My Experience
At A Glance Author Geth Contact Geth@hellokitty.com When A year ago Artist Chris (dune) Studio Inflictions Location Covina, California
Hello my name is Geth, and I live in Upland California. One day around a year ago from now, I discovered BME through a friend of mine who had quite a few ear piercings. At the time I only had two standard lobe piercings (but both were done with a needle), and discovering all the things you could do with your body through modification fascinated me !
My sister has her navel pierced, so one day while I was in the car with my aunt (whom I live with and is my "parent), I was discussing navel piercings with her, and how I thought they were kind of cute. She all of a sudden said, Oh you can get one if you want, and I was shocked, I was sure she would have said no to it, but I guess it didn't matter to her if she couldn't see it, because then she told me, " as long you promise to never ask for one on your face", which at the time I didn't care about, (and now I know isn't true, because she let me get my monroe done last week).
So I called my sister, who took me to get my ears pierced, and asked if she could take me to get my navel pierced sometime soon, which she was very excited to do so. And went on and on about how much it would hurt, and how I would be in pain for days.
The morning of the day I got my piercing, I had to get some x-rays done on my neck and a blood test. Blood tests scare me, and I am not sure why, but I don't feel at all the same about getting a piercing done, which I was not scared to do, but if you get light headed easily I wouldn't suggest a blood test the day of your piercing.
Anyway, the time rolled around and I was dropped off at my sister's house and I couldn't wait until we could go. She waited until the afternoon around 4, and I was definitely excited about this! In the car on the way there she was saying things like, "Oh its going to be so great to see you in all this pain". And she asked me stupid questions like, "are you sure you want to mutilate your body?" even though she has her navel pierced. She also went on and on some more about how much pain I was going to be in, she said it was one of the most painful things she's ever done.
So, we finally got there, it wasn't that far, it just seemed like a long time because of the anticipation. I was greeted at the desk, and asked what kind of jewelry I wanted, and not knowing much about the jewelry you should wear at first, I just wanted a regular CBR. Then they "sterilized" the CBR and I went into the piercing room, which is likely that you have heard explained as "a doctor's office looking room" which is what it looked like. The piercer asked me to lay down on the table and lift up my shirt, so I did. Then he cleaned my navel area, and took the needle out of a packet. He said," I want you to take a deep breath and on the count of 3 exhale" So then, I did, and he pushed the needle through. Everyone's pain tolerance is different, and I have a very high one, and I didn't feel anything at all besides the touch of the needle, but no sting or pain involved. Within seconds the jewelry was in, and I ran out so excited I forgot to give him a tip, so I ran back in and gave him $5! My sister was so mad at me, because she wanted me to be in pain and I wasn't at all.
The aftercare advice this piercing studio gave me, was Bactine and Epsom salt soaks, which now I find to harsh for a piercing. My piercing was red around the top hole for a few months, about half a year, which was probably an infection. Wearing a CBR was difficult, since I was in karate , the CBR got moved around quite frequently, which since this is a busy part of the body further irritated the piercing. A month ago, I changed the jewelry into a banana barbell, which was so much better, because now I can sleep on my stomach without worrying about the piercing, and it contours more to my body and doesn't snag on clothes and things. So even though healing it was tough, and it looked grodie for a long time, it looks great now and is totally cute, and since I never show off my navel, its something just for me and I feel really good about myself and I love it. I wouldn't suggest going to the studio I went to, because they aren't very helpful, and put the wrong gauge CBR in my ears and didn't give good advice.
My before and After care Advice:
Before you get it done, practice sleeping on your sides for about a week, if you sleep on your stomach like I do. This will take a lot of irritation out of trying to get use to sleeping a different way and hurt your piercing by accidentally sleeping the way you normally do. Make sure you eat healthy before you go, and your blood sugars are up. Make sure you wear loose fitting clothes and pants or skirts that stay below your belly button to make sure they don't irritate your fresh piercing. You will have to wear jeans that don't touch it for a few months, I'd personally say not until its completely healed. The jewelry you pick out, if your going for comfort and maneuverability, should be a navel barbell, or banana barbell. A standard navel is 14G, and this is what they make most jewelry for, if you want a wide selection of jewelry for after your navel heals. Remember to check that the studio is clean, and if it looks dirty to you in any way go somewhere else. Expect to spend around $50, more or less depending on the studio. If your under 18, bring your birth certificate and Photo ID, and your mother or father or guardian should bring their license. This will get rid of having to go back home to get anything. And also remember before you go, if your worried about pain, that everyone's pain tolerance is different, and no one else can tell you if something is going to hurt or not, because its different for them. So if you want something to worry about, just expect it to be a horrible pain, but I wouldn't worry about it so much if it's what you really want.
After you get it done, do a sea salt soak twice a day. Put 1/4 teaspoon sea salt in 8 ounce mug or cup and heat up some purified water, warm enough for you to comfortably put your finger in. Put it up to your navel and suction it, and lay down for about 10 minutes morning and night. If you don't believe this helps, it does, and it helps amazingly and speeds up healing. The area might dry around it, but this is because of the salt. Wash the piercing with an anti microbial soap like Satin, twice, or if your skin is sensitive like mine, id suggest once a day. Do not play with the piercing until after it is healed. Do not touch it at all unless you are in the shower washing it. Make sure you do not dry it with your towel, use (clean) toilet paper to dry it separately because towels carry germs. Wear clothes that cover it for a few weeks, this will also protect it from germs, just make sure it's a loose shirt. Do not change your jewelry for at least a year, and expect this piercing to take a year or over, because even after a year, mine is still a little bit red, but it could just be scar tissue from the infection. If you have an infection do not take it out, but if it worries you contact your piercer. One last piece of advice is to be patient with this piercing, it is in a busy part of your body that is always being moved, so it takes a long time to heal, and it might be difficult to bend down for a couple weeks, make sure you get this piercing because you want it, not because super models or pop stars or everyone else has it, because it might not be your thing, and even though you can take out a piercing the scars will always be there.
Anyway, thanks for reading my experience, I love my piercing and it makes me enjoy my body more and appreciate all the things we can do with it. This was the first step in my increasing interest with body modification, and after this I have 4 more piercings, and about 9 more planned for the future !