I've been meaning to get around to submitting some of my experiences for a while now but I'm a horrible procrastinator. Since my nipple piercings are the freshest in my mind (just got them done 3 days ago) I decided I might as well start out with that.
At A Glance Author Audri Contact Audri@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Pat Studio Obscurities Location Dallas TX I wasn't actually planning on my nipples being my next piercing. I had pretty much decided on getting my inner labia pierced to go with my vertical hood piercing but I tend to be somewhat spontaneous when it comes to piercings and Saturday morning I woke up and decided that I needed to have pierced nipples. As with all of my piercings, with the exception of the two I got before I turned eighteen, I headed up to Obscurities in Dallas. I'd recommend Obscurities to anyone looking to get pierced that lives in the DFW area. I've had twelve piercings done there and all of them have come out perfectly and have been virtually painless.
I had planned on having Delaney pierce me because we've been friends for over 7 years and he's done most of my piercings but when I got there he told me that Pat was piercing that day so if I wanted to get it done Pat would be doing it. I hung out and thought about it for a while and talked to Mark (a tattoo artist there) about a backpiece I plan on getting then decided I might as well do it before I chickened out. I felt comfortable letting Pat pierce me because he's pierced me before (four lobe piercings) and I know he knows what he's doing because Delaney trained him.
Anyway, on to the actual piercing experience. Since I had already been pierced so many times at that studio I pretty much knew what to expect. Pat went to the back for a few minutes to get everything set up then called me back there. I took my shirt and my bra off and he asked me to stand up facing him so he could mark me. He marked me with a toothpick and some blue ink then had me lie down so he could finish. By this time I was getting really nervous and was shaking quite a bit, partially due to the temperature in the room, but mostly due to nerves. Pat talked to me the whole time, telling me he was going to take care of me and he'd do it really quick and that it would be over in no time. He has a very soothing "bedside manner" like that so I stayed pretty calm throughout the whole thing after that. He finished marking me and explained that he was going to get out the forceps to line me up, which he did and that was no big deal. I didn't even feel a pinch. Then he said he was going to line up the needle and, although this is the part I normally start to freak out, I still felt pretty much at ease. Then came the familiar, "ok I want you to take a deep breath...now exhale..." and POW! the first one was done. I definately felt it, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd thought it was going to be. He put the jewelry in (I got a 12g barbell, don't remember the exact length) and then it was on to the next. I was afraid the second one was going to hurt a lot more but it was about the same as the first. It was a different kind of pain then any of my other piercings because I could definately feel the needle going all the way through but, just as with any other piercing, it was over with in a heartbeat.
It didn't even bleed at all.
After the piercing I looked in the mirror and loved the way the piercing looked except the barbells seemed slightly longer than I had pictured. I asked Pat if I could change them out for shorter ones when they healed and he took a second look and said we could go ahead and change them out right then if I wanted. Normally he doesn't pierce with a shorter barbell than the ones I had but apparantly I have small nipples or something. He went and got the shorter ones and changed them out which stung a little but was well worth it because afterwords they looked absolutely perfect.
Pat left the room so I could get dressed and I figured out pretty quickly that putting my bra back on was not going to be an option. My nipples were throbbing and sore and the thought of anything that constrictive touching them was not pleasant. I was a little worried about the fact that the tanktop I had on was white because I didn't know how much my nipples would bleed later but Pat told me that shouldn't be a problem and that I shouldn't expect much bleeding if at all. He was right. I went out that night and partied until the wee hours of the morning and there wasn't a single drop on my shirt when I got home.
The pain has been pretty minimal. They were really sore for a few hours right after I got them but other than that I haven't felt any tenderness. I'm on day three now and haven't had any problems. There's a tiny bit of swelling that I'm sure I'm the only one that would even notice and there hasn't been any bleeding to speak of, except for a tiny little bit overnight the second night. I've been following Pat's instructions to soak in a mixture of sea salt and water (1/4 teaspoon of sea salt to 8 ounces of water) for about 10 minutes every day then use the medicated soap in the shower and that seems to be working fine. As with all the other piercings I've gotten at Obscurities, I'm very happy with the result and glad I did it. I would have to say that if you're thinking getting your nipples pierced, please don't let people's horror stories scare you off. It really wasn't as bad as people say and the results are worth it.