Well I have to tell you right off the bat, it DOES hurt, don't let anyone say that it doesn't hurt, because it does hurt. So here I am at home one day and I wanted to get my belly button done for the longest time, so I sat mom down and we discussed the whole thing, she wasn't too cool about it but she got over it real quick when I brought her to this site, she read up on certain things like how to clean it properly and take care of the right way.
At A Glance Author Jess Contact SaFaRo_2003@hotmail.com Artist Randy Studio Addictive Images Tattoo and Peircing Studio Location Englewood, Ohio, US It was Tuesday afternoon when I got this done, I had just gotten my check and I had plenty to get my belly button done. So me and my mom went to Addictive Images, (that's where my parents got there tats done as well) once we got there we had to wait a little bit there was someone in there getting a piercing done before me, so I just went up to the front counter and Manuel took my ID and general information before the whole procedure was to happen, he asked me what kind of jewelry I was interested in, I told him that I felt more comfortable w/ a curved barbell, my friends told me that they are allot more enjoyable than the rings, so I choose a standard 14g curved barbell w/ regular steel balls, nothing to fancy, just simple.
We sat back down and I looked at some tattoo magazines, and it was about 15 minutes later and than Randy came out w/ the other customer and was explaining the basics with her, she had just got her tongue done (that's my next piercing) When I first saw Randy I thought this guy looks pretty cool, and he was pretty awesome, he made feel really relaxed. When he was finished w/ the other girl, he looked at me and said, "you must be Jessica" of course I just smiled, I was to fu*king nervous to say anything!
We walked down a little hallway, and let me tell you, this place so spotless, I could see myself on the floor, when I saw how clean the place was, I felt an ill bit better, but not much. We got to the room and he just sat me down for a quick run over of what he was going to do, and that was another thing that made me feel less nervous.
Than he told me to stand up and tuck my shirt under my bra, he said it would make it easier for him to mark. He than measured out my stomach and than took the end of a q-tip and dipped it in some ink and told me he was going to mark where the piercing would go, he than finished that up and asked me to look in the mirror to see if that was a good place, it was perfect!
He than told me to sit down and relax (okay like that's going to be easy) the chair I sat in was a really bad imitation of a dentist chair. He than said I was going to go for a little ride, he set the chair back and told me to relax my stomach so he could check the marking again to see if will change when I lay down.
After he got that all in order, he than showed me all the packages that had the clamp and the needle and the wiping gauze in it, he than opened up the first package containing the clamp, he than explained how the piercing might feel, he said like getting a shot. After that, he told me to relax my stomach again and he showed me my jewelry that was perfect for my belly ledge.
The procedure went pretty fast, he took the clamp and tightens it enough to secure my ledge and to make it comfortable. He than opened the needle package in front of me to show that it was a new needle, after that he told me to just relax and start breathing.
It was like 2 seconds after I started to breath and he pushed the needle through, DAMN! That hurt like a motherfu*cker when it first went through, I had tears in my eyes, and my adrenaline was going crazy! After a few seconds the initial pain goes away and he put the barbell in and closed off the ends.
After it was all done, he told me to watch him as he put the needle in the sharps container, her was really serious about hygiene and proper disposal. Finally, he asked me if I was feeling light headed or dizzy, I actually felt really hyper (damn that adrenalin)
He than took me out to the front desk and told me to give my initials in two different places. No big deal, he than gave me a little book thingy on how to properly cleans it and all that fun stuff.
On the cleaning techniques, the salt water soaks really do help, after a day or two your piercing will probably itch, no big deal just soak it like u are supposed to and if there is any pain, take a couple aspirin (those little pills really help) I have to say that my piercing is looking really good, there is a little bit of redness, and some crusty stuff, but that's normal for a good healing process.
I want to thank Randy and all the guys at Addictive Images for making my first piercing a real blast! If you all want a really clean place to go for piercing and tattoos, go to Addictive Images, it's an awesome place to go!
If any one has any questions just e-mail me, I will be happy to answer any question
Jessica :)