It was only just a year and three months ago that I was lucky enough to get my first mod. It was a memorable experience and one I will never regret.
At A Glance Author Caitlin Contact kittenspit6@aol.com When A year ago Studio Action Ink Location Taunton, MA. I was only 14 at the time and had a father who was a correctional officer for the toughest prison in Massachusetts. I knew he wouldn't let me go out past 10 o'clock, never mind get my body pierced. But somehow, after his sister and many of my friends started getting the mod, he came through. I got my report card back and thanks to god the grades were good. I said "Dad lets just go do it, lets get it done! I'm ready and if I don't go now I might not be able to do it later!" So we drove literally 1 minute away down the street to Action Ink. The place was really clean and friendly. There was a bunch of flash on the walls for people to look at and some cool couches to sit at and read tattoo magazine. I looked through the flash as I waited to be waited on and small talked with the people sitting on the couches. Finally It was my turn and I went up to the desk and asked him how much it would be to have my belly button done. He gave me all the information I needed. My dad gave him the money and then he asked for my birth certificate and I froze. "Damn!" I forgot my birth certificate!
Note to all girls going to get ANYTHING pierced : Bring proper identification no matter what! A birth certificate, photo id, passport anything will do, but make sure you bring it! Most places will refuse to pierce you if you don't have one. And if they don't ask for one, they probably aren't reputable!
So we drove back down to my house and searched for my certificate. I was beginning to get disappointed, thinking that if we didn't go now I would never get my dad to say yes again. Then when we finally found it, I was starting to have second thoughts, but then I went along with it. We got back to Action Ink and the man said that I would have to wait 5-10 minutes cause the piercer was doing a touch-up on a tattoo. So I sat on the couch and flipped through tattoo magazine until he was done. He said, "Alright lets go back here..." and took me back in this really clean, white room with a big chair in the middle. They were very sterile, which is so important. Don't be afraid to speak up if the place looks shady. This is your body your about to pierce! So I was looking around and everything was fine, he took a new needle out and set up the clamp on my belly button. Everyone says this is usually the most painful part but it did not hurt that much, just pressure. He said that I had the perfect stomach to pierce which made me very, very happy :).
Within seconds, I felt the needle go through, a rush of blood and slight discomfort but other than that I was pumped up to see what it looked like. He said it was all done and I was so surprised that It didn't hurt. He pushed the closed so I could see the wall mirror behind it. It looked so good! He pierced it with a 14 gauge captive ring. He did a really good job lining it up and it didn't hurt at all. All and all it was a very pleasurable experience.
Aftercare was not a problem. He gave me a baggy of kosher salt and told me to buy a gallon of distilled water and put the bag in the gallon of water. I used the water till it ran out, putting the cup on my belly button for about 10 minutes a day. I also took sea salt baths, which helped a lot. My belly button was really looking good until I started to gain some weight. I was on medicine that made me gain weight and unfortunately, that meant that my belly button was stretching. I gained so much weight that it got infected from being squished in between my tummy, I think always being warm might have led to infection. Unfortunately, it got infected no matter how much I cleaned it and after a while I decided it was best that I take it out and try again after I lost my weight.
All in all, it was a pleasurable experience and I enjoy sharing it with you. Always check and make sure your piercer is certified and that their work area is sterile and safe and make sure you take care of your piercing! You wouldn't want to go through with something painful again just because you were careless about cleaning it!
- Cait