Almost immediately after having moved to Colorado for school in Boulder, I went out to get my nipples pierced. A newfound friend and I went to Rock Star Tattoo/Piercing on the Hill in Boulder (I recommend it for jewelry, but not for piercings...), having heard good things and not wanting to drive out of town. For the most part, it was a great experience- however, several months later, I developed a ridiculously bad case of mastitis in my left breast which, strangely enough, wasn't around or anywhere near my nipple, but since it was still fresh and was difficult to clean with the infection (my breast
At A Glance Author trajikeyes Contact trajikeyes@IU.zzn.com Artist Q Studio Bound By Design Location Denver, CO was twice as large as normal. bad, bad thing. don't let people play with fresh piercings, kids.), I had to take the jewelry out. Having never retired a piercing before, this was a fairly traumatic (there wasn't), that I would feel extremely lopsided between one pierced and one non-pierced nipple (I did, but not for long).
A few months later, the mastitis (which thankfully didn't take a few months) and my nipple were completely healed up and I was left feeling, as expected, slightly lopsided. Having been devoid of new piercings since earlier in the year when I had my bridge done (also a fantastic experience, which has been a constant inspiration to get a second bridge done), I thought it was about time to get my old nipple repierced. Which then brings me to why I'm writing.
Sometime around my birthday (April), my friend Jamie (who was planning on getting hir eyebrows done) and I traipsed along to Bound By Design on Colfax in Denver to seek out the fabulous Q, who had done my bridge and my girlfriend's nostril. The studio- Bound by Design- is absolutely beautiful. Big and spacious, very comforting, with a really nice, expansive jewelry display. They also carry a bunch of neat metaphysical and other such magickal paraphernalia which made me especially happy, being a big old Pagan, the first time I made my way in there earlier in the year.
Since it was a fairly quiet (and snowy...Colorado weather is ridiculous) day, we were shown into Q's room almost immediately and spent a while chatting (he's a really, really nice guy). The piercing room is also very nice- there is a bunch of beautiful artwork on the ceiling and around the walls which I like because it gives me something to focus on while the piercing is being prepared. I had decided on a 14ga circular barbell, which was slightly difficult, since I had a CBR in my other nipple, but after a while, I found two that matched and got ready to go.
Because I had a bit of scar tissue on either side of my nipple, I was a little afraid of excessive pain (not that that had ever stopped me before...). However, talking to Q, I was immediately put at ease. He had me lie down, and spent a little while perfecting the dots where he would insert the piercing- he managed to get it right over where the old one had been done, so the scar tissue seemed to disappear (and to this day, is invisible and/or gone- I'm thinking that the needle just took it out when it went through). Shortly after getting the dots drawn, he had me inhale and on my exhale, slid the needle through.
Unlike the first time piercing that nipple, there was very, very little pain (which now makes sense, since scar tissue seems to have a lot less sensation) and it healed completely within a couple of months. The sensitivity of that nipple has also been heightened which, having little or at least much less sensitivity in my nipples before, was wonderful. I'm now thinking about (after my septum and second bridge...heh. if my friends back home could see me now.) getting vertical barbells being put behind my current nipple piercings, but we'll see what happens. Needless to say, it was a great experience- I spent more money than I thought I ever would on sea salt and aveeno soap (which works a lot better than dial, especially on [my] nipples, since it doesn't dry out the skin at all), but that, too, worked out very well in the end.
Moral of the story- don't be afraid of piercing your nipples, especially more than once! To those in Colorado in search of a good piercer, I definitely recommend Q- he's no longer at Bound, but I maintain that he is one of the best piercers that I've ever had.
It's definitely important to feel comfortable with the person who is sliding metal through your flesh :)