I had 5 tattoos, and several ear piercings, so you would think that getting my nipples pierced would be no big deal, right? Wrong.
At A Glance Author anonymous When Six months ago Studio Body Bazaar Location Sacramento, Ca I had gone with my roommate 2 weeks earlier when she had hers done, so I was familiar with the process, even though it looked painful. She and another friend of ours agreed to go with me when I got mine, which admittedly was on a whim. I just decided, "I want to go get my nipples pierced. Go with me." And that's where my tale begins.
We went to see the same guy who had pierced my roommate, since I was now familiar with him. I have small breasts, but very large nipples that are not very sensitive. It was my hope that piercing them would help me in this area. I signed the waivers, showed my ID, and gave the man my money. He took me to a small area in the back of the shop where there was a tall padded chair, and my friends followed me in there, where I removed my shirt and sports bra. Amazingly enough, my nipples were already hard, although I'm not sure if it was from the fright, or from it being cold in there (or both).
So, we discussed gauges, jewelry, the usual healing time, my fright, and his ability to do a good job. We decided a 14 gauge would be good for me. He showed me some different jewelry, and I chose the ones I wanted. I was very afraid, so in his efforts to calm me, he assured me everything would be fine, so I tried to relax. I watched as he got the needles, jewelry, and vaseline ready. He used a small marker to mark my left nipple on both sides, and put the clamp on my nipple to keep it still. He had already coated the end of a 14 gauge needle with vaseline, which he said would help the needle to go through with more ease. I closed my eyes and waited with bated breath, and clenched my roommate's hand so hard, she later told me I had left marks on her that took a couple days to go away. When he pierced me with the needle, I screamed like a baby, it hurt me so bad. It felt like my nipple was on fire as he pulled the hollow needle through. It was actually worse when he did the second nipple, and I was almost in tears. I was just glad I didn't bleed (much). I must admit, as I looked in the mirror, I thought they looked pretty. I put on my sports bra, and we left the place.
That night, nothing I did would let me sleep comfortably until I finally put band aids over the piercings, pushing them close against my body to ease the pain some and I was finally able to get some rest. I don't recommend doing that, though, because taking the band aids off hurts way more than I had expected it to. I went the next day and bought sea salt, and dixie cups so my roommate and I could sit together soaking our nipples in the cups and salt. It was quite comical, though her boyfriend sure did not seem to mind one bit.
Over the next few weeks, as they were healing, I noticed something was not right. My roommate's nipples were healing a lot faster than mine were. We would compare our healing, and although she was two weeks ahead of me, something just was not looking right. She was healing a lot faster than I was. I couldn't figure out why hers were healing so quickly, yet mine were still red, sore, and yucky. It had been over a month, and I was still getting crusty constantly, even though I was cleaning them with the warm salt water often like I was instructed to do. Then, 2 months went by, and still they were not healing like they were supposed to. After 2 1/2 months, I took them out, which was a comical experience since I didn't have the correct equipment, and I was reduced to whatever I could find, which consisted of two forks, the ring on either side being pried apart by the prongs of the forks. The holes in my nipples healed quickly over the following week, and relief came.
Come to find out, about a month after they were taken out, and I was at the doctor, I was diagnosed with diabetes, which if you are not familiar with, increases your healing time by a sufficient amount. I have since gotten another tattoo that healed fine, but I think I will put off any more piercings for awhile until I get the diabetes under control.