So July of last year, I decided that I wanted to either get a nose or navel piercing. I figured nose was my best bet, because it's on my face and never covered up like a navel, so I could show it off.
At A Glance Author Billy Contact Billy@bme.anon When A year ago Artist "D" Studio The Land of Oz Location Columbus, OH I asked my step father about it, whom I was staying with that weekend, but he immediately said no, but I knew that I wanted to do it eventually. So the urge to pierce went away for a while, and I forgot about it, until my mom told me that she'd made an appointment to go get my piercing, IF I still wanted it done...of course I did!
The first time we went to get it done, "D", the tattoo artist/piercer, had to take the day off to deal with family stuff, and we were scheduled to get it done after the weekend instead. Then after a long weekend of waiting, we went again, and he STILL wasn't back. By then I had time to think about how bad this piercing might hurt, and the long, painful healing process that was sure to follow, but by the next day, I decided to just throw caution to the wind and just do it!
Again, we went in, and...YES! He was there, and ready to do it. After my mother showed him ID and filled out forms and such, he had me sit in the chair (the electrical chair, as I like to call it. :P)and asked me which side of my nose I wanted pierced. With a shaking hand, I pointed to the right side, and stuttered out that I wanted that side done.
He marked me, put the tube in, told me to close my eyes and try not to move, then...."Stop!" I was way too nervous to get it done. I sat through a long, long lecture about him not playing games with me, and if I wasn't ready I could wait outside, but I did NOT want to leave that shop without a piercing. I asked him to do my navel instead, and after grumbling about wasting $5 worth of tools, he agreed. (and didn't even make us pay for said tools. Phew! I only had enough for the piercing.)
First, I had explained to him that my navel had been pierced and closed only less than a week before going to get my piercing, and asked if he could still do it. He said yes, if that's what I wanted, and again, we got ready. He got a new needle, put the chair back and clamped me. This wasn't exactly pleasant, so I thought that he had already done the piercing....but then, "Ow!" A severe, sharp pain, a slightly sore jewelry insertion, and it was over. Yay! We paid him and left.
Let me tell you right now...I adore this piercing! But 6 months of healing went by, and just when it was starting to look healthy, I made the mistake of changing the jewelry my self in a hurry, and accidently stabbed a small second hole through the bottom. Blood, blood and more blood, but very little pain. I REFUSED to give up on this piercing though, so I ended up tugging and pulling on the ring until the small bit of skin between the two holes snapped, and it shrunk around the ring, then healed back to normal. (I did that, yes, but I DON'T advise that you do it your self!) A year later, i've got a beautiful navel piercing! The bit of advice I can give to people considering this piercing is....
1. If you're under age and your parents don't approve, and you figure you can get a friend to stick a safety pin in it or something, JUST DON'T DO IT! They deserve your respect, don't they? And if you're not responsible enough to listen to them, then I doubt you're responsible enough to take care of it and keep it clean.
2. If you're only worried about the pain, don't fret! Just go get it done, and you WON'T regret it! I'm guessing mine only hurt because I had a freshly closed piercing and it was still very tender, but i'm in love with it now, and very glad I got it done.
3. Be extremely careful changing the jewelry, don't wear cheap crap, and if your piercer offers to change it for you the first time like mine did, go with that.
4. Listen to your body. If it looks severely infected, or you do something like I did in the second hole incident, go to your piercer or doctor and have them look at it! Don't take matters into your own hands.
5. Listen to your piercer too! Usually, they know what they're talking about! If he tells you to clean, clean. If he tells you not to change it, don't change it. If he tells you not to take it out, DON'T take it out! If you follow these instructions carefully, you'll most likely have a healthy, gorgeous piercing in the end, and hopefully you'll love it like I love mine!
Good luck!