And Now For Something Completely Different

So K, you are going to judge me within an inch of my life. I merely request that this not make it back to the parentals.

So... yesterday I got my nipples pierced. It was something I'd been thinking about for a couple of years, and DAYUM does it look cute having sparkliness on my boobies. Seriously, I think my boobs were made for jewelry.

I had delayed getting it for several years because I was super afraid of how much it would hurt. That is sensitive tissue! It's not like piercing ears which have few nerves...

But we had the number of a highly recommended piercer and I called him with all my questions. He was very sweet, very informative and highly friendly (over the phone). He explained that actually a cartilage piercing hurts worse than nipples as it's harder tissue. That he always makes it incredibly quick and easy, and that the pain really is negligible.

In person, he was EQUALLY sweet, informative and friendly, but he was also very calming (I was a bucket of nerves) and highly professional. He methodically laid everything out in the procedure room in a way that even -I- understood without having to ask -- which I super appreciated. It was well set up.

As to the actual pain? The IUD hurt more because it was about equal pain but SUSTAINED. This was painful yes, but only for approximately 1 second, and then a different kind of pain to shift the bar in position instead of the needle (which is a really cool way that they do that -- the needle is hollow and the same gauge as the bar. So the screw side of the bar can fit inside the needle, and they just slide together until the needle is out and the bar is in!) and then it was done. The second one hurt a little more, not quite sure why, but I also jumped a little and got a tiny scratch. :-P

I was able to sleep on my side as per normal, and after about an hour or 2 after the procedure, my boobs were no longer like "OH HEY PAY ATTENTION TO US SOMETHING IS GOING ON" and merely commented if I bumped them. There was no blood, no nothing. My body takes to piercing surprisingly well.

In the aftercare discussion, I learned some surprising things. Apparently, it's no longer recommended to put hydrogen peroxide or alcohol on piercings as they can dry out and irritate the skin too much. They recommend a saline solution (no saltier than a potato chip) 2-3 times a day. Also, to not twist the piercing (as I'd always been told with earrings). Old piercings used less quality metal that was porous -- and the skin could actually GROW INTO the stud. Ew. But he uses surgical steel (non-porous) and the skin will heal much better being undisturbed. The other thing was he pierced with a barbell, and I'm pretty sure friends who got their bellybuttons pierced in middle and high school and they had rings put in. Apparently my piercer does not recommend rings because there's more surface area to get germs on, it's more likely to get snagged while healing, and it often twists in the hole. All of these lead me to say: thank the gods I have a smart piercer!

Also, in my worries about how much it would hurt, and everything involving getting pierced, I looked up a lot of information on the internet. It looks like a lot of people have had really bad experiences and poor piercers. I've also heard before that the part that hurt the most was the forceps being clamped on. No clamping, no pain with forceps at all. I've also heard so many horror stories about free-hand piercing with NO forceps (omg no no no), sideways piercing, piercing with hoops... etc. I think I lucked out with having the best gods-damned piercer in the area. And he was so nice to boot!

So! If you're in the Boston area and want a piercing (or a tattoo) go to Pino Bros in Inman Square, Cambridge.