Day 1
At A Glance Author Tara Contact tara_b@canoemail.com Artist Jacqui Studio Addictive Location London Ontario My 18th birthday fell on an unfortuante day this year, the day of the "Attack on America". Despite this upsetting news, I'd already made my appointment to get the bottom of my belly button pierced at Addictive Tattooing and Piercing, and so my best friend and I drove downtown to go through with it anyway. My appointment was at 2 o'clock, we were about 20 minutes early, so we looked at tattoo flash until I was given
the forms to sign, and Jacqui took me and my friend into the piercing room.
This is my first "real" piercing, however not my first body mod. I do have a tattoo that I got earlier this year, so I was prepared for all the wierd looking needles and the plastic gloves and all that. Jacqui went over all of the aftercare really carefully with me, which I
thought was great, and even covered a few things I would never have thought of, and then explained the entire procedure to me. We cleaned and marked the lower lip of my navel until we felt the placement was just right. Then she had me lay way back in the chair, clamped it, pierced it...and voila! I had a beautiful, brand new shiny barbell in my belly. It did hurt having the needle go through, but it was a really quick, sharp pain...nothing I couldn't handle. I looked up and saw the needle still in my belly, before she'd put the jewellry in, it was crazy! I paid, (wanted to tip her but neglected to bring any extra cash...I plan to do that when I go back in 3 weeks for a checkup!) thanked her a zillion times, and made my way home.
It's a really strange feeling, having jewellry in a place where you're not really used to having anything at all, and it ached a lot the first day. It's tender when I'm cleaning it, and it's kind of an uncomfortable feeling when I move the barbell through the piercing.
No redness, bleeding or crusties as of yet, we'll see what happens tomorrow.
Day 2
Sleeping went suprisingly well. I generally sleep on my back or my side, so I didn't have to worry about turning over onto it. I think the strangest part was sleeping in a cotton t-shirt...I usually just wear pajama bottoms!
It's lookin' good, this is my first full day with a pierced belly. Been very good with the cleaning so far, following the instructions given and I'm also taking a 10mg zinc supplement, twice a day. It's still pretty tender, and I feel really awkward sitting. All through classes I had to keep peeking at it to make sure it was okay down there. I worked tonight, and had to wear my pants down lower than normal which was uncomfortable cuz my work pants usually sit right at my belly button...I managed to push them down low enough though. I still love it, and so does everyone else!
Day 3
I'm getting more comfortable with my piercing now. I find I'm not as anal about knocking it, I'm getting used to the feeling I guess. I didn't peek at it quite as much in class today. There's only a very very tiny bit of redness that I can see, no crusties or blood yet. I haven't been touching it (aside from cleaning) or playing with it, so I guess that could be why it's not red. Still a bit tender, but getting better.
I wanted to get this piercing because I don't really like my tummy. I'm not fat, I'm not really even chubby, (one insensitive guy friend once described me as "chunk"?!) but I've got a long long long way to go to washboard abs! I decided that getting my belly button
pierced would be a way of adorning and celebrating my stomach, and helping me to love it just the way it is! I had originally planned just to get a normal, standard navel piercing, but so many people have this piercing, I wanted something a bit different. I saw a few
pictures of inverse navels here on BME, and I really loved the look of it. Jacqui (the piercer) agreed that it was a good placement for me, and now I can't imagine it any other way!! This was my birthday gift to myself, a celebration of my 18th year, and of my own body.
Day 4
My piercing is feeling and looking great. Still no redness or crusties, and it's only tender right after I've cleaned it, and I think thats just cuz I have to move it through the hole to work the soap and mecca into it.
I'm petrified that it's going to migrate out, because thats something I can't control. I know I'm taking really good care of it so it's not going to get infected; thats the least of my worries. But I know this placement is harder to heal and that it's more likely to be rejected by my body. Stay in stay in!
Day 5
Still no problems. I e-mailed Jacqui yesterday with my migration fears, but her reply totally put me at ease. She explained that this risk is present with any piercing, and she told me what to look for, but as long as I'm careful to keep waistbands from knocking it,
and I take good care of it in general, I would be fine. So I feel much better now!
While yesterday there was little to no pain aside from cleaning, my navel feels a bit achy today, mostly when I'm moving around, like standing or sitting up from lying down. I think this is just because I'm not being as protective. I'm slowly breaking my beautiful
little barbel into regular daily life! However, if the soreness doesn't get better with the next couple days, I may go back in to get it checked. I'm sure it'll be okay.
I truly do love this piercing, I think the bottom (instead of the top) looks so wonderful on me, as does my boyfriend. He finds it so sexy and I feel so sexy, so it works out well for the both of us!
Day 6
Very red and sore today! I was afraid it was infected, but then I remembered that I was in a bit of a rush with the cleaning this morning, and didn't wait for the salt water solution to cool down, so it was pretty hot. I think the redness is a result of maybe burning
myself...just a little! oops... So remember; always let the water cool down sufficiently before soaking your tender belly in it!
Day 7
*big sigh of relief* Soreness gone, and it's only a little red around the "exit" hole. Bit itchy though, but mama always said that...itchy means healing, so I guess thats a good thing. Other than that, it's lookin damn fine. Okay, so you've all seen (if you've even read this far!) my frequent fits of paranoia, but I tend to overreact to many things, so this is no different.
Tomorrow will mark the first full week of a pierced belly, and I must say, I can't imagine being unpierced. Not only has my confidence in my pudgy little tummy increased greatly (I stare at it in the mirror from any angle I can think of now), but my confidence in myself has gone up a notch. From the tattoo experience (a butterfly on my lower back), I know that I could handle the permanance thing, and the pain factor...but the pain from a piercing is totally different from that of a tattoo, and the risks are higher too, as far as infection goes.
So in conclusion, I would like to recommend Addictive to anyone and everyone in the London Ontario area. Friendly staff, impeccable sanitary conditions, and many many satisfied customers are all the reason you should need. And I would like to recommend to anyone, anywhere, who wants to get pierced, to just GO FOR IT!! Think about it lots, because it's something fairly permanent you're doing to your body, and then make the appointment and just GO. Bring a friend with you for moral support, to make sure you don't run away screaming before you even open the door to the studio and to tell you just
how sexy you look once you're all pierced up. And thats it I guess...thanks for reading my (somewhat long-winded) inverse belly button piercing experience, and if you have any questions regarding this piercing, feel free to send me an e-mail.