I had been thinking about a piercing for some time, and knew a lot of people who had facial piercings and navel piercings but really the only thing I was thinking of was a nipple piercing. I didn't know anyone who had one, but had been doing some research on the net (strangely enough I didn't find BME until much later) and loved they way they looked and figured I could handle a bit of pain to get what I wanted.
At A Glance Author Scooter Contact Scooter@bme.anon When A year ago Artist unknown Studio Punktured Location Melbourne, Australia So here I was, thinking that It was time to start looking around and checking out studios and piercing, when a friend of mine mentioned that she was getting her navel pierced and needed someone to hold her hand. She had done some research about piercing and spoken to friends who also had navel piercings and had already chosen the studio she was interested. She also kept teasing me about looking at girls with navel piercings, so she figured I was the right person to keep en eye on her procedure.
Off we go to the studio and while she's getting her piercing done I'm chatting to the piercer about hygiene and procedure, both to reassure my friend and to reassure myself.
It took very little time for me to decide that instead of pricing a piercing and checking out the professionalism of the studio, that I might as well get mine done while we were there. The piercer took it all in her stride and started to ask me about what I wanted and made sure I was actually interested in such an intense piercing as my first. After a quick chat I was up on the table with my shirt off and read to go.
I was starting to get nervous while she swabbed down the area and sterilized the jewellery, a simple 12 gauge ring, wondering exactly what I was getting myself into, and also wondering if some more thought was in order. I guess my friend knows me all too well, because she chose that moment to ask me if I was sure I wanted to go ahead, and my ego kicked in and steadied my nerve. The piercer then explained that they always do nipple piercing behind the actual nipple proper, as they are more secure and have much less chance of growing out or being accidentally torn out (ouch!).
The piercing itself was very quick, only taking a minute or so to inserting needle and draw through the jewellery. All of this from my friend of course because I was having a very intense experience of pain/pleasure and was not really concentrating on watching the proceedings.
One of the funniest parts of the experience was when the piercer was swabbing down the area after the piercing my intense ticklishness combined with the nervousness of it all being over and the post-adrenaline rush resulted in a fit of giggling that the piercer had never had in her studio before.
The studio was very friendly and helpful, providing a lot of information about aftercare, including a pamphlet they had written up with a lot of tips and tricks for reducing the chance of infection, keeping the area clean and how to promote faster healing. They were also very helpful in helping to change the jewellery and for advice after the fact. There wasn't that much work involved, mainly keeping it clean by washing it with sterile fluid every day (I initially used cleaning fluid available from the chemist/drug store, but have since switched to sterile saline used to clean contact lenses, just make sure it doesn't have any preservatives in it)and only touching it with clean hands until fully healed. I have also found over the past year that it is easier to keep it clean with ring jewellery than it is with barbels, as you can rotate the ring through the channel while cleaning it, as there is occasionally some milky residue from dead skin cells.
Since I've had the piercing I've started to notice them in other people more, and now know quite a lot of people with various bits of metal inserted into their bodies :) I also find myself drawn to more piercings, and plan on getting the other nipple done very soon.
The only problem I have with my piercing is that I tend to play with it a lot, which can be amusing when you work for a large conservative company. Sitting in boring meetings often leads to fidgeting, but fidgeting with a nipple piercing in front of senior management is not necessarily accepted behaviour :)
I've also found that my nipple is more sensitive, and more stimulating to play with and tug on, I now usually tug on it a bit during sex or have my partner do so. It's always interesting when you are with someone for the first time and they don't realise that you have a piercing until it's 'too late' :)
Anyway, I may have got my piercing on the spur of the moment, but I thoroughly recommend it to anyone. If you're thinking about it, find a good piercer and go for it!