Ever since I was sixteen I had always been obsessed with the idea of getting my navel pierced, however I held myself back at that point because of my age. My mother does not approve of piercing and she was not about to take me to get a needle shoved through my body. My only option at that point would be to get it done illegally or do it myself and I was neither brave enough nor dumb enough to do that. I swore that I would get it done when I was 18 and mentioned it on more then one occasion to my mother just to see how comfortable she was with the idea. Within the two years before my eighteenth birthday I had become immersed in an eating disorder. I had a poor self image and absolutely despised the way my stomach looked. I decided to hold the piercing off until I felt comfortable in my own skin enough to enjoy my new jewelry. Needless to say, I never became any more comfortable with my body and pretty much set the idea to the back of my mind, until that is my friend brought the piercing bug rushing back to the front of my head.
At A Glance Author Anonymous Contact Anonymous@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Paul Studio Big Joe's Location Yonkers, NY My friend had kicked around the idea of getting her tongue pierced for a long time but never thought she would actually to it. well she did it on a whim one Saturday. She had called me once she was done and went through the process step by step and absolutely raved about how nice and professional the guy who did her tongue was. The piercing bug bit me once again. The conversation came around to my love for the navel piercing. We talked about me actually getting it done and she offered to go with me the following week if I wanted. I was still unsure and thought about it for the entire week. The next Saturday we were driving around and she past the piercing place and casually mentioned that where she got it done and that I should get it done today since we were right there anyway. I agreed but never expected to actually do it. Before I knew it she had parked the car. I knew it was a now or never situation so I got out of the car and started to walk with her towards the place. I backed out about three times and went back to the car. Finally I worked up the nerve to go into the studio.
When we walked into the studio no one was waiting. I walked up to the front desk and explained what I wanted. The man at the front desk told me how much it would cost and introduced me to the piercer. I was taken into a separate room where he set up everything and explained the process to me. Then he had me lift up my shirt. He cleaned my navel area with an alcohol swab and then marked the spots. He had me look at them and explained he'd go in at the top and come through right at the bottom through a small nip of skin. I nodded not really sure what I was saying okay to. He had me lay down on the table with my legs hanging over it. He clamped my bellybutton and I closed my eyes tightly as he grabbed the needle. He told me to take a deep breath and slowly exhale. When I started to exhale is when he pushed the needle through. I was amazed when he told me the worst part was over. To me it felt like a slight pinch then a bit of pressure. He followed the jewelry through (a captiv e bead ring) and told me we were done. He then had me look at it. I admired my bellybutton for quite sometime before we went back to the front where he gave me my aftercare sheet and went through the entire process. He joked around with me for a few more minutes about how much I was shaking prior to the piercing before I left a satisfied customer. The aftercare sheet instructed that I clean it with antibacterial soup twice a day, spray it with Bactine twice a day and keep my hands away from the piercing.
I was so proud of myself for overcoming my insecurity and getting it done. I could not be happier with it. It's been over a month and it seems to be healing up nicely. The first couple of weeks it was quiet red and I got worried. I called up the shop and the piercer had me come in. He looked at it and told me that it was fairly normal but if it did not clear up soon to come back again and we would discuss options. It made me feel good to know that if I had a concern, no matter how dumb it might be, they were their to help. I'm so happy with my piercing that I have been playing around with the idea of some other type of belly piercing but that's still in the works. I firmly believe that this piecing has improved my self image substantially.