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My First Time Getting My Nips Pierced

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Cal State LA chapter.

If you ever seen someone with their nipples pierced, I’m sure your subconscious starts firing questions like, “Did that hurt? What was it like?”. To keep in theme of writing “My First Times” on topics that may be extremely personal to some, these are tips and my experience of getting my nips pierced.

1. Always Go To A Reputable Place

When it comes to doing any modification to your body whether it be piercings or tattoos, I cannot stress enough how important it is to go to a reputable place. Going to a place that performs correct sanitation can greatly reduce getting any type of infection or diseases. It is important to understand it’s ok to pay a little extra for a place that will clean their needles properly than one who doesn’t.

2. Go For The Barbells And Nothing Else

There’s many cute nipple rings out there and I understand you would want to have those instead of regular barbells. Although fancy rings have more design and are definitely appealing to the eyes, if your piercer allows you to choose anything besides regular barbells when getting your nipples pierced, say no. Once getting your nips pierced, you become aware how many times your nips actually brush over things and barbells are the safest type of jewelry to have when healing. They are least likely to get caught in your clothes and are the easiest when it comes to cleaning. There’s also an option of having either stainless steel or titanium barbells. I went for titanium because although they are more expensive, it’s a better material for a piercing that is going to be touching something so delicate/sensitive. You’ll have a lower chance of getting an infection with titanium barbells.

3. Like Any Piercings, These Are A Commitment

Piercings take a good while for them to fully heal and these piercings are no exception. On average, this piercing takes from 6 months to a full year to actually heal. Yes, this means, no intense nipple play when it comes to sex for a while. (Friends who have them already pierced have told me you’re good for some nipple play after two months from getting them pierced but it depends on your own healing time)

4. After Care is Extremely Important

It is important to religiously clean your piercings 2-3 times per day especially during the first week of getting your piercings. Use an antimicrobial lotion soap or a spray your piercer recommends. My piercer has recommended Provon’s antimicrobial lotion soap which is extremely affordable and has been working great for me. Many after care for nip piercings says a salt water soak is necessary when the piercings are fresh but I don’t think it is. My piercer told me that the skin on your nipples are comparable to the skin on your lips which means it is extremely delicate. Doing salt solution soaks daily can end up drying your nipples and cause them to crust.

5. No Alcohol The First Week Of Your Piercing

During my intensive research prior to getting my piercings, I read online that it said you should not drink alcohol or a lot of coffee when you get your piercings. Sadly, I learned this the hard way. Alcohol does thin out your blood (even after only one jagger bomb) and it will cause your fresh piercings to bleed a lot more. I definitely suggest no alcohol the first two weeks of getting your piercing.

6. Pain

I think pain is something people worry about most when it comes to making the decision of whether they should get their nips pierced or not. All of my friends who have gotten their nipples pierced told me the pain was horrible and I should get numbing cream for it. After debating for two days whether I needed to buy the cream or not, I ended up not buying it. No matter how many pages you click after typing in “how much do nipple piercings hurt” on Google, you’ll get mixed reviews. The pain you’ll experience will depend on your own tolerance of pain. Because I have a high tolerance in pain, these piercings were a breeze for me and any sort of uncomfortable feeling only lasted for 5-10 seconds max.

So these are the tips and my own experience I have when it comes to getting your nipples pierced. I got mine done at Jul Head in Alhambra and I definitely recommend them!

 

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Christine Tran

Cal State LA

After taking four different MBTI tests, Christine is the definition of someone who is half ENFJ and ESFP (she got two for each type). With that being said, this clearly explains her major in Communications at Cal State LA. With a love for fashion and music, she's the type of person who will post #ootds and pictures of every concert she's at on her Instagram. Along with that, Christine has a horrible addiction with cupcakes and tattoos which will eventually be the death of her unless her parents figure out she already has more than one tattoo first.... Find out what she's up to by following her Instagram @christineetran
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Kammile Whitener

Cal State LA '18

Film and Business Enthusiast. Love the best of both worlds.