At A Glance
Author	professional cynic
Contact	professional cynic@bme.anon
IAM	professional cynic
When	Six months ago
Studio	Metal Morphosis
Location	London

The Background

This is the tale of my nipple piercing. It wasn't a piercing that I had always desperately wanted, but it wasn't just one I decided to get done for the sake of having something pierced. I put a lot of thought into it beforehand, and made sure I knew what I was getting myself in for. I researched suitable studios, and found one I thought I would be happy going to: Metal Morphosis, in Soho, London. I could have gone to the place in my town, where I have had most of my other piercings, done, but to be honest, as silly as it sounds, I knew I would feel slightly uncomfortable having someone so close to home being that near my breast! So, having decided on the studio to go to, which nipple I wanted done, and what type of jewellery I wanted, I set off on the trip to Soho.

My Experience

Upon arrival at Metal Morphosis, I must admit, I was a little put off. Not enough to make me want to leave, but just enough to make me slightly uncomfortable. I was left standing around for quite a while, waiting for the man on reception to give me some sort of acknowledgement. When he did, I explained what I wanted, and was asked to pay for it there and then. I usually pay after the piercing has been performed, but I didn't argue. I filled out the consent forms and waited for the piercer to be with me.

After a few minutes, he came out from one of the piercing rooms and called me through. He was not unfriendly in any way, but it appeared as if he wanted to get me done in a bit of a hurry. He explained that he wanted me to take off my top, and move my bra down on the side I wanted to be pierced. I had chosen the left, so I took off my top, and pulled down the left side of my bra. I was surprised that I didn't feel more uncomfortable than I did, but my reasoning is that he was a total stranger, and I would probably never see him again in my life.

Next, he marked the placement with a toothpick dipped in ink. He asked me to look in the mirror to check I was happy with it. It looked ok to me, so we continued. I had to lie down on the bed/chair while he prepared everything. He showed me that he was removing everything from sterile pouches, and that he wasn't reusing any needles or anything. He was then ready to begin. I took some comfort in the fact that he was using an anaesthetic spray, as having a needle through my nipple, and actually having to feel it isn't really my idea of fun! So, he sprayed it on, and then proceeded with the piercing. The anaesthetic hadn't fully numbed my nipple, and I hadn't expected it to, so I had been prepared for some minor discomfort. Putting the ring through (I had chosen a 14ga titanium BCR) was the most uncomfortable part, as the ball didn't seem to want to clip in.
Once that was all done and dusted, he covered my nipple with a dressing, which I must say, looked very attractive poking over the top of my jumper! I got up, carefully pulled up my bra, and put my top and jumper back on. The piercer actually seemed very keen to get rid of me, and I suspect he was the sort that ran on a "get it done as quick as possible" basis. He handed me the aftercare sheet, and didn't explain it much, and that was that. I was very surprised to find that once I was out of the piercing room, there was another employee standing at the doorway to the reception area smoking. Anyone who has been there before probably knows that it isn't well ventilated, as it is down a flight of stairs, so I didn't feel it to be appropriate.

After The Piercing

When I arrived home, I took off the dressing and was actually disappointed to find that his placement was totally off. I could clearly see the blue marks of the ink he had used, and the entry and exit holes were not actually very close to where they were meant to be. I had wanted it to be very straight, and directly through the nipple, but it looks as if he had pierced much deeper than I would have expected, and more through the areola. I didn't think that my nipples were "too small" to be pierced in that way, and if he had found that they were, I would have appreciated him telling me what he was going to do.

But, I decided I would just see how things went, so I did a salt soak, to get rid of the dried blood, and to make it a little more comfortable. For the first few days, I salt soaked once in the morning and once in the evening. After that, I decided I would just give it a good rinse every time I bathed/showered, and would salt soak once in a while. I have found in the past that my piercings do not need a lot of fuss made over them, unless of course there appears to be a problem with them, in which case, a bit of babying is all it takes.

5 Months On

I've had my piercing for 5 months now, and I have still not grown to like the placement. I don't expect it to be fully healed by now, but it is still giving me some problems with crusties, and the like fairly often. After giving it some time to settle, it is apparent that it is wonky, which has annoyed me quite a lot. But all I can say, is learn from what you do in the past, and if you're not happy with placement, etc then either ask the studio to redo it, or take it out and allow it to heal. Make sure you are happy with your piercing, because it is you who has to live with it, not anyone else.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions/comments.