In common with, I imagine, the majority of the standard navel experiences submitted to BMEzine, my navel was my first 'real' piercing. By that I mean it was my first piercing performed with a needle, rather than a gun, and it was also the first piercing for which I went to a 'real' studio, rather then blush- Claire's Accessories (in my defence, I only learnt about the evils of guns when I started researching piercings, in the month or so before my navel piercing).
At A Glance Author starflower Contact starflower@bme.anon When A year ago Studio Festival Shop Location Middlesbrough, England In my weeks of research, (because I like to spend hours making sure I'm doing the right thing, especially something that I've been advised by various people not to do) the first site I discovered was BME, and I spent hours reading all the past experiences, and learning about all the piercings I'd never even dreamed of before (does it show that I had a very sheltered childhood?!). I quickly learnt that the horror stories I'd been told weren't true or at least that they didn't have to be.
For example, navel piercings can and do heal properly, as long as they're cared for properly. They don't all get ripped out, especially if pierced with a barbell rather than a ring (I learnt that they can be pierced with a barbell!). Most people don't faint from the excruciating pain of them (and pain varies depending on the person and how well-prepared they are for the piercing anyway). Last but definitely not least, they don't take up to five years to heal or at least, there's something wrong if they take that long to heal! (I hope this demonstrates exactly how naοve I was then quite worrying considering that I was nearly seventeen at the time!) I learnt a lot from reading the past experiences, as each experience offered me more, and often different advice. However, the most common (and useful) advice offered in the experiences was:
Choose your piercer wisely
Keep your piercing clean (I would have thought that was obvious, though)
Don't use alcohol-based cleaners, because they're too harsh
Be aware that this piercing takes 6 months + to heal properly
Make sure your piercer uses titanium or niobium jewellery to pierce you with (to avoid the risk of nickel allergies (in Europe they're required by law to use these materials anyway, according to the EU nickel directive)
Make sure the piercer doesn't reuse needles (not only is this practice unhygienic, but it would also make the piercing experience less pleasant for you, as the needle wouldn't be as sharp as it should be)
Don't allow anyone to pierce you with a gun! (I was amazed that anyone would consider this, but I did see a few 'gunned navel' pictures and experiences)
So, my information (and money) gathered, I felt that I was ready. The law in the UK states that to be pierced without parental permission, you must be 16 or over, so I didn't need parental consent. However, I have a good relationship with my mother, and didn't want to go behind her back, so I asked her how she felt about it. She wasn't happy with the idea of needles going through her only child's flesh, but recognised that it was my decision, and had seen how much research I'd done (and could see how informed I was as a result of this). So, long story short, she said I could, but I was to use my own money for it, and she wasn't going to go with me. That was fine by me, I had lots of money, and I felt that to really 'earn' the piercing, I needed to go by myself (one of my main reasons for wanting the piercing then was that I'd been having a really horrible time at school, and felt that I needed to prove my strength to myself doing everything (apart from the procedure itself) for this piercing was a huge part of that.
So, the part of the experience that you all probably wished I'd hurry up and get to the procedure itself. I went into Festival Shop, and spent about 15 minutes looking at all the jewellery (and marvelling at how big some of it was!) before I summoned the courage to ask at the counter about the piercing. I filled in the form (stating that yes I'd eaten within the last 4 hours, I wasn't drunk or under the influence of any other drugs, all the usual consent form stuff) and showed them my passport (which I'd brought in case my student card wasn't sufficient ID they said it would have been, but the passport was better). I chose my jewellery from the display case (although the barbell that she used was in an autoclaved baggie) and waited another 5-10 minutes while the piercer (I can't remember her name) prepared the room (ideally I should have been able to see this, but I was too nervous at the time to think of it), then came through to the piercing room. I must have looked quite ill, because the piercer checked that I was okay, and that I really wanted to do this. She then checked that I had the right anatomy for the piercing, and asked me to sit and stand, to check that the marks didn't move too much (I think). She then asked me to lie down on the 'doctor's bed', cleaned the area, put the clamps on (the clamps hurt more than the piercing did, as many other experiences have stated) and told me to take a deep breath in, and she'd pierce on the out-breath. She actually pierced while I was still taking my deep breath in, but it didn't really matter to me because it barely hurt at all. I could feel the needle moving through the layers of my skin, but it wasn't a bad feeling, just a strange one. I briefly looked down and saw the needle in my skin, which looked quite cool, and I wished I had a camera (for some reason I remember the needle as being huge, but it can't have been that big really it was only a 14g and must have actually only been a few inches long). I then lay back and waited for the barbell to "\ΓwP be put in, and the area to be cleaned. She then put a Tegaderm bandage over the piercing and told me to keep that on for 4 hours, then went through the aftercare sheet with me clean it twice a day with mild antibacterial soap, use hot water soaks to draw out any lymph, don't wear waistbands right over it, and come in or call if there are any problems. I thanked her, paid my £25, and went shopping (I ate a Mars bar right after to make sure my blood sugar was high enough)!
Healing was mostly pretty straightforward. I cleaned it in the shower morning and evening, and did salt and chamomile soaks most evenings. It did develop 'The Bump' once, after I accidentally banged it with a saddle I was carrying this really hurt! but 'The Bump' soon went away as I continued my aftercare as usual. A year and a half later, the piercing is healed fine, and gives me no problems.
To anyone considering a navel piercing, I would encourage you to get it it's a simple, mostly painless procedure, and I'd consider it a nice welcome to the world of piercings! (Just try not to let any year sevens hit you in the stomach with their huge bags, and be careful when carrying saddles down stairs!)