Ok, so I'm 19. I have been so interested in tattoos and piercing's for such a long time that I can't even pin point when my fascination started.
At A Glance Author Freck Contact Freck@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Pete Studio Kazbah Location One of the arcades in Leicester, UK I am however, a bit of a self-confessed wimp. I didn't know many people who had had anything done up until about a year ago, which does not matter too much anyway because I needed to be 18 for my first mod. I got a tattoo on my lower back, which I decided to get instead of a piercing, even though it would hurt more and if I didn't like it I was stuck with it. I don't know how my logic worked. Straight away after my first tattoo I was hooked and I got another one a couple of months later. But I wanted a piercing more than anything else in the world.
Correction, I wanted lots of piercing's. I had drawn up a very long list in my head. Tragus, Tongue Web, Tongue, Conch, both nipples, and a couple of genital ones, although I always found the names too confusing to write down. But I was petrified of the thought of a needle going through my flesh, even my ears. So I put it to the back of my mind whilst I finished my university exams.
So my exams finished, I had a few weeks of free time before I had to move back home. So I went out and did a fair bit of partying. It was then that I met a guy who changed my life, in a fair few ways. He had more piercing's than I had ever seen on one person in my life. They all looked wicked. I was both jealous and also disturbingly attracted to him.
We got on very well, and it wasn't until we slept together that I discovered the wealth of non facial piercing's he also had. And there staring at me was his navel ring. I had never seen a guy with one before, ever, and I was totally intrigued. It looked awesome.
So I moved back home for the summer, my parents hated my tattoo and were 'ashamed' of me, and they made me promise not to get anymore tattoos and never to get any piercing's. So a week later I found myself again under the needle of the tattooist. But it wasn't what I really wanted. I needed a piercing. I needed to get one done; because I knew that after that, I wouldn't have any problems getting any other piercing's done.
But what to get as my first? An ear piercing seemed like the obvious beginners choice. But I have never been one to do anything easily. So I decided on a tongue web, but most piercers either had problems with doing it, or said it would migrate out. Time for a re-think.
Then I thought navel. It was a brilliant idea. It was a very uncommon piercing for guys. Which suited me down to the ground because I was never really one to follow the trend.
So I awoke one morning determined to get my navel pierced. I called my best mate up to come with me. She had always been annoyed with me because I had got inked without her. So I had to make sure she could come with me. So we trekked off to one of the best piercers in Loughborough, 'Beyond Reality.' Only to find when we got there that it had just shut that day for two weeks, meaning it wouldn't be open again until after I had gone back to university! I was a bit annoyed. So then we headed off to the only other peircers in my town which had a good reputation called 'House of David' (It was a hair salon, with a piercing studio as well). So we got there and the piercer wasn't coming in that day. On a Friday ??????????
I was now immensely annoyed, because I was so psyched about getting my navel done. So I gave up for the day. And I let it slip into the back of my mind for a bit. Then just under a week later, a guy who I had just started seeing asked me if I wanted to come to Leicester with him, he needed to go to Kazbah (piercers + tattooists) to check up on his custom tattoo design anyway, so he said I could get my navel done. A big grin spread across my face. I had just recovered from Tonsillitis, and this would be the first time I had stepped out of the house since getting it.
So he picked me up and we drove off. We got to Kazbah, it is an excellent place, I have had a tattoo done there before so I didn't have any worries about hygiene, and all my friends who had been pierced there said it was excellent. I walked into Kazbah, and walked up to the piercing desk. They have a lovely semi-old woman on the desk. Very sweet and re-assuring. I said 'I'd like to get my navel pierced please,' and she replied 'well that's a good start.' She brought out a tray with a selection of different bars I could be pierced with. I really wanted a dark grey titanium one but they had ran out, so I decided on a blue one. She got me one out in a little sterile packet, very reassuring. I handed over my £25 and she told me to go up the stairs to Pete the piercer. This threw me totally. I was so used to having to wait a few hours for tattoos, so I had plenty of time to prepare myself. But now I was going straight there, I didn't even have time to panic.
I walked upstairs into a very large and airy studio. It was all white and smelt of disinfectant. Pete was very friendly. He had a nice smile, and was also kind of cute, which always helps. He got me to stand up straight so that he could mark out my belly after using a wipe on it. Then I lay down on the leather couch, like one you find in a doctors surgery, and he sprayed some stuff on my navel which froze it.
He didn't put a clamp on which would have worried me slightly but I only noticed after the needle had gone through. I didn't feel anything other than a slight push/pull sensation just inside my skin. I looked down at my navel and I'm thinking 'wow there is a needle through my belly, cool.' He then put the bar through, tightened up the ball, checked I was ok and then I was on my way. No blood, no pain. It was marvelous.
Then about 15 minutes later the freezing stuff wore off, and I then got a very slight stinging pain, but that didn't even last very long. The one thing that did amaze me was how often in day to day life my hand brushes over my belly button; I keep on knocking it all the time. But a week later and it doesn't even hurt very much, in fact it's turning out to be quite pleasurable in a sexual way. My boyfriend said it is healing quite remarkably fast. Which doesn't surprise me, I am a very healthy guy, and my tattoos also healed a lot faster than normal.
However a small word of warning. Do not go to any martial arts classes for the first week. I had an hour long Capoeira class a few days after having it done, and that really irritated my piercing, as well as my boyfriends' cat jumping on my stomach all the time!!
Everyone who has seen it said it looks wicked, although they all agreed it was unusual for a guy which makes it look cooler. I have also grown rather attached to the blue titanium, so I am having the rest of my peircings done in that. Only a couple of days now until I get a Hafada done, just in time to go back to Uni. God I love my piercing so much...
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