I've always thought navel piercings brought out the stomach and looked really nice...so last year I decided to finally get it done. I asked around as to where my friends got theirs done...and most of them said "Big Ed's" so thats where I decided to go. My mom and I walked in (my younger sister had to wait outside because she was too young) and my mom filled out the necessary papers (which included proof that I was 16 or older) and Big Ed told me to follow him into the back. I chose a diamond barbell that dangled. He told me to lay down on a chair-like bed that you lay on at doctor's offices and told me to stay as still as possible. He first cleaned off the area with some orange colored antiseptic, put on gloves, then clamped me. ( which just feels like it does when you pinch your own skin. Its not excrutiating or anything. ) And yes, I was nervous the whole time. But, I was waiting for what seemed like forever to get it done and I wasn't going to back out last minute. Then he put the needle through quickly so it didn't hurt all that bad because it happened so fast. I quinched and bit my lip..because thats what I do when I'm in pain, not because it hurt really bad or anything. I was too scared to look down at the needle because needles make me feel faint. So, I just looked up at the ceiling. The expression on my moms face when she saw it go through was priceless though. She made me even more nervous than I already was. He then put the barbell through (quickly again) and it was all over within about 5 minutes. He showed me my piercing in the mirror and I loved it! It cost $40. I was very happy with my new piercing. I walked out with my shirt still a bit rolled up because I didn't want to irritate the new piercing. Everyone that was in the main office loved it and told me it looked really nice. I got it done just in time to show it off for summer. If you want it to be healed in time for summer, I recommend you get it done sometime in the winter.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When A year ago Artist Big Ed Studio Big Ed's I did exactly what he said. I cleaned it everyday using anti bacitracin and witch hazel. I made the mistake of going swimming about 3 months after I got it done. Big mistake! There are a lot of dirty organisms in both pool and lake water etc. And my piercing got infected. It started to swell and became really itchy and red. I could barely sleep at night. Even once you think its healed, make sure you clean it before and after you go swimming just in case. I quickly removed it and decided to try a different navel ring. Another mistake...you're supposed to wait until its fully healed (which can take up to a year because navel piercings take the longest to heal since your body is always in motion) before you switch your belly ring. Needless to say, it only made it worse. I just took the ring out and it closed right away. If you decide to get yours done, make sure you read up on the aftercare and take really good care of it!
After my piercing was fully healed, I decided to try it again. I went to the same place. This time I picked out a blue-dangle barbell. I went through the exact same process and it looked great. I was very happy to have the piercing again. I cleaned it the same way he told me to..and everything was going great. Until five months later when I noticed it starting to swell all over again. I had no idea what I did wrong. I was asking around and finally, I found out a possibility. I guess your not supposed to use anti-bacitracin because it blocks oxygen flow to your piercing, and causes complications. My friend used it on her eyebrow piercing and the same thing happened to hers. You are supposed to use salt water soaks (which I wasn't told about) instead. I recently picked up a pamphlet from the Association of Professional Piercers from a different piercing place. It has a lot of useful information on it. From the Do's to the Donts and all of the proper aftercare instructions. I highly recommend picking one up so you don't make the same mistakes I did.
Overall, my piercing experiences started out well, but later caused complications which could have been avoided. Yes, I do plan on trying to get it done one last time. But this time I'm going somewhere different and am definitely going to take good care of it.