My story begins a few months ago. That morning I had a terrible time at work at a well known Australian coffee chain, similar to a Starbucks as we were dramatically under-staffed and flat out. I was currently in the middle of a tragus-conch industrial, having my conch pierced a few weeks earlier. So I after work went straight to my piercer hoping to get my tragus done to relieve a bit of stress.
At A Glance Author Mary Contact Mary@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Tim Studio Hairhouse Warehouse, Marion Location Adelaide, Australia I have met a number of different piercers over the years but none have been as truthful and enthusiastic as the one I have now. When I went to see him that day he advised me that I was not quite ready to get my tragus done without aggravating my conch too much. He was having a bad day too so we both sat in his shop complaining about our days, looking through jewelry catalogues and discussing piercings we had heard of and seen.
A few weeks earlier I had told him that I wanted something on my stomach, currently occupied by a regular navel piercing which I had done when I was 14. Already having tattoos and different jewelry pieces with stars my piercer told me about star patterned piercings he had seen before. He drew me a rough diagram and as soon as I saw it I knew I had to have it. My terrible day had then turned into one of the best ever.
Over about a month and a half my piercer spent quite a bit of time designing and trying different ideas. We also spent quite a bit of time together deciding how it would be done. Having pierced me before, he said that we could do it all in one go as I would be able to handle all five at once. Other options were to have two or three done and healed up before the final two or three were put in. I decided I wanted all five at once.
When the day arrived I was so pumped when I walked into the studio. After making all the measurements and dotting my stomach for about half an hour trying to get the points in exactly the right place we were ready to begin. Not having done this kind of procedure before my piercer wasn't sure whether or not to clamp it or do it free hand and whether to pierce it all and then put the jewelry in or put the jewelry in after each piercing. This is how he did it:
1. The first one was easy. Just like a regular navel piercing because it basically was. My piercer clamped it and within a few milli-seconds it was over and the jewelry was in.
2. He decided to try the second one freehand. This meant there would be no bruising from the clamp but it took longer for the needle to run though my skin. This hurt slightly more than the first and the decision was then made to clamp the remaining 3.
3. By the third piercing my stomach was quite agitated and the pain was significantly higher than the previous 2. After the third had gone in I had to wait about 10 mins before I was ready for the next. During this 10 mins me and my piercer chatted about unrelated things and ate lollies which was quite helpful in keeping my mind off the pain and what was going to come. At this point I was considering leaving the final two until another time but I knew I would regret it later.
4. As the clamp went on for the fourth piercing I could feel it pulling all of the other piercings. It felt like each piercing was getting more painful as we went along and this one was no exception. This was far more painful than the previous three and again it took more time and more lollies before I felt I could face the final one. Again, I felt like stopping but I was so close I knew it would be over soon.
5. By this time it had been about 25 mins since the initial piercing. The area around my navel was incredibly aggravated. I was totally nervous especially about the clamp pulling on all four of the previous piercings. It felt like I could feel the needle running into every individual layer of skin. The pain was about 10 times worse than the original piercing and I almost cried!
It was over! And from the first time I looked at it in the mirror I fell in love with it. 10 points from 5 barbells making a star pattern around my navel. A few days after the piercing the freehand one began to ache and became significantly more swollen than the other four. This was easily fixed by replacing the curved SSS barbell with a PFTE barbell which was slightly longer. After a few hours the swelling decreased dramatically and after a week it was replaced with the original barbell.
It has been about 5 weeks since I have had it done. I love it and it has become a part of me so much already that I wouldn't be myself without it. I must admit, it put me off getting anything else pierced for a while but now I'm back searching BME for other ideas.
If you are considering something like this here is some advice from me to you. Firstly, make sure your piercer is someone you trust and who you feel comfortable with. I found it quite important communicating to my piercer when I was ready and really appreciated the way he comforted me during the procedure. He also spent a lot of time planning the procedure, keeping me informed of every step and gave me advice because he knew me well enough to decide what I could handle. Make sure you are feeling 110% healthy and have eaten well that day, it takes a lot out of you. I preferred my piercer using clamps and putting the jewelry in straight after the piercing, you may be different but I recommend this way. And finally, think hard before you get all five done at once. It wasn't the easiest of things for me and I have quite a reasonable pain threshold and am quite healthy.