I have been pierced before, the usual "vanilla" piercings, lobes and cartilage. I must have been 6 or 7 when I got my lobes first pierced and it only progressed from there....all pierced with a piercing gun. When I got my cartilage pierced, they got really sore and puffy, so I ended up having to take them out. I haven't had any jewelry in them, and I'm sure they've healed over since. A couple of my lobe piercings I did myself with a safety pin (yuck) and I tried to pierce my navel before, but it got infected, and now there's a little scar from that experience. But I'd never been pierced properly, with a needle at a piercing studio, although I've always wanted to, just couldn't afford it. Well, I'm finished college now, and working, so I decided to go for it!
At A Glance Author Melanie Contact Melanie@bme.anon Artist Sage Studio Addictive Location London, Ontario, Canada I called up my friend, Milke, and I met her downtown, where the shop is located. I had visited the shop the previous day on my way home from work to get a feel for the place, check out it's level of cleanliness, and meet the artists, to see if I felt comfortable letting them work on me. A couple of friends back in college had recommended Addictive for piercings, giving only good reviews, so the next day I called and made an appointment to have my navel pierced, and my lobes stretched.
When I got there, Milke and I sat and looked at the albums of work they had sitting out and I filled out the release form. They were running behind schedule, so we ended up waiting for quite a bit, but I didn't mind, because I set this day aside for piercing, and didn't have anything to do afterwards. I liked the fact that they took extra time with their customers, and if that made them a little behind, then so be it.
Finally it was my turn, and I entered the piercing room. There was another lady in there getting marked for nipple piercings. How brave, I thought, and painful! Sage asked me to lie on the table while he cleaned my navel with iodine and then he had me stand up in front of him so he could mark the placement of the jewelry properly and make sure it would be straight. Then he had me lie back on the table so he could do the procedure. I was particularly impressed with the cleanliness of the studio and the instruments. The singe use items I saw him open new packages, and all others were autoclaved, which I also saw. I really liked the funky blue gloves he used, much less scary than the white and transparent gloves my dentist uses...I don't like those very much!
So Milke held my hands above my head while Sage clamped my navel. I was nervous about this part because almost everyone I know who has their navel pierced, told me the clamp hurt more than the piercing! Much to my relief, the clamp didn't hurt at all. Sure it was tight, but I wouldn't say painful. He then had me take some slow breaths, and when he was about to push the needle through, he asked me to take a bigger breath in and release it slowly through my mouth. This is where I felt the most pain of the procedures. It was intense, sure, but it was over very quickly. I wouldn't say it's the most intense pain I've experienced, though, it hurt less than a paper cut! (damn, those burn!) Then the jewelry was inserted. I chose a barbell over a ring, because I think they are cuter. That hurt a bit when the jewelry was inserted, but much less than the piercing itself. He then put the ball on the end of the barbell and it was done!
He cleaned the area really well, and applied a thin layer of some cream to it. It no longer hurt. The area wasn't even red! There was no blood! After that he stretched my lobes. When all was finished we sat down together and discussed aftercare. He had a pamphlet for me that outlined the steps I was to take. Twice a day for 3 weeks I was to soak it in a salt solution, then clean it, and then apply some "mecca" cream. I actually already had the salts and the mecca at home. He explained in detail what each step was doing and why I needed to do it. He also described what would happen to my body, warning me that there might be some white discharge, because as he said "your body is treating it like a sliver, trying to force it out." He was so thorough, I had no questions! I went to the front desk and paid and I was finished! I look forward to my next piercing experience. Never again will I trust or use a piercing gun!