Two summers ago, I was going through a rough time in my life. I was working three jobs and going to school part-time. I had a boyfriend and we were having a lot of problems. I got this sort of "lost" feeling about myself. I didn't feel connected to myself, and I really never did anything that I wanted to do for myself, without considering how the people I was closest to might react. I felt like I really needed to break loose of all these societal chains.
At A Glance Author Lithlyrian Contact Lithlyrian@bme.anon When A year ago Artist Jason (I think!!) Studio Big Kahuna Location Boca Raton, Florida My younger sister is sort of an inspiration to me regarding my decision to get piercings. She had a fascination with the BME site, and we started looking through some of the pictures. I just remember looking at some of the piercings and thinking that I'd love to get something like that done, but was always worried that my boyfriend or parents might react badly...
I passed Big Kahuna tattoo and piercing, not more than two miles from my house. I never before had the tenacity to go through with anything other than normal ear piercings.
I decided on impulse one day to just go in and get something done spontaneously. I needed that feeling of "no inhibitions", or something akin to it, and I figured doing so by getting something pierced would be perfect for me. Especially since I'd been considering it for a while. I finally broke free and sort of just said to hell with what anyone else thinks. I wanted to get something pierced for myself. I was just starting to learn at that point in my life that it is very important to be happy with yourself and do things that you want to do (within reason of course), and that sometimes the people you are close to may not completely approve of your decisions. But there are just some things you should do for yourself regardless of the backlash.
I decided to get my navel pierced. I suppose part of it had to do with the fact that I had a "professional" research job and having a more visible piercing might make me lose that position. Navel rings are certainly easy to conceal. Also, it was my first real piercing and I wanted to get used to that sort of modification in a more private area before taking bigger leaps and getting something like my eyebrow pierced.
I was very nervous when I was picking out which ring I wanted them to pierce my navel with. I felt a lot better once the piercer (Jason) started going through the procedure with me. He was extremely professional and was very meticulous in how he set everything up (he spent a while marking the navel, and you could tell he wasn't going to pierce anything until he thought it was set up perfectly). He went through all of the steps of the piercing with me, and the cleaning and after-care procedures. He discussed all possible problems I could run into with the piercing, and made sure I knew what to expect. All of the equipment he used was brand new and completely sterilized. The establishment was very clean and the artists were all very professional. I didn't feel uncomfortable and they were not egotistical assholes like a lot of piercers seem to be in this area. They seemed to genuinely want the experience to be a good one for me, and that definitely helped turn me into a loyal customer.
Jason got me set up by having me lean against a chair and he clamped the skin to be pierced. That was honestly the most painful part; the clamping. The actual needle insertion and then his putting the ring on didn't really hurt. It felt odd, but not exactly painful.
After a short amount of time, I was pierced and was very pleased with the results. There was very little pain (I was really too nervous to touch it for a bit though), only slight discomfort. I was able to ride my bike back to my house after 10 minutes. They wanted me to stay for 10 minutes before biking home to ensure that I was okay.
I was hesitant to clean it the first night. I really didn't want to touch it, so I bought spray Bactine and just used that for a while. It worked really well and it had a pain reliever, so I was also able to use it if the piercing was accidentally tugged.
The piercing remained sore for the couple weeks it took to heal up. It got caught in my shirt and pants sometimes, and pulled the piecing which hurt quite a bit...but otherwise I have no complaints. Overall it was totally worth it. There is absolutely no pain whatsoever now, and I must have over 20 different navel rings that I switch around several times a month.
I didn't get any infections or negative reactions with the navel piercing.
Having your first "real" piercing done by a professional artist who know's what they are doing really does make a world of difference. If the navel ring experience had been a bad one, I doubt I'd have ever gone to get more piercings. My gratitude goes out to Big Kahuna. I have since had Jason pierce my tongue, and am about to go back to have him pierce my eyebrow!