| At A Glance | |
| Author | Smeg |
| Contact | smeg-head@bigfoot.com |
| IAM | smeg-head |
| When | N/A |
| Artist | Mark / Myself |
| Studio | Golden Dragon / Various places |
| Location | Chester, UK |
Once upon a time, many moons ago, while I was living in a sleepy little town in the mountains of North Wales, a handsome prince (thats me) had a navel piercing and his life was changed forever ...
well ... nearly right.
About 5 years back, I hadn't even considered piercing. I was a fairly innocent 18 year old who was quietly going through school. My dad was a health inspector for Chester City Council and my mum a care worker. I didn't know this, but it was my dads job to give all the piercing and tattooists in Chester their certificates of approval. One piercer asked him if he wanted to see a piercing being performed, and did he know anyone who was interested in a free one. He came home one evening and jokingly asked me. The idea sat in my head, and I went out looking on the net for more info. I suprised dad a couple of weeks later by asking if the offer was still on. It wasn't, and disheartened I left it for a while.
Several weeks later, the sister of my best mate (who I had been panting after for a while) said she was going to have hers done, and wanted someone to accompany her. So I leapt at the chance, with the plan of getting my own done too. The shop she went to was disgusting. She was sat down (not laid), the piercer was smoking. Needless to say as soon as I saw this I walked out. So close. A week later I was at Golden Dragon getting it done :) Mark was very good, very clean and knew his stuff. A chat told me that very few blokes ever had their navel pierced, and I was quite chuffed being the only one.
I heal slowly, and even though I salt soaked it twice daily and looked after it, it still took 18 months to heal up ... in the mean time I had become active on RAB, then moved onto UPB, and met lots of people who I previously would have thought as freaks in my old life :) the simple, lonely navel piercng had changed me completly.
As the pierce was healing, I started to look into stretching. I had been pierced at 1.6mm, and I found 2mm, and shortly after 2.4mm literally dropped in. The pierce was starting to look slightly less silly on my rather ample gut.
Over the course of the last 3 or 4 years, I have continually stretched my navel up. A mishap at 3.2mm (catching it on the edge of a pool on holiday) allowed 4mm to go in easily, although it took a while to recover. I found the hole had become very red, almost as if it was bleeding under the skin (which I suppose it was) but again, a lot of tender loving care, and babying, and it was fine soon after.
I've always worn curved jewellery in their, either BCR's (CBR's for you yanks) or PA bars ... these became harder to find as I stretched higher, until I found MrMe was always a step ahead of me with his hafada's, and I could happily borrow a PA bar off him until my next stretch.
Last year, I added a couple of BCR's to the side, pierced by Shaz of Self inflicted in Northwich, and I intend to leave them sitting at 1.6mm. A year in, one looks like it is migrating out slightly, but I'm patient, and always aware that it took 18 months to heal the centre up.
This was what it looked like, around the 4mm stage, with the side navels:
I'm now at 7mm, and although I have worn PA bars up until 6mm, I have given up with that, and have found that flesh tunnels, and bamboo tunnels fit nicely.
This is the 7mm stretch (the goo is KY Jelly, an excellent lube for tapers, although it dries out quickly):
and this is what it currently looks like (see what I mean about ample gut!):
I have been able to get an 8mm taper through, but it was too early and I had very slight blow out, with a touch of blood. so I have bought some bamboo plugs, and am leaving it sitting at 7mm for now. I do have 8mm tapers and jewellery, and one day, it will go up a bit. One day.
Although it started out as a lowly, 'trendy', standard navel piercing, it changed me in ways I wasn't expecting. I became much more open minded, and started researching and developing an interest in bodyart, which today has left me with 8 holes, a regular on UPB, IAM, #bodyart-uk and a fair amount of knowledge.
Never assume that because someone has a simple navel piercing, they won't be a completly changed, and much more open minded individual in 5 years time.