At A Glance Author Danielle Contact Danielle@bme.anon IAM Vanilla When A week ago Artist Mandi Studio Primal Art Location Winnipeg, Manitoba This is a long and very detailed experience. Quick rundown for those of you not familiar with my previous experience. On August 23, 2002 I went to a local piercing studio, Skin Deep, in Kenora, Ontario to have my nipples pierced. He marked me while I was lying back (you should be marked standing) and pierced freehand (clamps should be used). I was pierced with 14 gauge needles, with each piercing taking between 7 and 10 seconds to get through the nipple (normal is less than 1 second). When he put the jewellery in that took between 15 and 30 seconds per and a 14 gauge 5/8" diameter captive bead ring (cbr) was placed in the left nipple and a 12 gauge 1/2" diameter cbr was placed in the right nipple. I paid $100 Canadian (around $70 US) for these piercings. They were incredibly crooked and would have rejected quite quickly had I kept them. I had them removed the next day.Onto my present experience. After this first experience I spoke with a few piercers whom I trust implicitly and discussed what I should do, if I were to have my nipples repierced. The purpose of the piercings is eventually for them to be played with – perhaps sometimes rough and excessively. For this gauge was a strong consideration. Through research and speaking with these piercers I found out that 10 gauge is the best for play as it is large enough to not tear through the nipple and can withstand a fair amount of tugging without causing damage. I decided to be pierced at 10 gauge the next time I had them done. As for jewellery, as I have very large breasts (DD) and they tend to come in contact with things a bit more readily I thought something that didn't hang would be appropriate and would be better for healing, barbells. I decided that 10 ga 5/8" barbells (one size larger than my 1/2" when erect nipples) would be my choice for my next piercing session.
I waited a month for my nipples to heal (doing salt soaks and general care) and spoke with a piercer, Andrea, at Primal Art in Winnipeg, Manitoba (where I had my tattoos done, my tattoo artist (also the former owner of the studio) has since left the studio and it is under new management (that of Rick who used to be the head piercer) - I was not aware of this) to book an appointment. She said she would not put me through what I went through and that it would be a much better experience the second time around and that she would indeed pierce them at 10 ga with 5/8" barbells.
On Friday I was in Winnipeg (2.5 hour drive away) and went into Primal Art to book an appointment to have my nipples pierced by Andrea. I said to the woman at the front desk that I would like to book an appointment to have my nipples pierced and asked if I could speak with 'the piercer' (there was only one to my knowledge that did genital piercings and her name was Andrea, Rick only did non-genital piercings), the girl at the front (who I found out was Mandie - not Andrea) said that she was the piercer. I told her that I had been emailing her about a female PA piercing (through the urethra and out the vaginal opening) and 10 ga 5/8" barbell nipple piercings (I had been emailing Andrea not Mandie), she said that yes she had gotten the emails (how I don't know since they weren't sent to her). From this I assumed that she was Andrea. Since I was in the city and this was the piercer I thought I was talking to all long through e-mail I asked that instead of making an appointme nt for the next week if she could do them right then, she said yes. We did not discuss cost as I had discussed it with Andrea through e-mail and was told that 10 gauge with 5/8" barbells would cost $75 for both nipples. Discuss cost with your piercer before proceeding with the piercing and make sure that if you are getting more than one done that the cost is for all of the things you are getting done not just per piece. Cost changes dramatically with an alteration in gauge or jewellery.
I wanted 10 ga with 5/8" barbells. She said she didn't have that jewellery and that she thought 10 ga was really way too large and that she could make a 14 gauge piercing virtually painless. I told her that pain wasn't an issue after my first experience (which if she were Andrea she would have known all about) and that I wanted 10 gauge so that they could be played with without worry, that I did not want to have to stretch and so that they would heal nicely for when I went to the US to marry my fiancé in less than three months. She brought out a 12 gauge needle, a 10 gauge circular barbell (cbb) and a 12 gauge 3/4" barbell. She said that my options were either the 12 gauge 3/4" barbell (wrong gauge and too long) or 10 gauge cbb's. Having them at 10 ga was my main objective - so I was fine with the cbb's.
