I had been thinking out loud of piercing my nipples for about a year. Literally out loud.
At A Glance Author ~* S *~ Contact ~* S *~@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Julie Studio Braindrops Location San Francisco, CA
Friends, relatives, lovers, complete strangers... few escaped my questions about their attitudes and experiences re: nipple piercing. I usually got a visceral reaction, as in blanching or blushing, shoulders hunching forward protectively, general body shuddering, and an "OHH... I could never do that." I live in a white-bread suburb about 40 miles east of San Francisco, CA, surrounded by yuppies, so quizzing them was more an amusement than a fact-finding mission.
Thankfully, I spend a lot of time in SF. My friends there are vastly more accepting and some have had their nipples "done." Unanimously, I was told it would be very painful and slow to heal, but worth it, and I would thereafter be more aware of my nipples. Wonderful, I thought, because I have never been very aware of them unless someone is paying them a lot of attention. The pain factor didn't scare me much because I had my navel pierced about 5 years ago, have multiple ear piercings, and I am tattooed, especially on my lower back. My other homework consisted of lurking BME and reading up on nipple piercing experiences.
Braindrops was the shop my friends recommended – they have a great local reputation, and they specialize in organics, indigenous/tribal, custom and large-gauge jewelry. I visited them last summer, just to check out the place and the people, and get pricing. A few months before N-Day, I bought a couple of awesome pairs of silver 10g earrings from Julie at a bellydance festival in Sebastopol, CA. The last straw was laid two weeks ago, when I told this guy "J," who *really* wants to get in my pants (okay yeah, maybe the feeling is mutual) that I would let him suck on my nipples 3 months after I get them pierced. He asked, "Oooh, so when are you planning to do that?"
On a lovely Thursday summer's eve in late July, I was on my way to SF for my weekly bellydance class, stuck in traffic on the Bay Bridge. I decided that it didn't matter if I was late to class because this day was N-Day – I would play hooky if necessary in order to do the deed. I called up the shop – 3 times – to 1) doublecheck their hours, 2) doublecheck the price, and 3) doublecheck the directions. Hmmm... maybe I was a little nervous...
When I got there around 6:45pm, as luck would have it, Julie turned out to be my piercer! While she prepped, one of the other piercers processed my papers, put the aftercare pack and the piercing on my plastic, and gave me the aftercare rundown at the front counter. A girl came in as we were talking and asked me what I was getting done. As soon as "nipples" came out of my mouth, she blushed, her shoulders hunched, her body shuddered, and then she goes, "OHHH... I could never do that" :)
The shop is decked out beautifully – ethnically, artistically and botanically, with lots of light and space. The room I was to be pierced in has a beautiful shisha-mirror quilt and pictures of tribal/ethnic pierced people from all over the world on the walls. I felt quite at home – well, not quite - I *wish* my apartment looked that great! I felt at ease and in good hands.
Julie and I chatted a bit as she finished getting ready. Turns out Julie had taken classes at the same dance studio as I, and had pierced some of the people there. She was very quick and professional. She marked me up and we checked me in the mirror and she said I have the perfect nipples for piercing. I knew from previous conversations with the other piercers that they start nipples out with 12g barbells with large balls on the ends, then you can trade out after a couple of weeks.
Julie said that dealing with the pain was all in the breathing, as I lay down on her table, and she asked me which nipple I wanted her to start with. I chose my right nipple because my right breast is more sensitive, and I think of her as my little guinea pig: she was the location of my very first tattoo 2 weeks after I turned 18, and I always offer her first to new lovers. :)
When I was ready, she told me I'd feel a pinch, but that she wasn't piercing yet. It was a hell of a pinch – and it prepped me somewhat for what was to come. Then she said to breathe in, and then out. As I breathed out, she pushed the needle through.
FUCK.
I groaned involuntarily through closed lips as Julie pushed the needle through, then she said "slidey feeling!" as she slid the barbell through. Actually, I didn't feel any slidey feeling because the residual pain of the needle insertion eclipsed all else. She screwed the ends on the barbells, and as soon as she took her hands away, my nipple woke up! It was cold, it was hot, it was hurting, but in a very strange and good way... it was the most extraordinary feeling.
She repeated the process with the other side, and I didn't groan that time, though it hurt just as much. I confessed to Julie that I didn't feel any slidey feeling. She said that was okay, she had to tell me what was going on anyway.
Again, that "waking up" feeling with the other nipple. She cleaned me up and reiterated the care instructions. I felt a rush as I looked in the mirror and posed for portfolio pics. I swear I would have been horny if my tits hadn't hurt so damn much. They were beautiful!
We finished up, and on the way out, I called to the girl that was waiting, "It didn't hurt a bit!" just to see her shudder again, then I bounced out the door. On the way to my car, I looked at my cell and was amazed to see it was only 7:15. Despite the pain, which was quickly subsiding anyway, I decided to go to bellydance class anyway. I blasted across town and made it in 20 minutes. I knew it was probably not a good idea, and I probably wouldn't make it through class, but I was so adrenalized I wanted to give it a shot.
I noticed that during class, I was way more aware of my chest in general, probably because of the minor pain, but mostly because I was so amped up from the experience. And I was really on, dancing better than usual, more in tune with the music than usual, and my chest had an extra "lift" to it. An hour-and-a-half breezed by, and I was not in any more or less pain than before class. I exclaimed, "I did it!" to a group of my friends and fellow dancers. I told them I had my nipples pierced, and they begged me to show them. I peeked out my left one for them. They were amazed that the jewelry was such a large gauge, but agreed that my left nipple looked great.
Later when I got home, I cleaned my *beautiful nipples* using Satin and q-tips, then soaked them for 10 minutes in twin bowls filled with warm water and 1/4 tsp. of sea salt. On my belly, one breast in each bowl - so attractive! And so uncomfortable - that position is rotten on my lower back. Things improved when I put two pillows under my pelvis, so now my breasts aim directly down into the bowls. Thank goddess I'm only a B+ cup or I would have to figure out some other kind of arrangement. I must go through this ritual 3x per day for the next 3 months.
It's Sunday night, and my nipples feel a bit painful, and they get tiny blood crusties, but this happens less and less every day. I've found that a bra during the day is a good thing – it protects my now *very sensitive* nipples from casual brushes and clothing rubbing. Instead of being in pain, mostly I am hyper-aware of them all the time. It is a really new experience to feel my nipples so much... to be constantly horny and want to play with them, but alas, my they are forbidden fruit – hands off for 3 months.
Heheh. Watch out, "J!"