Up until Thursday 22nd February, I had 10 piercings - 4 pairs of regular lobe piercings, a tragus piercing and my navel done (of course) at the top. For a while I'd been contemplating another navel piercing. It's awkward enough for me to hide my ears at school already - we are only allowed one earring per ear - so, although I also want more in both ears, that was out of the question for a while. Predictably, we're not allowed to have any facial piercings, either. That pretty much left my navel (also against the rules but they generally don't see our stomachs often...heh).
At A Glance Author Kate Contact Kate@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Can't remember =/ Studio Elite Location Brierley Hill, West Midlands To begin with, I was stuck on the idea of a horizontal surface piercing below my navel. However, I've heard and seen a fair few rejection experiences and I didn't really want to go through that, so I decided upon an inverse navel piercing. I asked my parents, and, although neither were incredibly enthusiastic, they gave me permission to get it done.
This was about a month or two ago. I didn't have enough money - I'm 15, don't have a job, and £25 doesn't last too long with me. One day, I mentioned to my boyfriend that I was going to get it pierced at some point and he points out that it's Valentine's Day soon, and he offered to pay for £15 of it, whilst I could pay the £10 I actually had. Problem solved!
Valentines Day came and went, as I didn't really have time on the actual day, and I didn't fancy getting it done on Wednesday and then going out to a very crowded club later and getting it knocked around. We decided that Thursday would be the most suitable day, so in the morning we phoned Elite in Brierley Hill to check with them about prices and whether they do the piercing, and a few hours later I found myself sitting in Elite, choosing a barbell and waiting for my turn. Before and after me there were people waiting to get their navel pierced - I guess not everyone has it done then, heh.
My mom signed the parental consent form and left me waiting outside with my boyfriend while I waited for my other two friends to come. Unfortunately, the piercing room is only small so they couldn't come in and watch (probably a good thing actually, they'd just make me laugh or annoy me, haha), so they sat outside and waited.
Originally I wanted just a plain, silver coloured barbell (titanium) with no gems, but they hadn't got any, so I chose a titanium barbell with one clear gem, which was my second choice.
The procedure was basically the same as a regular navel piercing. The woman who was piercing me (Can't remember her name, began with an S I think, haha) marked on the two holes with a purple pen, and I checked they looked aligned with my top piercing. She then clamped my stomach, showed me the new needle, opened it in front of me and checked I was OK. The actual piercing hurt for about one or two seconds, slightly more than my first navel piercing, but nothing unbearable and nothing more than a little uncomfortable, really. I still think that the clamp is the most uncomfortable part of all the piercings I've had done with a needle (Yes, my ear lobes were gunned).
The larger ball on the barbell was actually in my belly button, so it was like a regular piercing had been flipped upside down. I had a regular 10mm barbell with 2 small balls on it in my regular navel piercing, so there was enough room for both to fit comfortably.
After the barbell had been put in and the ball screwed on, she put a 'patch' over it to keep it covered, and I was given (yet another) aftercare leaflet (which has been added to my collection on my wall, along with other random junk). I paid my £25 and walked out, with my friends threatening to poke me in the stomach.
It has only been five days, but I've had no problems. A slight bit of bruising from the clamps - I bruise easily - but no soreness, bleeding, or anything. My navel doesn't feel too crowded or anything either, as I thought it might with 2 piercings in. I'm the only person I know personally with this piercing and most people who know I have it find it kind of weird - If you just glance at it, some people I know have got confused, as in the top piercing, I have a clear, small ball on the bottom part, so you can just see three balls (above, in, and below) around my navel - but I love it.
As always, I recommend both Elite and the piercing to everyone considering either.