Do you remember *that* Rihanna Lui cover and editorial? The one with her wondrous nipple peeking out? Well, I don’t know about you but I was immediately influenced and wanted a nipple piercing immediately.
So I bit the bullet in 2016 and just went for it. I walked into Wildfire Body Piercing on Long Street in Cape Town and got mine done before I could back out.
But before we get into why I got them removed, let’s talk about my piercing history. I’ve had a couple over the years, including my brief 2012 – 2013 lip labret piercing (Ke$ha era).
I’ve gone the piercing gun route (eek! do not recommend), gotten piercings at festivals and tried to heal up a lot of them to no avail. Currently I have four in each ear and a failed nose ring (it fell out). What I noticed is that my body reacted terribly to most of my piercings and I’m prone to bumps and keloids.
Well, that trouble continued with these particular piercings. I got my first one in October 2016 and followed up with another in April 2017. The healing process was fraught with issues from plasma to snagging on my clothes.
Anyways, my left piercing ripped (yes, clutch your boob!) three times. The last rip was the worst because the piercing had finally started rejecting. I had to wear a wound cover for two weeks until my piercer, Shelden could take it out.
Delightful.
I thought the worst was over but it wasn’t. Shortly after, the right one started rejecting too. There was a red line across my nip and the area soon became too tender to touch. Needless to say, I was ready to thank u, next all of it before it ripped and I had to do this shit again.
What to learn from my experience
If you have a history of piercings not healing well or are prone to rejections then just be prepared for what may happen. I knew what I was getting into but it was a smidge traumatising near the end. I’m glad I tried it out for the aesthetic but I will never, ever do that again.
Hope this helps and if you want to know more about nipple piercings check out this Refinery29 article.
x A
alyx carolus 
Hi Alyx, I was just wondering how you got rid of your keloid scars? I have one from my industrial bar and it’s making me super insecure wearing my hair up. I have gone to a dermatologist but it’s really expensive for consistent treatments.
I also haven’t heard of anyone else personally that have had keloid scars (treatment or otherwise). Hope I’m not intruding!
Hey! So I’ve personally just visited piercing shops to ask about how I can reduce the scarring – I find they kinda have more accessible advice than $$ dermos. I would speak to a piercer about how you can heal it, what medicine (vitamins or anti-inflams) you should take so it can get better. Hope this helps xx