My very first piercing was your basic navel piercing. I've always found piercings to be so sexy but I never could get one until recently. I used to be in the army, and they didn't allow any type of piercings (and I didn't want to risk getting one and then getting injured somehow). But I finally made it to a point in my life where it's convenient for me to get as much work done as possible.
At A Glance Author Nat Contact Nat@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Jeremy Studio Hanger 18 Location London, Ontario, Canada Before I even started calling tattoo/piercing parlours, I spent a lot of time on the internet researching the pros and cons to getting a piercing. I got a lot of very useful information that has come in handy during the healing process. So whatever you're thinking about doing, I suggest you research it very thoroughly first.
When I decided that I had learned enough about piercings and all the risks associated, I started calling around. I'm a major stickler for excellent customer service, so if I called a place, and they were rude or short with me in any way, I nixed them off my list. I'm sorry, but by getting a piercing you're putting yourself in the hands of another person, and I'll be damned if I'm going to be at the mercy of a jerk. Anyway, I finally found a place that sounded good. I checked out their website - it wasn't too sketchy, I took that as a good sign, they at least had enough commitment to their potential clients to keep a good website. I went to the actual shop to check it out, make sure it was clean and that the staff was friendly. Everything was going great so I decided that this was the place I would get my piercing.
My appointment day came. I was so excited. I know it's just a navel piercing, but it was still exciting for me, I'd only ever had my ears pierced before (and that was with a gun - never again). I wasn't nervous at all. I have a really high tolerance for pain, and pain is about the only thing I can think of that would make someone nervous, so I was golden.
I walked into the shop and everyone was very welcoming and kind. Jeremy, the piercer, invited me into the room. We made some small talk before discussing the piercing itself. He explained everything to me in detail, I suppose if I was a nervous person he would have done a very good job at setting my mind at ease. Once he was satisfied that I understood everything and that I was completely prepared he asked me to lie down on my back with my shirt pulled up to expose my belly. He prepared everything, changing his gloves frequently to prevent any cross-contamination. He then cleaned my navel and surrounding tissue. At this point I was totally relaxed and was just carrying on a conversation with him. He talked me through all his actions as he was doing them so that nothing would surprise me. Everyone says that the clamp is the most uncomfortable part, but it really isn't. It's not a big deal at all, it's just a slight pinching feeling, that's it. He told me to take a deep breath in, and then exhale hard, on the exhale he put the needle through. Virtually painless. Before I knew it, the whole thing was over.
I got a bar instead of the hoop, just personal preference. The one thing I will say about the bar is that it's a bit more difficult to clean. A hoop is easier to spin, with the bar you kind of have to move it up and down, which is a little difficult if there's any swelling.
About a week after getting the piercing, I got an infection. Not a really bad one (I've seen them get really really bad). I'd been noticing that my skin wasn't reacting too well with the Tea Tree Oil that he recommended I put on the piercing to prevent infection, and it was only getting worse. So I ceased all strange aftercare procedures (if my piercer knew that I had quit his aftercare procedure I think he'd get mad at me) and I went back to nature. Twice a day I would use plain warm running water in the shower to rinse out the hole, while moving the bar up and down. This worked really well for getting out all the discharge. Then I would use a plain, unscented soap to clean off any oils or dried discharge (gross). I would move the bar up and down to make sure the soap got into the hole. Then I would rinse for five minutes with more warm water. This worked beautifully with the infection clearing up after a couple of days.
Once the infection had cleared up I went back to the original aftercare instructions, minus the Tea Tree Oil (I use Bactine instead - wonderful product by the way). Then I was concerned that the hole was stretching too much - I thought that the bar was migrating. So I went back to see Jeremy, who was more than happy to take a look at what was going on so that he could help me. It turned out not to be a big deal, I was just keeping the area a little too well moisturized. It's fine now.
It's been about a month now since I got my belly button done, and it looks great. I'm so happy with it. I keep it extremely clean, I try not to touch it at all, and when I do I make sure my hands are nice and squeaky clean.
I've since gotten two other piercings (industrial and nipple), and I will be posting those stories shortly.