"Modern piercing enthusiasts-particularly the gay and SM subcultures-explored the erotic potential of their bodies and started what has become the current style of nipple piercing. These days, people from all walks of life are experiencing the delights of this piercing."
— Elayne Angel, The Piercing Bible
Picking a piercer: More important than you think
So, you've decided to get your nipples pierced. Great! Now what? Most people would start looking for jewelry first. Actually, you should be doing that next to last, and at the piercing shop.
The first thing you should be doing is finding a piercer. And a skilled one. Nipple piercings are advanced piercings and you shouldn't have any ol' piercer doing it. (You shouldn't have just anyone doing ANY piercing for that matter.) The piercer you choose should be personable and willing to answer ANY questions you may have in a friendly and open manner. He/she should not be grouchy or hesitant to talk to you, no matter how many questions you have. Also, look at their portfolio. See how their piercings have looked and turned out in the past. Do an internet search on them and their shop and see what kind of reputation they have.
Next, check out how well they maintain their sterilization. Ask what kind of equipment they use. Do they have current spore tests? (If you don't know what these are, they are strips that contain heat resistant spores. They are run through the autoclave to kill the spores. If all the spores are destroyed, then the autoclave is up to standards of sterilization.) Does the piercer change gloves whenever he's touched something unsterile? Or does he/she just wear the same ones the whole time?
This may seem extreme, but it can really help in determining who to go to for piercing and who to stay away from.
Now that you've gone through all the other stuff in choosing a piercer, you get to the fun part! (Well, the fun part aside from actually getting and having the piercing.)
The best quality jewelry will be available at the shop itself. Some shops actually do not allow you to bring in your own jewelry (this being because not all jewelry is high-quality enough to withstand sterilization in an autoclave.) The piercer I went to selected the jewelry for me because he held a special standard for initial piercings. (He used high-polish, internally-threaded surgical steel). Some shops stick to basic barbells for initial piercings, others have jewelry with clear or colored gems in them. The shops that don't allow you to use your own jewelry will have theirs stored in sterile packages.
The shops that do allow the use of your own jewelry will sometimes sterilize it for you, but only if it can withstand the heat of an autoclave. If a shop accepts your own jewelry and only soaks it in alcohol or wipes it down with some other cleaner, don't go to them. That's not actually getting the job done and there will still be bacteria on the jewelry.
Best materials for jewelry are implant-grade surgical steel, titanium, and some "bioplasts." Bioplast is a special kind of flexible plastic that is inert enough to be used in the body. (Acrylic is NOT a bioplast and should NEVER be used for an initial or healing piercing.) Gold is sometimes used, but if you are going to use gold in an initial piercing, use ONLY full 24 karat gold. Most "gold" jewelry is either mixed with another material, or only gold-plated and therefore not good for initial piercings.
Getting jewelry from chain stores like Claire's are cheap in both price and quality. (I have many, many reasons why you should never go to Claire's for a piercing, but that's a whole other blog.)
Now that you have your piercer and your jewelry, you're ready to get pierced!
Most people are worried about pain or losing sensation. The pain is temporary. To me, it felt similar to a time when my nipples were REALLY cold and stood so strong at attention that it was painful, but no worse than that. (Nipple piercing is actually a little more painful for men because there is less slack in the tissue. Men are also not actually pierced through the true "nipple" but actually in the areola below the nipple.)
You should also not lose any sensation in the nipple after it is pierced if you have gone to a skilled piercer who knows what they are doing and handles the job well. Most people who have lost sensation in their nipples after getting pierced went to someone who did it wrong, because that's not something that should occur with a proper job.
A skilled piercer will not only make sure the job is done well, but will take time to make sure your barbells are placed evenly (that is, if you are getting both done. Most do. My piercer was very professional and took special care to make sure they were very evenly placed.)
If done well, the beads of each barbell will rest flush against the nipple on each side and accent the nipple in a very sexy way. It can enhance the look of the nipple, and therefore, of the overall breast. (Or pectoral, if you are a man.)
Now that your nips are actually pierced, you should take special care to make sure they stay looking good and sexy!
Cleaning them with saline solution 2-3 times a day for the first few months helps maintain them. Believe it or not, plain, run-of-the-mill contact cleaning solution does the trick. Soak a cotton ball with it and dab off the crusties gently. Don't let anyone touch or put their mouth on it for the first three weeks. And always, always WASH YOUR HANDS before cleaning them.
DO NOT USE:
Peroxide
Rubbing alcohol
Vaseline
Bacitracin
Also, specialized "aftercare" products are not always reliable. H2Ocean is not advisable. (They say they are "natural" but the ingredients come from unnamed bodies of salt water and unfiltered. You would basically be putting dirty sea water in your piercing.)
It takes 9 months for these piercings to fully heal. Even if it looks like it is healed on the outside, the channel will still be healing on the inside.
If everything has gone smoothly, you should be able to enjoy your nipple piercings in many ways! Whether you got them for the sexual enjoyment in a relationship, or just for your own dirty little under-the-shirt secret (or not-so-secret *wink*) these are a fun and sexy piercing to enhance your body.
*For women who are breastfeeding, you can still get your nipples pierced and not have issues. This is a common concern. The nipple is made up of several small ducts, not a single large one, so you should not have any issues breastfeeding.
awesome!
Glad you liked it