay down on the doctor-ish bed/table, and then it happened! I was asked to take a deep breath, and then to breathe out. As I breathed out, HOLY CRAP! The ring went through. I won't lie- it HURT! But really, no worse than going to the dentist. And it's not like the pain was all bad!
It was mostly just the shock of something actually going through my nipple, which had always been (as most nipples are) a somewhat solid mass with little to no foreign objects located in it.
Then the other was done in the same way. Apparently I handled it better than some other people, and we joked around a bit, I was informed on the proper aftercare, and then I was done!

I was lead out to the reception area, where I paid the $110 for the piercing, the jewellery and the aftercare stuff, and the piercer bragged about how brave I was- I even got a lolly! AWESOME!

On the way home, they ached quite a bit, but nothing too serious. I wasn't doubled over in pain, it was more like my body was going "Hey, what the fuck? What's this bloody metal ring doing here!?" Yeah, my body has a potty mouth.

Even though I had a big lunch, I also found I was STARVING! I ended up having a muffin, and that seemed to satisfy me. Note to self: next time, bring extra money for yummy muffins.

Sleeping was interesting the first night too. I had to be careful my arm didn't brush against my nipples too suddenly, and wearing a shirt was just plain uncomfortable.

It's now day 4, and besides a little swelling on my right nipple, and a little tenderness, the healing is going excellently.

I totally recommend getting your nipples pierced- you won't regret it! Unless you're weird and like to complain about everything.