As the jewellery was already autoclaved and packaged and the needles were already prepared and autoclaved we went to the back piercing room. It is a normal size, enough for three people comfortably. The chair is an old barber chair (with foot rest etc.) that reclines to almost flat. She had me remove my shirt and bra (if you are nervous about this part just realize that your piercer should be a professional and that they have likely seen these parts before or even have them themselves. Don't be nervous, a breast is a breast.). She had me stand with my arms relaxed at my sides and proceeded to clean my nipples with alcohol and to mark them with a Sharpie type marker (not a skin marker). The placement was perfect. She had me sit in the chair, which she then reclined.
She removed the jewellery for the left nipple from the packaging, as well as the needle. She then grabbed clamps from a drawer, removed them from their autoclave packaging and proceeded to clamp the left nipple. This was not painful, just pressure and I was incredibly pleased that she was using them to pierce. The nipple should be pierced at the very base (when erect) and clamps allow for the best placement of this piercing (in my experience). She put an anesthetic salve on the needle (to allow it to slide easily while piercing and to numb the area somewhat). She had me breathe in and out (I was nervous as my first experience came quickly to mind), she asked if I wanted to know when she was going to pierce, I said, "Just do it." I took a breath in and she pierced. It felt like a sharp burn through my nipple and in the center of my chest. It was bearable, but just barely. She told me she was done with that one. The needle was in. She then (for some reason) grabbe d a 10 gauge taper and put that through the piercing, pushing it quite hard and rotating more of this salve on it which I really would NOT recommend having done. It irritates the fresh wound and is not good for the raw nerve endings.
We waited a few moments as she wanted the numbing effect to happen. It didn't. She then tried to put the jewellery through and her gloves were so coated in this salve that she couldn't get a grip on the jewellery. She grabbed some mosquito clamps (metal teeth) and removed them from an autoclave bag and clamped the jewellery with those. This was a very bad idea. The clamps naturally caused a great deal of damage to the jewellery, which she didn't notice. She put the left cbb in and tightened the ball and rotated the jewellery. This hurt terribly (not only because it was a fresh piercing but because the jewellery had terrible burrs on it from the clamps and they were tearing the inside of my nipple to bits). She said that it really shouldn't hurt this much. I told her that it did (neither of us knew why at that point as the burrs were now on the inside of my nipple).
We then waited about 5 minutes as she got me some water and I took a break to rest. My left breast was throbbing and was quite painful. As if I had been punched in the breast. After a few minutes she opened the jewellery for the right nipple, the needle, and prepared the clamps. She clamped the right nipple, put salve on the needle and told me to breathe in and out and she pierced. On this one I screamed out "Jesus Christ!" as it hurt a lot. I wasn't expecting the pain to be that intense but because I was thinking about how bad it would be that naturally caused me to be more aware of it. She quickly removed the needle and put a taper in again (I have no idea why this was such a bad idea!) And asked me if she wanted me to wait to put the jewellery in and I said, "No, just put it in." The jewellery going in didn't hurt near as much as the left (again she used mosquito clamps and again she damaged the jewellery terribly.) but it was still quite raw. She rotated it with salve and tightened the balls. I was done. I rested for a bit with some water and eventually sat up.
I strongly suggest that when you get your nipples pierced that the piercer just pierce the nipple and immediately put the jewellery in, that way the pain is done and over with quickly and your nipple isn't subjected to unnecessary trauma.
Gravity was not my friend so I immediately put my bra back on with some paper towel to cover incase of bleeding (which I had none). I then went out an paid her, $70/each ($50 US) after I had been quoted by two other piercers at the shop $75 (for both with 10 gauge 5/8" barbells) and $80 (for both with 10 gauge cbb's). I paid $140 plus a $10 tip (I expected them to only be $75 so I was prepared to give her a $25 tip but after the price difference I didn't have enough funds on me) and went home (2.5 hour drive).
Over the weekend I did salt soaks with household iodized salt twice a day (I then switched to sea salt which I bought a couple days after being pierced for $1.29 for a huge box – there's no excuse not to use this and it's so much better than household salt – use only 1/4 – 1/2 tsp per 8 oz of warm water) and just washed them in the shower using Q-tips to remove crusties and I flipped the jewellery up to keep the holes open and more straight than curved downwards as I will eventually have barbells in them and to not irritate them too much. They were healing well but were quite painful after cleaning when I had to rotate the jewellery a bit to get crusties off. (This was from the damage on the cbb's.)
