A navel piercing is not something I've always wanted. My father's a doctor, and so I've always heard horror stories of what can go wrong: infections, skin tears, hepatitis, AIDS... the list goes on and on. Not to mention both sides of my family are strictly Southern Baptist, so body piercing is frowned upon anyway. It wasn't until a very close friend of mine told me she was planning on having hers pierced and said that I should do it, too, did the idea even creep into my mind.
At A Glance Author Sam Contact Sam@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Jenni Studio TaT 101/Electric Head Location Richmond, KY After a week of Googling navel piercings, the look of them started to grow on me. I finally decided to call up my friend again to tell her I was up for it. Another week went by after we made our decision to do it together, and I sent her an instant message asking if she wanted to go ahead and set a date for it. To my horror, she said that she had just gotten it done that day with someone else.
I was disappointed to say the least, but a third friend of ours said that after seeing Lisa's, she wanted one as well, so we plotted to do it within the week. We made an appointment at TaT 101, also called Electric Head, for Sunday at 7:00.
Convincing my mom had been easy. I'm turning eighteen very soon, so she had figured that if she hadn't approved, I would have just waited a few more weeks and gotten it done on my own. She much preferred the idea of being able to go with me and monitor the situation. We picked up my two friends (Lisa accompanied us) and drove to Electric Head. My stomach was in knots, and I told myself over and over that if other people could do it, I could do it, too.
We arrived a few minutes before 7 PM, and our artist wasn't there yet and the door was locked. We loitered for about ten minutes or so, and Jenni finally showed up. I won't get into looks, but she was not well-kempt. We hung around outside for another hour. Jenni claimed that she didn't have a key to the building, and that the owner would be there at any moment to let us in. It turned out the two were a divorced couple with a young child and that time of day just happened to be his visitation hours, and he refused to even come let us in until those visitation hours were over. He explained this to us in the waiting area rather loudly and rudely. My instinct was to bolt out the door, but I was afraid that if I didn't get it done that night, I would chicken out.
We signed all necessary papers and were ushered into the piercing room. My mom kept asking me "Are you sure you want to do this?" and would not CEASE hovering at my elbow, so I was relieved when she stayed in the waiting room. Alesia went first. Lisa held her left hand and I held her right. Some woman I assume was an employee but to whom we were not introduced stood in the corner and watched. Alesia didn't holler, but she sort of whined that it was incredibly painful as she was pierced. I stayed in the room while Jenni cleaned up after Alesia and set out new tools for me.
I stood to get marked, approved of the vertical line she had done across my navel, and laid down with Lisa at my left and Alesia at my right. The woman we didn't know pressed the pedal to put the back of my chair down rather abruptly, so my awkward fall back against the chair was not a good start. I was clamped, which was possibly the most painful part of the whole experience. To take my mind off of what was going on, I sang Jingle Bells as loud as I could possibly muster, and Jenni sent the needle through, which I found to be rather painful. I guess I'm not one of those people who just doesn't feel anything at all.
She handed us APP pamphlets on which she had marked out the line about doing sea salt soakings multiple times a day and had written out to the side, "Once a week." She didn't even mention rinsing or how long to soak. She recommended Dial soap twice a day, and we were out the door.
Over the next few days, I didn't do much sitting – at least, sitting comfortably, anyway. Within a week I had a symphonic band performance and had to wear a cummer bund, which was so painful I nearly decided it was time to take out the CBR and give up on the navel piercing. I talked to a close friend who has had a good deal of experience with piercings and served an apprenticeship for a while, and he ran by a reputable parlor, bought an autoclaved surgical steel bananabell, and changed it out (after, of course, thoroughly washing his hands, cleaning my navel, and lubing the jewelry). NOTE: Changing out jewelry is usually NOT a good idea. This was an emergency circumstance where something had to be done, and I was unable to get in contact with Jenni.
Instantly after the insertion of the bananabell, I noticed improvements. While it remained sore for a day because of the change, instantly afterward all pain stopped. I no longer got it hung on things. I could twist, bend, and sit. Redness and lymph dramatically decreased within days. Today is three weeks exactly since I had it done, and I have no redness or lymph at all. From the outside, it looks like a healed piercing. Yesterday I wore a tight prom dress over it, and today I still feel no pain or irritation.
My friend Alesia was not so lucky. She kept her CBR in (which was TERRIBLY crooked), and it constantly hung on things. At two weeks, her navel was incredibly red and sore, and the piercing had begun to tear. She even had a small bit of flesh hanging from the hole. I took her to the reputable parlor I've mentioned, and they told her it had been pierced too deep and was just not going to heal. They offered to still change it out to a bananabell if she really wanted them to, and said that in that case it may heal, but it would always be crooked. She had it taken out. After two weeks, she had still not been able to bend at the waist because she was in so much pain. It's now been a week since it was taken out, and it's healing very nicely. She hates that she lost it, but plans to get it redone at the reputable parlor in a month or so when I go to get my helix done.
Both of us felt our guts twist when we saw TaT 101. From the outside it was a bit of a hole in the wall, and the rudeness of the owner really put us off. To all those considering getting a piercing: go with your gut instinct! It's probably right. While you could come out lucky like I was and get help elsewhere, you could also end up like Alesia and lose your piercing. I'm very happy I got my navel pierced and think it's the most adorable thing in the world, but next time I know to be a little smarter.