Now, I come from a pretty conservative family. I KNOW that all of my piercings (thus far) seem pretty soft compared to some of the other stuff on this site, but they are more than enough to continually mollify my friends and family.
At A Glance Author Hinchy Contact Hinchy@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Unknown Studio Ice Accessories Location West End Plaza, Albury After my first piercing (my eyebrow. Still there after two years despite many incidences) my father railed me about "wasting f&%kin money putting a f&%kin hole in your face!". And then came the top of my left ear (never healed properly, its out now) "Another goddamn piercing?! Waste of money....". I had every intention of hiding my tongue piercing, but the first night, mum saw it "Have you got shit for brains or something? You're ruining your body!". She almost cried when I had my lip done "You used to be such a handsome boy!" (I got that from my grandma too..). I think she was relieved when i got smacked in the mouth at netball 2 days after the piercing, knocked out the ball, and the ring came out in my sleep. It's a good thing that I just don't care what they think anymore!
Anyways, about a week ago, I went and saw a movie with a good friend of mine ('the ring'.... damn creepy) and I had been toying with the idea of getting my ear done, with the intention of stretching it. I fought off the urge the night before to pull the old 'safety pin and block of ice' trick, and while walking through the shopping plaza, I decided to get it done. $10.95 Australian (which seems to be about $0.45 US cents nowadays!) for standard ear piercing. I never found out whether they were done with the dreaded gun, as I got a sudden change of heart, and booked in to get my nipple pierced.
I was told to come back in an hour, and I scuttled out of the shop, spending the next hour wandering around, sucking down cokes and feeling queasy. I'd read a heap of experiences on BME, and knew it involved a fair amount of pain. I had to fight the urge to just walk away and not go to the appointment, but then I found myself signing the piercing document, and showing some ID, before walking into a tiny room at the back of the Accessories shop (which, by the way, is a real tacky, chintzy looking store that sells wigs and studded belts to teenyboppers). I had heard that they weren't the best piercing studio in town, but they were very cheap ($40) and I figured that as long as everything looked above board, I would be ok.
I wasn't allowed to take my friend in with me for moral support (would that be for sanitation issues) and so I was alone with a young lady (looking about my age), with no shirt on, lying down on a padded table. I asked her how long she had been piercing (11 months. I know this might seem short, but I figure everyone has to start somewhere), and there was little ceremony before she swabbed my nipple and clamped it. I didn't really feel the clamps at all, they were a minor discomfort, and as I was staring at the ceiling, I didn't know when the needle was coming. For some reason, when she was wriggling the clamps around, I was thinking, 'is this it?',' was that it?', just hoping I would be one of those people who just doesn't feel it.
Then there was a searing, and indefinable pain through my nipple. It was very odd, like someone was pinching the whole nipple very hard, and then the pressure eased and the CBR was slipped through. I sat up and looked for bleeding (none) got my shirt on (still in a large amount of pain) and walked out like a hunchback to stop the shirt from contacting my freshly adorned chest.
The only aftercare advice I got was to soak it in sea salts, and I have been trying to do that twice a day, and just throwing in an antibacterial soap wash once in a while. I'm not sure whether this is recommended, but I also put a dab of lanolin on it at one stage. The salt and soap was drying out the nipple, and after one application of this, it looks much healthier.
I don't particularly want to go swimming with it yet (I don't trust the river!) despite the 30 + degree's that we have been getting around here lately. And I also wear my seatbelt weird so that it doesn't rub any more than it has to.
I really like the look of it, and when you are walking around or bending over, the ring moves around, making you exquisitely aware of your nipple. It's a great feeling!
One week later, pain is pretty minimal, except my girlfriend seems to inadvertently whoop it once in a while. But it seems to be standing up well.
Anyways, that's my story! Might write about my eyebrow, lip, or tongue at some stage, whenever I feel the urge. Thanks for reading!
-jason