On the following Tuesday, October 8th I noticed as I was cleaning them in the shower that a Q-tip kept catching on a burr on the left jewellery and on a huge scratch on the right jewellery. I took photos to make sure that I wasn't seeing things and immediately called the shop and told them I would be in the next day (traveling from out of town) to have the jewellery changed as the burrs and scratches on the jewellery from the clamps she used to put them in were tearing up my fresh piercings and were incredibly painful. I asked them if they had 10 gauge cbb's they could put in and they said yes. I told them I would be up shortly after they opened. They open at 1 PM.
I own my own business and had several appointments scheduled for that day, including some in the city (which I made the previous night so that my trip to Winnipeg wouldn't be completely in vain). After leaving a client early, and driving for 2.5 hours I arrived at the shop at 2 PM (giving them time to autoclave the jewellery so I could walk in get them changed and leave to make my other appointments). When I went in they didn't even have the jewellery (after they told me they had it in stock) and said that they would send one of the tattooists and one of the piercers to go get it as they were waiting for me to show up before going and getting the jewellery (which makes no sense they should have had the jewellery ready for when I got there) and that once they got it they would autoclave it, so it would be about an hour before everything would be ready. I was angry (as this completely messed up an appointment I scheduled with a client who was going to come in from out of to wn to meet me in Kenora - home town, there's no way I could make the drive in 2 hours without breaking the law). I ran one errand and returned one hour later at 3 PM expecting the jewellery to be ready to put in.
I used their washroom, came out and was told that the guys just got back with the jewellery (the place they picked it up from was 15 minutes away) and that it would be another hour before it was done being autoclaved. Mandie then said that I could either wait for it to be autoclaved to just have it put in cold sterilized. Naturally, I did not want to risk any type of infection from poor sterilization and said that I had no choice but to wait. It was now rush hour there was no way I could make it to my other client's and return in an hour, but if I was done at 4 PM I would have time to run and see her then. I waited at the shop, at just before 4 PM I asked if the jewellery was done yet in the autoclave and was told that they hadn't put it in yet as they were waiting to get other things to put in with it. I was furious but had no choice but to wait at this point. I was also unable to contact either of my clients to break the appointments, thereby leaving them in the lurc h.
I asked around 4:35 PM how much longer, I was told 10 minutes. I went into the piercing room and cleaned my nipples and removed one ball from each cbb so that the burrs and scratches would not be dragged through the piercing again (I had the jewellery positioned off center for over 24 hours to prevent further damage and didn't want that to be an issue). Finally, at 4:45 PM the jewellery was done being autoclaved She came in and had me lay back, I looked at the jewellery, they were cbr's not cbb's and looked smaller gauge wise. She said that the woman knew to order 10 ga and that's what they were. I was positive they were smaller, she insisted they weren't. All three piercers at the shop saw the jewellery and either none of them noticed that it was 12 gauge not 10 gauge or they noticed and thought that I wouldn't. She put them in, told me that they were going to get the other jewellery refinished and sell it again (the ones she just took out of me that were scratched and t erribly damaged) and that this would cost me nothing for the change and that they would have me come back up in 3 months when the piercings were healed to give them back the cbr's she just put in and put in new (or the old ones refurbished) 10 ga cbb's.First it's a bad thing to refinish jewellery and to reuse it in the same person, never mind selling it to someone else and using it in someone else's fresh piercing. This alone really bothered me. I told them I would be in the US in less than 3 months and that the whole point was to have them pierced with the jewellery I ultimately wanted at the gauge I ultimately wanted. They said they would then mail me the jewellery and that I could mail them back the cbr's. I thought this was incredibly unacceptable, I was very angry and had to leave as I had a long drive ahead of me and I had missed various appointments and had to deal with that situation now.
As soon as I got home I measured the jewellery and took photos and confirmed that she had put in 12 ga cbr's (3/4" diameter which really is too large and catches on everything, they should have been 5/8"). So not only did I not have the jewellery that I wanted I was down gauged by them without any desire to do so on my part. It was bad enough that I had to change the jewellery that soon after having them pierced, but to down gauge as well caused major problems. Since the holes themselves were pierced at 10 gauge and now 12 gauge rings were floating through them it was easy for crusties to be pulled in as the tissue was used to being larger than the ring and the ring tends to sit quite strange.
