For the past little while I had been considering getting my bellybutton pierced. It would be my 7th piercing, but I was still really nervous. I'm not very good with needles at all! I got really dizzy when I got my nose pierced a few months earlier and have never ever been a fan of getting blood taken. So even though I have had 6 other piercings (which really isn't that many, but oh well), I still always get really nervous when I'm getting ready to get a new one!
At A Glance Author Kelly Contact Kelly@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Ben Studio Blue Dragon Location London, Ontario A friend and myself had picked a day that we both didn't work and decided that it would be the day we would head downtown and I'd get my bellybutton done, and she would get her tongue web pierced. I always go to Blue Dragon for my piercings because I really like the place and the people there, plus it's really clean. Once we arrived, we headed up to the counter and I told the woman there that I would like to get the bottom of my bellybutton pierced, along with my cartilage. It so happened that it was the studio's 25th anniversary so they were offering $10 off each piercing. So I paid my $65 (Canadian), signed all the necessary sheets, and was told to go have a set outside the piercing room.
This is the point where I start to get extremely nervous. Sitting there waiting for Ben to ask me to come in makes me really anxious. While we were waiting, two other girls came and sat down beside my friend and I, and one of them asked what I was getting done. I told her that I was getting my ear and bellybutton done, and she said that she was also getting her bellybutton. I told her I was really pretty nervous and she said that she was too. It felt like I was sitting there for about an hour, but it probably wasn't anymore than five minutes. So the door finally opens, and out pops Ben (who happens to be VERY good looking, which is always good right?) and asks who is up first. Yikes, that's me.
So we all head into the room and he asks me what I'm getting done today. I tell him I want the bottom of my bellybutton and another one in my cartilage. He tells me that the bottom of my bellybutton might be a bit of a problem, because many people don't have very much skin on the bottom as they do on the top. So he examines my bellybutton for a few minutes, and then asks me to lie down. He then tells me that when I am standing I have a good amount of skin there, but when I lay down, it stretches out, and there isn't much left. He said that that could potentially be a problem because it could cause a lot of stress and pressure on the piercing. He tells me that he would recommend I do the top first just to see how it heals, but if I was set on getting the bottom done, it wouldn't be a problem for him to pierce, as long as I understood it could be potentially problematic. I thought I'd take his advice and go for the top first, being as I was planning on eventually getting that done as well.
Once we got that all sorted out, he asks me what I'd like to do first. I decided on my ear, because I've had that done before and knew I could handle the pain. After he has all of his stuff set up, he tells me to turn my head to the left, and close me eyes. Take a few deep breathes...and shoves it through. Now onto the big event which I was getting even more scared about, my bellybutton. He goes into the corner to pick out a proper ring for my bellybutton and asks me if I'm nervous. Um... YES! I was really fearing this one because I had been told by a friend that it hurts a lot. He tells me to relax and that I'll be perfectly fine, and that it will hurt a lot less than my ear did.
Once I was lying on the table he kept saying that I'd be fine. I guess I must have looked really scared about this one because he kept trying to reassure me and make me feel better. He got the clamps all ready, and put them on my bellybutton, and then asked me if I bruised easily. I said yea, sort of, so he decided to loosen them a bit because he didn't want to bruise me. Aww what a sweetheart heehee. He then told me that a lot of people think that the clamps are the worst part of the piercings, which I was hoping would be true because that didn't hurt one bit. So he told me to lay back, close my eyes, and take a deep breath in...
And then out of nowhere he was like Ok the needle is through! My immediate reaction was NO WAY! And I tilted my head up since I didn't believe him, because I hadn't felt anything at all. And to my surprise, I see the needle sticking through my bellybutton. I was so shocked/happy that it didn't hurt. He laughed and told me to lie back again so he could put the ring through for me. After he was finished I immediately stood up and looked in the mirror to admire my new piercing. I was so happy with it. He then said have a seat so he could explain all the aftercare to me, and then handed me a sheet with all the information on it to take home with me. I handed him $10 and thanked him over and over because I was so happy with them, and he thanked me for the tip, and said that if I still wanted the bottom, to come back and he'll do it for me.
What a fun day! I'm so happy with it! I'll certainly be going back to get the bottom done, and quite a few more. I would recommend it to anyone who is thinking of getting this done, and I would also highly recommend Blue Dragon. It's a great place, and Ben does an amazing job!