I had been putting off the idea of having a nipple piercing for quite some time, due to the fact that I thought being large-breasted (I am DD-E) would affect the healing and comfort of the piercing. I ended up being right with regards to the healing (more later), however comfort-wise I was totally stunned with its ease.
At A Glance Author Jen Contact anaesthetise@hotmail.com IAM Anaesthetise When Six months ago Artist Self Studio My bedroom Location Brisbane, Australia I have been a self piercer for going on about 13 years now, working with the best and most sterile equipment I could get my hands on. Lucky for me my very understanding mother worked in a veterinary surgery and was able to get me decent sized needles, and having worked in the surgery myself for some time I had a basic understanding of aseptic procedure. Besides ear work, I pierced my own nostril in 1989 and have been doing all but a couple of my piercings myself. I decided I would be capable of doing my own nipple, granted I didn't have exactly the ideal equipment, but nonetheless thought I was ready. I had purchased a 14mm 12ga barbell and a 14ga needle (plus a couple spares) from The Piercing Shop in Brisbane. I already had Betadine swabs and sterile dressings at home.
I'd had everything ready and waiting for probably a few weeks before I actually thought 'today is the day'. I had a shower and prepared myself, mentally more than anything, and then went about setting up. I carefully wiped over my nipple and areola with a few alcohol swabs, then finally a Betadine swab. I took quite a while to mark the piercings placement...this was probably the most difficult part! I finally got it right and started doing some breathing exercises while I set up the rest of the equipment I needed. I laid out a clean towel on my bed and set the dressing pack at one end of it, then opened up the packet containing the barbell and unscrewed the ball, popping them both in one of the empty dishes in the tray. I left opening the needle packet until last, as I realized I needed something to 'clamp' my nipple with. I grabbed a pair of tweezers and sterilized them as best I could, and wound a rubber band around the pincers fairly tightly, but still with some slack. I op ened up the needle packet and drew the end of the needle through a dollop of lube in the tray.
I was ready!
I laid back and took a few more deep breaths, positioning the 'tweezer clamps' just underneath my placement marks, which slightly compressed my nipple. I grabbed the needle and pushed the tip against the right side of my nipple, and then with a harder push started going through the nipple itself. It got a bit tough (and I'm not very strong) about three quarters of the way through, so I took another deep breath and on the exhale made the final push though the left hand side. Holy shit. I'd done it. It wasn't that bad. No, really. I started to breathe again...in, out...repeat. I then pulled the needle out, leaving the plastic catheter tube in the piercing. Realizing I was starting to shake a little, I focused on getting the jewelry in so I could relax. I popped the end of the barbell into the end of the tube, and then slowly and gently pulled the tube back through, pulling the jewelry through with it. I screwed on the ball and took a moment to admire my work. There was no bleeding whatsoever, and all I felt immediately after was a mild throbbing sensation in my nipple, which lasted about 30 minutes or so. I gently wiped off the excess lube with a piece of gauze and stood up. I felt a little pressure on the piercing as my breast tissue 'fell', but it wasn't extremely painful, just tender.
Later that night I took a couple of Ibuprofen tablets just before bed, as I thought sleeping was going to be a nightmare for the first few days at least, as I normally sleep on my stomach. I cut a square of sterile dressing and taped it over my nipple, hoping it would hold for the night and I wouldn't tear my new piercing out. I honestly didn't notice it during the night, and actually woke up on my stomach. Was this the worlds easiest piercing or what?!?! I was thrilled. Didn't bother with the dressing after that either. I did a salt soak the following day and every second day, alternating with cleaning it in the shower with a very mild soap. The crusties started arriving about 2 days later, only once tinged with blood. I continued with my aftercare and reveled in the new sensations (tingling, reaction to cold, being constantly 'erect'!) my newly modified nipple was providing.
A few months later I thought it wasn't healing terribly well, as there was always a slight goo and dried crusties on the balls of the barbell every day. I also noticed that the jewelry was migrating ever so slightly on the right hand side, and had moved maybe 2 millimetres upwards, away from my areola. I am in a bra more often than not, and I'm not sure whether this caused the migration. No kind of aftercare seemed to help long term, as the goo and crust would always return without fail the next day. I was starting to get disheartened and thought about removing it. I had the opportunity to try a longer 16mm acrylic barbell in the piercing, and almost immediately the situation started to improve. I wondered for while whether it was the length of the barbell, or the acrylic that made the difference, so I tried a 14mm acrylic barbell. Sure enough the goo/crust came back within a couple of days, so the 16mm bar was reinserted and there it's stayed ever since.
More than 6 months later now it has settled down, however the migration still bothers me a little, so I will most likely end up re-piercing it, but I now know to go with a longer bar. I was also lucky enough to score a proper pair of clamps for xmas (thanks mum!), so the job should be even easier next time.
Let that baby breathe!