You would think that after having 11 holes in my body that I wasn't born with, that I would be happy. Haha, well, think again, I went and got my nipples pierced. Before I got my nipples pierced, I had 4 lobes (done with a gun, yeah, yeah, I know), three cartilages, my rook, my helix, my tragus, and my tongue. Anyway, on to the experience of my lifetime...
At A Glance Author Mere Anarchy Contact ccogswel@vt.edu Artist Brady Hypes Studio Ancient Art Tattoo Studio Location Blacksburg, Virginia First off, just to say, it's not that bad!! I had both of my nipples done at the same time. It was the first time I had been nervous since I got my tongue pierced 8 months ago. I went into Ancient Art (AA) asked for Brady. He was the one that had done almost all of my other piercing, and I feel most comfortable with him. Anyway, I was in no way expecting to get pierced that day, I just wanted to run the idea past him. Brady asked if we wanted to do it today, and after 5 minutes of mentally debating with myself, I decided to go ahead.
We went into the piercing room, and Brady shut the door. I sat in the chair while we had some small talk, which helped calm the HUGE butterflies, and the fact my stomach was flip-flopping inside. After he prepared the tray, he said to me, "I'm ready when you are." This was comforting just for the fact that he didn't bluntly say, "ok, STRIP!" Taking off your shirt with a guy in the room can be nerve-wracking enough, but Brady made it easier by conveniently finding something else to work on, instead of staring at me. Thanks Brady!
First off he looked at both my nipples to get an idea of how he was going to have to pierce them. I was blessed enough to have a fairly nice chest, crowned with apparently very pierceable nipples. He said everything looked good, and that I needed to stand up so that we could mark where the holes were going to go. So I stood up, and he carefully marked, and then let me look in the mirror to make sure they looked all right to me. With the previous work he's done on me, I trust his judgment, but if you get it done, if you think there is a problem, don't be afraid to ASK!!
Ahh then comes the PAIN! And not having a hand to hold didn't help. First we did the right one. To be totally honest, I didn't feel a thing, which really surprised me. I didn't flinch at all. After he got the jewelry in (12 gauge CBRs), he asked how I was doing, and if I wanted to take a break. I said that I was ready to go, and he said ok. Then to the left. Haha, after the first one, I thought this was going to be a cinch. NOPE. Although it didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would, I definitely grinded my teeth a bit when the needle came through the other side. In goes the jewelry, and after receiving my care instructions, I am out the door. I was VERY pleased with my piercings! So you would think this is the end of the story, huh? Well, it gets better...
Cleaning the piercings weren't too bad, and I noticed right away that the right nipple was healing faster, and looked better than left. Then, one day in the shower, EEK!!! It seemed that the left one had a mind of its own, and decided to move. The inside had moved down my nipple a good 1/8th of an inch. With the ring, you couldn't really tell, but I had been looking into getting barbells, and I knew that having a crooked piercing just wouldn't work. So it was back to AA I go.
I walked in and Saw Brady, and told him about my disaster. He took a look at it, and said it would be best repierced. We took the jewelry out, and I was done for the day. At this point I had had my nipples pierced for a good 2 or 3 months. My left nipple was bare! It was time to get pierced again. I went in a week later, and was back under Brady's handiwork. Let me get this straight right now, the fact that my piercing was crooked was IN NO WAY BRADY'S FAULT. My bras probably pulled it gently down, since I have a large chest. I got repierced (which hurt pretty bad, since there was a bit of scar tissue), and was once again out the door.
That was about 2 weeks ago (its a little after Easter now). Right now I have 12 gauge curved barbells in, and I love the look! Its only now, 3-4 months after the original piercings, that I have started to tell my friends. The reactions are great, anything from the girls grabbing their chests and going "OUCH!" to my totally sheltered roommate staring at me with eyes as round as coke cans, saying to herself, "Breathe, Breathe, Breathe."
I would say to anyone considering this piercing. Don't let people make the decision for you. When I was thinking about it, I had a lot of people tell me not to get them, but I did it for myself, it's my body. I will say however, my parents won't ever know about these!!
Cathy (mere anarchy)