Growing up, I was never a "feminine" girl. I had a short, Eminem-ish haircut, wore boys' clothing, acting like a guy, the whole bit. Aside from the time I so foolishly piercing my navel with an insulin needle that I had stolen from a diabetic relative just to see if it hurt, I thought that navel piercings were way too girlie for me.
At A Glance Author Bunny Contact badiiibunny@aol.com IAM ToolBunny When A week ago Artist Phil Studio 4th Street Tattoo Location Hattiesburg, MS Cut to me turning eighteen. A lot of things have changed. I suppose I've come more into my own...a little more feminine, but still comfortably tomboyish. I had a little extra money lying around, so I decided, as I usually do, that I wanted a new mod. I originally wanted to get my nipples pierced, but I wanted to have a little money left over. After thinking for a while, I had a startling revelation. I wanted my navel pierced. I didn't know why, I just did. I have been working out, my stomach looks good, and, like a myna bird, I love shiny things. So why the hell not?
My fiance and I headed to the shop after his morning class. He first took me to Eagle's Claw, but I sat in the car and refused to go in. (I've mentioned in a previous experience that they aren't too friendly in there.) Many friends of mine go to 4th Street Tattoo. I'd seen piercings done there before, and they all looked great, so I asked to go there instead.
We walked in, and I immediately felt giddy. 18 and Life was blaring (and I'm a sucker for '80s rock), and everyone there was all smiles from the moment we opened the door. One guy walked over to us and introduced himself as Josh, a name I recognized as the one who did my best friend's tattoos. I shook his hand and explained that I wanted a navel piercing. He chuckled and said, "It's not too often we get a real women in here that is still cool enough to get a trendy piercing without being bothered that it's trendy." He asked for my ID, which he copied onto the consent form that I filled out. Once that was done, another guy brought out a tray of jewelry that you can chose from. The cheapest piece was twenty-five dollars, which I thought was an extremely good price. I've never seen a shop with piercing prices as low as this one! Since I didn't like any of the captive bead rings, I decided to go with a curved barbell for forty dollars. I was even more ecstatic when I s aw that both balls on it had clear, shiny gems! He found a barbell like it that was in an autoclave bag, and showed it to me so I could see it was sterile.
I sat down and talked with the guys for about five minutes, when someone else approached me. He introduced himself as Phil, and said I could come in the back when I was ready. He told my fiance that he was more than welcome to come watch so he could laugh if I squealed.
We followed Phil into the back, and it turned out that my fiance had worked with him many years ago. They spoke for a few minutes, and then Phil had me stand in front of him and lift my shirt up. He carefully marked my navel and mentioned he could tell I had pierced it too shallow previously. I blushed at my stupidity, and he assured me that since I had actually pierced it nearly straight, the part of my skin that was raised would be almost invisible. He threw away the marker and let me watch as he opened all the equipment that he would be using, and he explained what everything was for and what to expect. I already knew from my countless hours of research, but it made me feel extremely comfortable that he did this. He then told me to sit in the dreaded doctor's chair and relax. My fiance stood a little away from me to watch, even though he claims he has no interest in these things. Motley Crue's Dr. Feelgood was now playing, and I was lightly singing along until Phil c lamped my navel. "Are you nervous?" he asked. I admitted that I was, but it was a good nervous, like before a roller coaster. He laughed and moved the clamps up and down to make sure he was lined up properly. On my other piercings the clamps didn't bother me at all, but this time it was slightly uncomfortable. He reached over for the needle and put it to my navel. I could feel a little prick, and I twitched a bit out of instinct. I was still humming when Phil said, "Alright Girlie, just relax and take some deep breaths for me, in through your nose and out through your mouth." He must have heard me breathe in on the word 'nose' because when he said 'mouth', the needle went through. It stung just a bit, but it wasn't bad enough to make me jump or close my eyes or anything, which is probably also due to the fact that it happened so fast, I didn't have any reaction time. I liked that he didn't count or anything, as that usually makes me more nervous and more prone to jump. "How was that?" he asked me. I just grinned and said, "That fe lt awesome!" He told me that he was going to put my jewelry in, and that it would probably hurt a little. He was right. It hurt more than the actual piercing, but by the time he got the ball on I was fine.
After making sure that I wasn't lightheaded, he went in another room to wash his hands. I looked around the room at the various Coop posters, and then I walked over to a mirror and looked at my navel. I was in love. A shiny thing on my stomach! Yes! If it had bled, I couldn't tell. I felt so cute with it in. Phil came back, and I handed him the money for the piercing along with a very good tip. He tried to give it back to me, but I insisted, since he was so friendly and had done such a great job. He went over the aftercare with me, telling me to put some antibacterial soap on both ends of a Q-Tip, using one end to clean around one of the holes and another for the other hole. He told me to spray Bactine on it to keep it from hurting, but if it started bothering me, to do a sea salt soak for about ten minutes. We spoke for a little while longer, and Phil gave me one of his cards. I promised to be back, and we took off, with me trying to walk and look at my navel at the same time.
It's been five days since I got my navel pierced. It's a little red around the top ball, maybe a bit swollen (I can't tell if it's swollen or if that's just a bit of raised scar tissue from the previous piercing). I've been following the aftercare religiously, though, and everything is going well. I usually clean it before I take a shower, as I find it easier to rinse the soap off that way. I've caught my shirt underneath the ball and pulled it accidentally a few times, but nothing major. It started itching a little bit today around the top ball, kind of like it's dry skin, but I'm sure after I clean it, it'll be more comfortable.
All in all, I am so happy that I had this piercing done There was a time when it was too girlie for me, and then too trendy. Then I had to think, what the hell? There's no reason for me not to have this piercing just because many other people do. So what? (Yes, I came to this after reading one of the Lizardman's columns.) Just because it might be trendy on someone else doesn't mean it is on me. On me, it's a piercing that makes me feel good about myself and the way I look. It makes me happy, and that's the most I could ask for.