The Needle Phobe goes for a Third Piercing

Before I say anything else, I want to make one thing very clear: I am deathly afraid of needles. I know that sounds ridiculous since I'm writing about a piercing, but bear with me- when I had to go get a hepatitis shot before freshman year of college, I started bawling in the doctor's office as he prepared the needle- and I was 17 years old. When I got my first needle piercing (tongue) I chickened out at the last minute and my boyfriend had to march me out the door to make me go through with it.

So, those facts taken into account...I decided last week that since my college refund check had cleared and I now had an expected 1,000 more dollars in my bank account- and since I had been working too many hours and thought I deserved a reward- I would go and get a new piercing. Although I considered inner-labia rings, what deterred me was the lack of sex for a few weeks until they healed. Since my job prohibits me from having any visual facial piercings (I barely got away with the tongue) and even non-traditional ear piercings (Again, I barely got away with a small stud in my cartilage) and I didn't want a navel (too overdone), the nipples seemed the most logical choice.

Because most of my friends were on my day off and I wanted to surprise my boyfriend, I went by myself- another first. Tuesday afternoon I drove to Marc's Tattoos and Piercing in Stroudsburg, PA, having been very impressed with Mat's work on my tongue- I can't recommend the studio enough, they're amazingly professional and cool. Although I had been very nervous and freaked-out about getting pierced again for the last few days, once I got to the studio I began to calm down, knowing it was almost finished.

I made a mistake by not calling up and checking the prices of piercings, though, and was short five bucks from doing both nipples on one day. Not letting this deter me, I asked Mat if he would do my right nipple, and then if I liked the piercing I could come back on Friday for the other one. I think this actually turned out to be a better idea because Mat pierces nipples in a 12 gauge (the standard is 14, which is smaller) and I was unsure if the larger gauge would make my nipple look out of proportion or not.

So I gave Mat a minute to set up his equipment and then walked into his little piercing room and sat down on the bench. We chatted about my previous tongue piercing and a few other things. The one idiosyncracy I do have about piercing is that I can't be allowed to look at the needle, because I panic...so, like last time, I told Mat not to let me see the needle, and he kind of chuckled but said ok.

When he was ready he said, "I'm ready whenever you are," and I took off my shirt and bra and stood up for him to clean me with iodine and mark me. It was a little weird having some guy see my boobs stuck in his face but I got over it after a minute or two.

After he marked me where the jewelry would go (not the easiest thing to do because I was shaking a little from nerves) he had me sit back down and I closed my eyes. "Okay," he said, "Now I'm going to put the clamps on you, which might be a little uncomfy, but then I'm going to have you take a deep breath and on the exhale I'll pierce you." I told him okay and felt the clamps going on...which I could feel because of the pressure (feels like someone pinching your nipple) but which didn't really hurt all that much. He told me to take a deep breath and I did. I felt the needle enter and exit but it was a curious sensation- although I felt it, it really didn't HURT. Or if it did, it was the way a scrape on your knee might hurt...just a little, not enough for you to really pay attention. The piercing was also SO fast that I barely had time to blink and it was over.

Then I felt him slide the jewelry in and he kind of smiled and said, "The needle is away, you can look." and I opened my eyes and watched him snap the little ball on the CBR. I was actually stunned that it was so quick and painless.

Mat dabbed off a little bit of blood that was oozing out and let me look in the mirror, and I instantly fell in love with my new ring. He then let me put my bra and shirt back on and told me the routine care for piercings, which I'm used to, being on my third- salt water solution 3-4 times a day, don't touch the ring, etc. Then we went out into the waiting area and I paid Matt 60$- 50$ plus a 10$ tip. He told me if I came back that weekend to get the second one, he'd only charge me 40$ for it- so in two days I'm planning on going back for another one, and I'm not scared a bit this time.

***Afterwards: My boyfriend loved my new piercing (he has his nipples done also and loves them) so it was a very good surprise. Although it was quite sore and bled a bit that evening, it may have been because I bumped it at work or something like that- anyways, it wasn't anything unbearable. I dabbed the blood off and soaked it twice in saltwater and when I woke up this morning, already the pain was gone! I'm already planning my next piercing.

For anyone who wants to get a nipple or nipples pierced I highly recommend it- don't be afraid, just up and go get it- the less afraid you are, the easier it is, and if a wimp like me can do it, ANYONE can!