I never thought I would ever get a piercing. I'm a girl who goes to school, gets good marks, makes my parents happy and generally floats around in the background. The idea came to me because I wanted to do something adventurous, which no one would expect of lil ol' me. I thought a good place to start was a navel piercing and I waited until I was old enough to get it without her permission.
At A Glance Author Oni Contact Oni@bme.anon When Three months ago Studio Cleopatra's But anyway, I went to my chosen beauty place The Edge. Looking back I wish I hadn't gone there for a couple of reasons. One, the woman treated me like a piece of flesh needing a hole, and it made me feel cheap. Secondly, the piercing itself seemed straight, but the bar would swivel to the left side. Thirdly, I paid extra for this pretty bar and its jewel fell out later – so yeah I wasn't too happy with my investment.
As my body began to realize 'hey there is a funny object in my body' the infections started. I didn't like my navel piercing and was incredibly tempted to take it out. I realized why I didn't like it, there was only one!
With my mind made up about three months later, I went off to the next place Cleopatra's. The girl who did my piercing was young but she was really nice and it was her first multiple piercing, so instead of running the risk of messing it up, she called her superior who helped guide her in what positions to put the dots. Everything was done professionally; she disinfected the area, collected her sealed equipment and gave me a range of bars to choose from. I had gone in wanting a piercing horizontal on each side of my belly but I changed it to go diagonally down in a nice triangle. She chatted to me throughout the whole process and made me feel comfortable. They even offered help on the first navel piercing, which at the time still had a mild infection, saying that if I kept pushing it to the other side, it would train the hole to go straight.
Unlike the first piercing session, the girl put a spray on my skin, which made it cold. With the clamps properly in place she pierced away! It was the same as the first time, a sharp sting – like a pinch – then the odd pulling sensation. When I looked in the mirror I had no doubts anymore. I was in love with my three piercings – I guess I'm just not a singular person. I left a very happy customer, the service and prices much better then at The Edge. They went above and beyond my expectations and were willing to say I had an eyebrow wax if my mum came snooping around.
This time I took a different approach to healing. I didn't mess around with the bars, like I did the first piercing, and I didn't use hard disinfectants. Instead I bought a bottle of Tea Tree oil and cleaned it twice a day for the first week. After that I let it heal the LITHA way. Needless to say, the two bottom ones behaved much better then the first one. As expected about two days later, my body recognized 'foreign objects!' and got a little red and sore – nothing too bad.
Right now, the piercing on the right is sore as I knocked it quite a few times the other day and made it bleed, but with an adjustment on how I do things it is healing nicely. Also clothes have hampered healing a little, as the waist band on my school uniform keep rubbing the sore area. The left one is resilient and doesn't even crust on me anymore, it healed super fast and I was very satisfied considering I was sure it would be the one to cause trouble due to an initial bumpy start. The top one from The Edge, still gives me grief, continually swivelling to the left and often oozing pus – I don't understand it, but I think it's improving --- slowly.
The people at Cleopatra's suggested I buy some titanium jewellery as, interestingly, the stainless steel still contains a small amount of nickel, which I know I react to. So I'm giving away my pretty bars, for two reasons, I'm replacing them with titanium and my navel piercings look damn cool without feminine embellishments.
After six months, since my first piercing, my parents and sisters still have no idea about my piercings and that's how it will most probably stay because anything I tell them will return to my mum (tattletales) and she will be angry/insulted/hurt/etc.
So it will continue to remain my little secret. If you want a piercing and you are totally set on it but can't take the plunge – then you don't want it enough! You've got to be totally sure of what you want and don't do as I did, getting a piercing to spite your mum because you could end up hating it. I love my three piercings and I'm even considering more. Most importantly, my self image has improved with my additions and I don't regret what I have done.