I was in town last week, as I had burnt my eyeball at work. I decided I would put some of my borrowed money to good use, and decided to find out exactly how much it will cost to get my belly-button pierced.
At A Glance Author deadphoenix Contact williams.tobin@hotmail.com IAM deadphoenix When A week ago Studio Trendez Location Dunedin, New Zealand I walked into the store I got my nipple pierce last year to ask how much it will be, for which I was told "$30 for a ring, $40 for a bar." (NZ currency = 0.65c per $US) I asked if I was able to bring in my own jewellery(sic), to which she replied "that will be $35 anyway, because we will have to clean the jewellery(sic)." I own quite a substantial amount of 14 gauge captive bead rings and a bar for my nipple.
I left the store contemplating the piercing, which I believed I would receive a large amount of criticism for, as it is considered a homosexual piercing.
About a block away from the store, I turned around and walked back. I went straight up to the counter, and was greeted with "so you want it done then?" It was about 2 minutes of waiting around after paying and choosing what type of metal I wanted in my navel until I was taken into the room I had been into before. The woman (sorry, I can't remember her name) asked me to show her my belly button.
"Oh, no, we can't actually pierce that type of navel, it's more prone to infection than the 'innie' type. Not many people have them, and even less want to pierce them, so we don't usually ask."
"Oh."
"I'm really sorry."
"That's ok. Well can you pierce my nipple?" I felt a bit bad seeing as she had already set up her equipment, autoclaved the appropriate materials and prepared the area. And I didn't want to leave the store without weighing half a gram heavier.
"Yeah, sure, that's ok with me."
I took off my shirt, which was greeted with surprise, and she commented on my tattoo. "Is that newly done? It looks really good." I told her it wasn't, but I had the tattoo done over to ensure the colour wouldn't fade quickly. I don't think I was feeling anywhere near as nervous as last time I had it done, as I don't remember much pain.
I was marked with a purple marker, wiped clean, then marked again to match as close to the position of the right-hand side piercing as possible. It looked pretty good to me.
I lay down on the chair (not quite long enough for me), while she changed her gloves. A forrester clamp was attached to my nipple, which hurt a bit more than I remember. Not hurt as in pain, but hurt as in uncomfortable. I waited for the signal to breathe in, but instead was told "and here we go..."
The needle went in from the right hand side, then somehow got stuck on the exit. It took a bit of a push to get it through the other side.
Well that hurt a bit more than I remember, which could be due to not being prepared, or maybe because I don't exactly remember how sore the last time was. I found it a bit strange how you can feel it on each side of the nipple, but can't feel it in the middle. I guess it's where the nerves are centered. The feeling of the nipple piercing is quite like a burning feeling, but unlike a tattoo.
I put my shirt back on, and thanked her for the piercing. We chatted a bit about bad piercings and bad customers. All of the aftercare was again explained, and I was asked if I wanted to buy some tea tree oil to put on it, which I declined, as my last piercing healed fine with saline solution. I was asked on the way out how it went, and told them I had to get my nipple pierced instead. The shop attendants were quite impressed, although I would still like to get my navel pierced, but since having the difficulties and potential infection explained in detail, I have been put off.
It throbbed a bit that day, and that night it was slightly hard to sleep on. But I remember exactly how sensitive it is after it is done. It is quite a change from normal male nipples, I can't imagine what already sensitive female nipples would be like with piercings in.
Now it is feeling really quite good, and would be seriously considering stretching it (along with the opposite side) if I had some more information on it and there were some places here in Dunedin that actually sold anything other than 14 and 16 gauge captive bead rings (my preference).
Any questions on why Trendez wouldn't pierce my navel, or answers on my stretching, can you email me at mj_twenty2@hotmail.com