At A Glance
Author	Se7eN
Contact	freak_on_a_metal_leash@hotmail.com
When	It just happened
Artist	Cory Ward
Studio	Siful Skin Tattoo
Location	Cookeville, Tennessee

So as to avoid confusion let me explain that I haven't fully developed nipples. As genetics would have it I actually have no nipples, but now I do have areolas. Some would say oh that I have nipples that they are just recessed but I assure you I have none. Now that I have full and probably overly explained that on

with the story.

So you know the story, your on the computer looking at pics of strangers holes and you realize to yourself that one particular hole looks interesting and may possibly look as well on you. Well among my many nightly visits to BME I have come across a few holes that I wouldn't mind having. One such hole was the all too common nipple piercing. Now it was not just any nipple piercing mind you, it happened to be the vertical piercing style that I most liked. Soon a lot of thought and debate followed. And wouldn't you know it but soon enough thought gave

way to decision.

Now you may say, hey Se7en, how do you get a nipple piercing without nipples? Well it is very simple, for you see what I do have is areola and areola is the base of a nipple. So therefore why not have the areola pierced.(this is where you say oh I see)

With this thought in mind and the nudge of a wife all this soon became reality. So off we went to see our friend Cory. Let me add that Cory was a recent addition to my town and an almost instant friend. So for one reason or another we are always at his shop a lot of nights. Questions upon questions I ask about procedures and process and how-to's. Then the infamous, can it be done question.

We talked a lot on placement possibilities, jewelry, sizes/styles, and when to do it. My wife decided some of this for me so it was going to happen on a Saturday when I would be recently paid and off work a night. Happened yesterday actually 11-15-2003! So anyways off to Cory's and he had a few tats to do so we ended up going back about three times before we finally caught a break in his

schedule.

When we arrived he was currently working on our friend Sara who was receiving the outline for a thigh piece. Tosha(my wife) proclaimed to Cory that we have arrived to get my nipples done. So we waited for the outline to get finished and then came the moment of truth.

First off I had to decide on jewelry. I am fond of captives for my ears and all but not for a vertical nipple. So I decided on a one inch long barbell for the job. I took an unsterilized one and held it up to where I wanted it to sit and talked of its

placement with Cory. Now here is where it gets different. I wanted it to be placed vertically and pass entirely under my areola. I figured this way I could have my whole nipple pierced. At least what I have of one.

We talked some more and off came the shirt. At the same time Cory went off to get his rolling piercing cart. When he had retrieved his supplies he got out some tooth picks and tattoo ink to ink blot the placement. I should also add that I have a hairy chest so shaving was required. He took and carefully placed the

future home of my holes and we decided to make some adjustments to make them as straight as possible. After numerous adjustments and mirror viewings for accuracy we were ready.

Cory being the friend that he is constantly repeated the fact that this was going to hurt. This started shortly after I told him what I wanted. Along with a few of my other friends present at the shop. All of which said over and over it was going to hurt. DUH!

So here I am sitting in the chair with seven people all looking on at what was going to happen. So here came Cory with the clamps, and as always the clamps were worse than the piercing. Now without nipples the areola is fairly difficult to get a proper grasp on. Solution, clamp what he could and pull the rest in. Now let me say that clamps hurt a lot more when your skin has to be pulled

inside them without relieving pressure. Felt like he was using a cheese shredder.

Now finally after pulling and tugging and placing, everything was ready. I started controlled breathing to keep calm and relaxed during the process. And with the prick of the needle I started my long deep exhale as I have done on all my piercings. Usually I can make the breath go the length of the piercing. That is until I happened to look down and realized that he was only half way through! So here I go with the breathing to try and stay calm and keep focused. At long last I finally saw the needle poke through and with it came a sigh of relief.

Here's what I got. Take a nickel(US or Canadian) pretend that is your nippleless areola and have a 14g one inch barbell placed entirely behind it and that would be what the right side of my chest looks like. So from the top of my areola to the bottom is my new piece of steel. It looks so at home there. To my surprise

there has been no bleeding since the need was put through.

Cory confessed that had never done such a piercing before but I thought he did it exactly as I wanted. Later he told me that he struggled to get it through. I could feel it believe me. Only thing that was more trouble than that was a rook he did a few weeks ago.

The moral of the story, don't let a misformed piece of skin sway you from reaching your vision of you. Or at least getting a nipple piercing without a nipple.