I never thought I'd get any piercings other than my ears- I figured I was too wimpy, but after my standard navel I discovered the joy of having a piece of metal in your body and how great it looks. I'd had my standard navel piercing for almost a year (10 months to be exact :p), and although I thought it looked pretty, I still felt my navel needed some more jewellery in it- it looked rather empty. After researching different kinds of navel and navel-related piercings and the aftercare, I thought I'd go for an inverse navel- it was unusual and if I decided to get a quad navel in the end, I'd only have the sides to pierce. So I guess this was the next step in a navel project to be.
At A Glance Author Nia Contact opheliawannabe@gmail.com When It just happened Artist Maxine (I think...) Studio The Maxx Tattoo Studio Location Bromsgrove, Worcs. UK After about 2 weeks of summing up the courage to go for it, my fiancé and I went for something to eat (I really cannot stress how important it is to eat before a piercing) and then on to the studio. I told the piercer what I wanted, and she said it'd be fine and so she asked about what type of jewellery I wanted (I didn't want a ring because I'm really quite bad with BCRs) so I got a curved barbell where both ends could be changed- this opens more possibilities for jewellery, like I could buy the little balls and have 3 matching ones in my belly if I changed the double-ended barbell. We went upstairs into the piercing room and I started to take off my layers (well, only a coat, a jumper and a scarf, but still). I stood up and the piercer told me to relax as much as possible, and then she marked me up with the almighty purple pen. Because my other piercing wasn't quite straight, she lined the bottom one up so that it would be less noticeable. I then lay down on the bed type thing, and she clamped my belly. That part was less painful than I thought it would be (it hurt quite a bit on my standard navel, if I remember correctly). I then had it sprayed with the anaesthetic stuff (I'm not afraid to admit that I'm scared of pain :p). After a deep breath in and out, she pushed the needle through. It seemed to get jammed partway, which hurt like a bitch, but after a few unsavoury words, I took another breath and it was through! After putting in the bar and screwing on the top, I stood up and had a look. It was so pretty and looked great with my other bar in! The piercer then put a cotton pad with Vaseline on it and taped it down. She then explained the aftercare and gave me a sheet about salt soaks.
Me, the piercer and my fiancé went downstairs and my fiancé payed (the piercing was kinda symbolic of us- just like the piercing, I'd wanted to be with him for so long, and I finally managed to 'get' him!) it cost £25. We then walked out of the studio, both of us grinning like a pair of absolute loons. I had a drink of (full-sugar!) cherry coke to calm my nerves and up my blood sugar a bit more, and then went home. It was a bit painful when I was walking to the bus stop, as the top of my skirt kept catching the bottom of the bar, but when we got home I sat down and relaxed. The first night wasn't too bad, but the next day it started to hurt quite a lot and swell a little, so I didn't move around too much. I took some ibuprofen tablets to try and help with the pain. Today it's still fairly sore- I think I may have caught it on my duvet last night, so I am trying to avoid moving too much until it settles down a bit more. I have been doing a salt soak every evening and using savlon spray in the mornings to clean it. So far, so good. I have a bit of redness around the holes, but that's only to be expected- after all, I did have a needle shoved through my skin :p
Despite the pain of the needle getting stuck, it looks so awesome that I am so very glad that I got it. I am considering getting the sides done in a few months, because quad navels are so pretty :) or I might just have one side, I think that'd be quite cool too. If anyone is considering getting this piercing, I would say go for it- a tiny bit of extra pain during the piercing in exchange for a wonderful, gorgeous piercing is well worth it!