At A Glance
Author	Liz
Contact	Liz@bme.anon
When	A month ago
Artist	Mik Miller
Studio	BodyXtreme
Location	Quincy, MA

I began my quest for my most prized piercing (an outer labia) with a Rook. Say What?!

It has been a very roundabout trip. My Rook experience can be found on BME under "NEVER TOO LATE FOR METAL," April 2004.

Next was a Horizontal Hood. {Still no labia} My account of this piercing can also be found on BME, under

"Why Did I wait So Long?" May 2004.

As I described in that account, I had some bleeding and the pain was real but nothing unbearable. But as many others have written, the pain is over as soon as it begins and I had a rapid healing. I had some bruising and tenderness but that was gone within 48 hrs or so. I adored my piercing the minute I looked at it. LOVED IT!

I waited two weeks and had the urge for another piercing. Whoever said piercing can become habit forming was correct. It was a dark rainy weekend and I was not up for the long ride to Gloucester. I decided to return to BodyXtremes, the studio closer to home where I got my Rook.

I got a ride, was dropped off a few doors down. I went in myself. A young kid manning the front counter asked what I wanted. I answered,

"I want my nipples pierced." HUH? Where did that come from?

I really had never desired pierced nipples before. Yes, I had seen them and read accounts from other women on BME but my request surprised even me.

My oldest daughter was going to return to pick me up in an hour. She is 19 yrs old and was the one who dropped me off up the street from BodyXtremes. She did not know where I was going or what I was going to do; no one did.

This is where it all began, where my Rook 'ruse' took place. I had not changed my mind about getting my genital piercing somewhere else but I didn't mind a bit if my nipples were observed, swabbed, examined and perforated by this big, tattooed, pierced veteran.

Mik Miller is a big man with ink and metal covering nearly every inch of visible skin. Mik explained that he is "old school." He does not use clamps and he doesn't use a receiving tube~ free hand all the way. Mik is an expert/professional in every sense of the word and once I uttered the words, "Pierce my nipples."

I was psyched!

A young kid, Steve, was training and would observe while the Master did the actual piercing. After calling my name, I went to the back with the two of them. I removed my shirt, remained standing and Mik marked my nipples while Steve watched closely. Then I sat and got the marks checked again while seated. It seemed like only seconds later Mik was opening sterile packages and asking me if I was ready.

All the deep breathing in the world cannot prepare you for a piercing, not really. It helps, yes, but with me it has no calming effect whatsoever.

Mik pierced the right nipple first. Wow! Very intense, very quick, sharp pain. The initial hit of pain morphed into a deep burn; I responded with a lungfull of air and a smidgen of a whimper. A very short pause and Mik said, "Alright, ready?"

And with that he pierced the left nipple. In seconds it was all over- both were done. I did not look down. Blood doesn't faze me but needles do. I was very relieved to know it was time for the jewelry.

"Was I 'bad'?" I asked him.

"Bad" he asked incredulously?

"You? You were great. Men are the worst. I've had men cry, scream, even pass out."

He spoke to me as Steve inserted the 14g CBR's (5/8s). To my eye they looked like hoola hoops; they looked that big. But he assured me that I would heal better this way and I could come back at a later time and have the jewelry changed.

I loved these piercings at first sight- just like my horizontal hood {less than one week earlier}.

Listen, I am 46 yrs old. I am five feet one and weigh close to 100 pounds. I have a petite frame and a tight little body. I also have five kids, 12 to 20 and I know that many people judge folks unfairly by the way they look. I'm sure that some might think as they saw me-

"Oh, look at her, she must be trying to recapture her youth" but that is not the case. If you think about it, my piercings are all invisible to the casual observer, well except for the Rook.

I have finally allowed myself to be myself, express myself in this very beautiful, very personal way. If someone doesn't like it- young or old, well, they can stick it. It is my body and I wouldn't begrudge anyone else the chance to celebrate their bodies with modifications of their choosing.

I've read accounts where girls can't wait to show anyone and everyone their piercings. They tell anyone who will listen that they have their clit pierced or their hood done. Maybe because I'm older, or maybe it's my personality but I could go to my grave without informing the world that I'm pierced. To me it is not important that people know. These piercings aren't for their amusement- they are for my pleasure; my enjoyment and they are a very personal thing.

Do people feel the need to crow about it because it makes them look hard? I often read the question that customers will ask piercers,

"Does it hurt?"

How can a piercer keep a straight face when asked such a question?

Yeah, it hurts. You are getting a sharp metal object shoved through living tissue; it's supposed to hurt. But pain is relative. What I might find painful, another person might think is nothing. Hey, childbirth hurts but it didn't stop me from doing it five times.

If you just accept that pain is part of the piercing experience and go with the flow- you will be less apprehensive and there will be no surprises. "Does it hurt?" Too funny!

Today is Thursday July 8th. Plenty of time has elapsed since my nipples were pierced, now it was time to change my "hoola hoop" sized CBR's to something less b-i-g. The gage is fine but I'd like a smaller diameter.

When I arrived at the shop, Steve was sitting on the couch in the waiting room talking to the counter kid. The place was empty. I explained that I wanted the ring changed in my Rook and in both nipples. The size of the ear jewelry was clear but for the breasts, he'd have to take a look. We went to the back room and I pulled down my camisole. He agreed with me about the size, we'd go with a 3/8 and we returned to the front counter to pay up.

The price of having 3 new ring changes was a shock! I had my piercings done at this shop and the new jewelry {3 Surgical Steel CBR's with a white Tiger's Eye bead in each} added with the changing fee was sixty- nine dollars! I thought it would be much less.

I wanted it done and it would be impossible for me to do it myself so I agreed, produced the plastic (I had only brought $50 dollars cash with me) and made it official with a credit card.

Is it true that some places do jewelry changes for free if they did the initial piercing? I could have sworn that I read this before.

In just minutes the jewelry was out and the new gear was in.

I thanked Steve and gave him $15. He protested, "That's too much" he said.

"Look, you're good." I told him. "You're a professional and you make me feel comfortable. Take the money, honey, you deserve it."

The way I look at it~ a good tip makes up for the customers who don't tip enough. I'm a former waitress and I've learned that the people who have the most money are often the cheapest.

I can't stand stingy people. It's one thing if you aren't satisfied with the service but why be stingy when it's time to tip? Many people depend heavily on tips. Even though I felt overcharged with the jewelry-changing fee, the piercer is not responsible for that. He doesn't set prices.

While sitting and having my jewelry changed, I commented on how quiet the shop was. Steve sadly agreed, a quiet waiting room is a drag. When I was leaving the waiting room was full. At the counter were 4 or 5 young girls and a woman who I assumed had to be someone's mother. It looked like business was just about to pick up! Hey, when it rains it pours.

Now I'm home and to me, the nipple rings look too small. My husband loves them. Steve gave me the original jewelry. If I don't like the rings, I can return and get my hoola hoops reinserted- but I will watch the price very carefully; it shouldn't be nearly that much again.

This story is my 3rd installment, all leading to the day I get my outer labia pierced. So far, I've covered the Rook, the Horizontal Hood and the nipples. That was 3 piercings in one month and I did it by going to different piercers. At this writing, I had my outer labia pierced- twice! That story to follow.

Thanks to BME and everyone who shares their experiences so others can learn.

Namaste, Liz