I'd wanted my navel pierced since I was 13 or 14. It wasn't until my 16 birthday that I finally had the approval of both my parents, and it was my mom's birthday gift to me, so I didn't need to pay for it.
At A Glance Author alyssa Contact marblecheeese@hotmail.com When Three months ago Artist Alicia Cardenas Studio Twisted Sol Location Denver, CO We arrived at the studio and my mom told me she had friends who'd came here to get pierced, and she'd already gone in to check it all out, and surprisingly, she approved. The minute we walked inside I knew why she approved so easily. The place looked almost like a doctor's office, except for the awesome decorations all over the wall. It was very clean, there were multiple little rooms, and as I talked to Alicia behind the counter, she was very professional and was very keen to make sure I knew everything I'd need to know before the piercing was done.
Now, quite a few of my friends have had their navel pierced, and they all told me the same thing: it was like a pinch (several even demonstrated the pinch on my upper arm) and it hurt for no more than a few seconds. With that in mind, as the papers were signed, and IDs checked, I was fairly calm. I picked out a silver barbell with a blue stone and was led back into a little white room.
Alicia went over cleaning briefly beforehand, and made it very clear that, because of my age there was a chance my body would slowly reject the jewelry over time. Usually, she didn't do anyone under the age of 18 for this reason, but because my mom had done the research and sided with me when I said I was responsible, she made an exception.
So I was laid down and my bellybutton marked. I was still fairly calm until she began opening packages and laying out all her tools, which didn't terrify me, but it made me tense a little. She cleaned on and around my navel and had me take a few practice breaths so show me how the procedure would go, and to make sure I was calm and not dizzy or anything. The clamp was put on and it hurt, but I'd been told that this was the most painful thing of it all, so I felt confident I could handle it. My main goal was to not let my mind fully comprehend the extent of what was going on. While I knew what was happening, I wouldn't let my mind wrap around it and think "Oh my God, that needle is going to stab through my stomach." So I smiled, said I still wanted to go through with it, and pretended like there wasn't a needle sitting 3 feet away from me or that Alicia was now pulling on a pair of plastic gloves.
The needle came out of the package and I glimpsed it for a few seconds before looking away. I have nothing against needles, I just didn't want the image of it stabbing me in my mind at that moment. She told me to take a deep breath, and I did, with the knowledge that during my exhale, she'd pierce me. I prepared for minimal pain, and was very surprised. Instead of the slight pinch I'd expected, I'd felt what seemed like the entire procedure, and it hurt a lot!
Afterwards I had to lie there, lest I stand up to fast and cause it to bleed. It was actually hard for me to get up and sit down, because it hurt, but walking was fine. Cleaning was gone over again, and I was told under no circumstances was I to use any kind of hand soap to clean it. Just soak it in sea salt water 2 or 3 times a day, everyday, and no missing showers or touching my new piercing unless I was cleaning it. If anything at all seemed to be wrong, I was to come in and have it looked at and possibly taken out.
24 hours later, after I didn't have to sit and bend down like a pregnant woman, it bruised and was red. The bruising didn't go away for a couple weeks, and after it did, my piercing once randomly just started bleeding, with no apparent cause, and it wouldn't stop for something like 6 hours. I was told this was normal for some people, and my mom's had bled once too (she'd gotten hers done about a year before me). It hasn't bled since, even when I've bumped it really badly or had it tugged on. Now, 3 months later, I love it. It's so pretty, and it doesn't get irritated anymore. My jewelry can move around and it doesn't appear to be growing out. I can't even remember the pain, and I'm thinking of, once this piercing is 100% healed (which I was told would take 6 months), more navel piercings.