It was my first year of university. My best friend and I were walking through the mall one day when we saw a big sign in front of a small little store -- "Piercing- half price!" Being the cheap, yet rebellious, students we were, we decided immediately to go for it. We had both discussed getting something pierced before that moment, but the low cost was that final motivational boost we needed.
At A Glance Author tiny_snapdragon Contact tiny_snapdragon@bme.anon When A year ago Studio Bijou Location Prince George, British Columbia The store was called Bijou, and it was actually a jewelry/piercing place. That means the store primarily sells different kinds of jewelry and accessories, while the actual piercing takes place in a little cubicle in the back. It was a little unnerving, because the cubicle was pretty open and anyone standing nearby could see over the wall. Not exactly the most private place; but, the environment seemed clean enough, and there was a fancy looking chair. I had read somewhere that you're supposed to look for a "dentist chair" as a sign of a good piercing place and since it fit the bill, we both figured everything was all good.
My friend went first, since she had the higher tolerance for pain. I actually couldn't watch (I'm a pansy, so sue me!), but soon enough she was done. Then it was my turn. The piercer had me pull up my shirt so she could draw two little dots where she would pierce. She had me look in the mirror to see if I liked the placement. It was pretty hard for me to picture what my piercing would look like from just those two little blue dots, but I figured the piercer knew what she was doing, so I gave the okay. Then, I lay down. I remember very little of the actual piercing experience. There was a clamp involved (which helped build up a lot of nervous tension), some therapeutic breathing (one, two, three...), pain, and then finally a little more pain when she ran the ring through. But afterwards, I realized the pain was worth it because I finally had myself a fancy navel piercing with a pretty green bead.
The piercer gave us each a page of instructions for aftercare, a little packet of some antibacterial stuff, and then she sent us on our merry way. My piercing hurt a bit still, but that was to be expected. We went out and bought some special antibacterial soap (unscented Dove, if I remember correctly), then returned home. All seemed well.
Now, while my little story seems innocent enough, the bad stuff came to both of us later. When my friend got around to switching her ring with a barbell, she discovered her piercing was really crooked. It was impossible to tell when she had the ring in, but as soon as the barbell was in place, you could see that the piercing was not done properly. Supposedly, after talking with some friends, we found out that the place we had it done is notorious for misplaced piercings. One girl actually got what she calls a "stomach piercing"- a navel piercing so high up, the bottom of the barbell doesn't even sit in the bellybutton! I suppose that was lesson number one-- do research! Find out from other customers what they think of the piercer. Really.
I was lucky though, because my piercing was straight. But before I switched jewelry, I had a few problems of my own. At work, I had to wear coveralls, and the coveralls, sadly, rubbed against my piercing. This irritated it a lot and made it red, pussy and sore. Thinking I was being clever, I decided to cover my piercing with a band aid, to prevent rubbing. Big mistake. If anything, the band aid only made it worse. This was lesson number two. Let the piercing breathe! Don't cover it up unless it's healed. When I took the bandaid off, my piercing had swelled and there was now big red bumps forming around the ring on each side. And it was crusty, which never looks good.
To solve the problem, I went online and found out some home remedies (asides from removing the jewelry). I bought some tea tree soap (which I recommend to anyone with a new piercing) and some vitamin E pills. I washed my piercing once a day with this soap, and covered it in Vitamin E like every five minutes. I also did the warm salt water soak every day (which made my parents laugh, a lot. They found my pain amusing, and proof that piercings are "evil".). Eventually, my piercing did clear up (thank god!).
My third lesson was that piercings take time to heal! My piercing took the full year to heal, and even though it looked fine on the outside, it needed that full year to heal on the inside. Don't ever rush your piercing. You'll know when it's healed, because you'll be able to tug on it and play with it without any pain. Now, I can flick my barbell with abandon, and not worry about it getting infected.
When I finally did get my ring changed for a barbell, I made another mistake. Lesson four- don't buy a barbell that's too big for your piercing. The barbell itself wasn't too big, but the jewelry at the bottom was. It took up my whole bellybutton, and it was so heavy that it was causing the scar tissue on the bottom to come out. So basically it looked like the inside of my bellybutton was bruised, because the scar tissue was an ugly purple color.
I went to another, more reputable piercer and had him take a look. He told me about the weight issue, and had me downgrade to a much smaller piece of jewelry. I haven't had a problem since. It's been a year and a half now, and my piercing looks awesome. I'm always getting compliments on it. You can't tell that I went through a lot of crap for the first six months or so.
So, learn from my lessons and enjoy your navel piercing. And remember- it may take a bit of work, but if you stick with your piercing and take care of it, you'll probably end up on top.