I have had to resort to cleaning them upwards of five times a day to prevent crusties from being dragged through. I am unable to sleep without a bra as my nipples have been so irritated that they are constantly painful and erect (which pulls on the jewellery). Because the jewellery is too large of a diameter (3/4" when it should have been 5/8") it sits strange in my bra and pulls on my nipple quite severely throughout the day. I have taped the rings upside down (above my nipple) to prevent this pulling pain and discomfort. I have taken to sleeping with the bottoms of Dixie cups (about 1/2" high) taped over my nipples to prevent them from being struck or moved strangely in the night causing damage. They are a huge inconvenience at this point and I am fortunate to work at home to enable me the ability to clean them multiple times and spend as much time as I do caring for them.
I have tried numerous times to contact the owner of the shop to rectify this situation and he refuses to return my calls. Not only have I ended up with 12 gauge piercings after I was initially pierced at 10 gauge which is what I wanted, I also have cbr's where I wanted barbells or cbb's (there is a huge price difference between all of these...$80 as well as the fact that I do not like cbr's and did not ever want them for these piercings). I no longer trust Primal Art to do any type of body modification and have since ordered properly jewellery from a piercer I trust and since I will have to taper now from 12 gauge to 10 gauge I ordered a taper as well. I am not at all happy about this situation and I believe my nipples wouldn't be causing me as much grief as they are had the jewellery been, not only done right the first time, but the change if it was done with properly jewellery they would be healing much better.
I do not recommend Primal Art for any body modifications. I love having my nipples pierced, and the piercing itself was quite bearable (much more so than the first time I had them done). However the extreme lack of care taken during the jewellery insertion which damaged the jewellery and the subsequent ignorance as to the new jewellery gauge and type was simply incomprehensible and unacceptable.
I strongly suggest that you do your research and if anything at all seems 'off' to you during the procedure, the aftercare regime (a piercing is a puncture wound, it is not an abrasion you should not use Bactine spray, antibiotic ointments or any other salves or treatments on them, salt soaks and general cleaning are best. Do not rotate the jewellery excessively just enough to get the buildup off of each side and that is it. New skin is forming and each time you rotate you tear the new skin and force the healing process to begin again while creating scar tissue) make sure to bring it up and don't be afraid to call a 'professional' on what they are doing. From my experiences I've met nine 'professional' piercers (two in Kenora, six in Winnipeg, and one in Illinois) and only one was a true professional (the one in Illinois). I am starting to have doubts about piercers and the education and training they receive when a layperson such as myself knows more about various pr ocedures, gauges, jewellery types, sterilization techniques, and general piercing information than they do...and they are the 'so called professional'.
I am going to heal my nipples at 12 gauge since I simply cannot risk tapering them at this point and causing more damage. I do salt soaks now 2-4 times a day, clean them gently in the shower, wear a bra 24 hours a day and at night I still have something to cover them to prevent my nipples from being over-stimulated. I am very happy with the piercings, I love the look of them and having them there. They have made my nipples incredibly sensitive (where they weren't before) and I am sure that once I get them stretched back to the gauge I wanted them at (10 gauge) and with the jewellery that I wanted (barbells) I will be quite happy. Until then I just hope nothing else happens.
I recommend this piercing for those of you interested in having your nipples done (get both done at once if you can). My suggestion is to start at a lower gauge (8-12) if you are planning on playing with them a lot once healed and if you have large breasts to stick with barbells (one size larger than your erect nipple) or circular barbells as they can sit better in a bra. Make sure that the piercer does the piercing (ideally using clamps for the nipples) and then inserts the jewellery immediately (using nothing but his/her hands no clamps to hold the jewellery and no tapers unless you are tapering from one gauge to another immediately.) And make sure that you know the cost per piercing and the total cost before getting it done as pricing can more than double if you increase the gauge or change the jewellery type. Those are my suggestions.
Next experience...tapering these nipple piercings to 10 gauge and experiencing proper play with them!