At A Glance
Author	morningstar
Contact	morningstar@bme.anon
When	A week ago
Studio	Way Cool Tattoos - Queen
Location	Toronto, Ontario

I have always said that one of the only places I would never get pierced was my nipples. Well last week I had a change of heart.

I went with a friend and watched her get two more lip rings (now she has 3 hoops across her bottom lip) and after that I was fiending to have something pierced myself. The only problem is that my family is completely anti-piercing or anti-body modification of any sort. They were not pleased at all when I had my bellybutton pierced... same when I got my tongue web done. Although I don't live with my parents anymore, they are paying for me to go to college so I want to stay on good terms with them. This meant that I could only get piercings that I would be able to hide which limited me greatly. After talking to some people and reading countless stories on BME, I decided that nipple piercing didn't sound so bad anymore. It didn't seem as painful as I feared.

On a chilly Thursday evening I hopped on the subway with a friend (for moral support) and we headed down to Way Cool Tattoos. I chose this studio because they have been in operation for over 10 years, so I figured they had to be doing something right. I talked to the piercer, who was really friendly, paid, signed my life away, and headed into the room where I was to be pierced. He explained to me all that I would need to know as he cleaned and marked my nipples.

I lay down on the table and the clamp was on—there was no turning back now. He told me to relax, but I was terrified. He got me breathing more calmly and then put the needle through. It was the most terrible pain EVER! I screamed and proceeded to swear at him as he put the ring in (I apologized for this later). The needle didn't hurt that much going in, but on the way out it felt like it was tearing through me! And it felt like it took forever to go through, but in fact it took only a second.

By this time I was having doubts about getting the second one done, but I lay there for a few moments and the pain vanished remarkably. I only had the raw feeling associated with all new piercings and a slight burning sensation. I was ready for the second nipple to be pierced. He went through the same procedure as with the first and before I knew it I was done. The second one hurt far less than the first. I was done. I did it. I got my nipples pierced.

He gave me the aftercare information and a number to call if anything went wrong and I was on my way.

The first night was hell. I was in so much pain that I had to sleep topless with the heat cranked because I couldn't even pull up the sheets all the way. I was sore over the next few days, but the pain wasn't unbearable or anything... until Monday morning.

I woke up with so much pain that I could barely even move my left arm. The pain was intense and worst in my left breast, which was red and had a swollen lump around the piercing. It also spread all down my left arm, which really worried me. I took some extra strength Tylenol and made my way to class. After a couple hours the pain was so intense that I thought I was going to pass out, at which point my teacher told me to go home because I looked like crap.

I did make it home, and went to call Way Cool Tattoos, but they weren't open until noon. I then called New Tribe (another very reputable studio in the city) and explained my problem. We came to the conclusion after only a few short minutes that the rings I was pierced with were too small and this was most likely causing my problems because they were putting uneven pressure on my nipples.

A few minutes later I was again on a subway heading downtown. When I arrived, I talked to the person at the counter and she remembered me from my phone call and got the piercer for me. He brought me into a room and took a look at me. Yup, the rings were FAR TOO SMALL! He told me that he had seen 3 other people in the past week alone come in with the same problem. He measured my nipples and explained to me why proper sized jewelry was so important. Then he grabbed the proper sized rings and offered to change the jewelry for me.

I was afraid of the pain, but it was nothing compared to the pain of being pierced. When the new jewelry was in, I felt better almost instantly. My left breast was still really tender but I could feel the pressure had been reduced greatly.

I thanked R.J. (the piercer who fixed me =) ), paid, and again was on my way home.

I was very pleased with the service at New Tribe. They were very friendly, helpful and informative. R.J. even told me to call sometime in about a week just to let him know how I was doing.

Today (two days later) I'm feeling fine. My left breast is still recovering but the redness has nearly vanished and I feel almost no pain at all unless my shirt rubs against my nipples or they get aggravated.

I am cleaning them with an antibacterial soap, and soaking them in a sea salt solution every other day and using tea tree oil as well. I find the tea tree oil to be very soothing and the sea salt soaks seem to keep crusties at bay. They look great, and feel pretty good considering I have only had them for a week.

While my experience with nipple piercing was not exactly what I hoped it to be, at least I can say that it is going well now, and I did learn a lot. I do recommend this piercing to anyone who is interested, but advise you to do your research first! Know what proper piercings look like, and learn what to avoid. Remember, appearances can be deceiving. Even though your piercer seems knowledgeable and is able to answer all your questions with ease that doesn't mean they know what they are doing. I could probably answer just as many questions as a piercer, but that doesn't mean I know anything about the art of piercing itself.

Good luck, and stay safe!