I was about 15 years old when I first had my navel pierced. I use the words "had my navel pierced" loosely because I actually pierced it myself. I had wanted the piercing for quite sometime and one day I decided to go for it. Big mistake! I actually tried to push an earing through my navel for a standard piercing. When that didn't work I decided to bring out the big guns. I pushed a large safety pin through the top of my navel. It worked and I was ecstatic...for about ten minutes. I soon realized that self-piercing is not a great idea. Since I couldn't sit down or wear pants because of the irritation, I had to take it out almost immediately.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist Chris Studio Tattoolicious Location Honolulu, HI For the second through sixth attempts I decided to have my piercings done professionally. Something always seemed to go wrong. Either the piercing wouldn't heal fast enough for me, it would get really uncomfortable and then infected, or I just plain didn't like it. By the time I was 23 years old I had been poked six times and had absolutely nothing to show for it. It had been about two years since my last attempt and I decided it was time to try it again.
I had recently moved to Hawaii to start anew. It was the perfect time to get my navel pierced again. I was determined to keep it this time. I was living in a building that had a tattoo and piercing shop conveniently located on the first floor. I even talked my 44 year old mother into getting pierced with me! Everything seemed to be falling into place. I got my piercing. I, as usual opted for a ring instead of a barbell. (Someone once told me that a navel piercing healed quicker if a ring was used. They were wrong, at least in my case. But we will get to that later.) About six months after the experience, I was healing pretty well. I was showing no sign of rejection or infection. I still had the ring in and I was enjoying it.
Then one day I went to the beach with my brother and some of our friends. As I was walking down the beach to get into the water, my brother ran up from behind me and tackled me. His little finger slid into my navel ring and ripped it almost completely out. Almost completely. The ring was hanging by a sliver of skin. I couldn't let it hang there so I decided to cut it out. I found a pair of small scissors to use. It worked like a charm. However, it left a huge gap in my navel. It looked like two little horns poking out of my navel. I was terrified it would never heal. My perfect piercing gone in a flash. I was upset to say the least. I sucked it up and found some surgical tape which would be used to repair some of the damage. I pushed the two sides of my belly button together and taped them there. I went through this taping ritual for weeks while it was healing. It turned out pretty well considering what it looked ike to begin with. It wasn't great though, and it certainly wasn't pierced!
Fast forward to July, 2005. I had a visible scar around the top of my navel. I hated it. I had since had my nose and labret pierced and just felt unbalanced. I also have a tattoo around my belly button so I looked unfinished. It was time to give it one last shot. I consulted Chris, the new piercer in my building, to see if there was any way I would be able to get my navel pierced again. He wasn't sure if it would work, but suggested a surface piercing just above the navel. He also suggested that I use a barbell instead of a ring this time. He explained that the position of the ring changes every time you sit down or stand up. That movement had been causing irritation. I wondered if the ring had been the problem all along. I thought about it for a little over a month and I decided to go for it. I mean, really, at this point I had nothing to lose.
What do you know? It worked! I love my piercing. It healed quickly and you can no longer see that that ugly scar. I can't even imagine not having my navel pierced now. After all I went through with the standard navel piercing, I discovered that this surface piercing was the answer all along. I am going to get the bottom done next weekend and I can't wait. Since the top piercing is a little higher up than the norm, the bottom won't hit it at all. So the healing process shouldn't be too bad this time. Thanks, Chris. You are truly the man!