I'm not sure what ever motivated me to get my navel pierced. It certainly wasn't something that I'd ever been lusting after, nor was it my first foray into the world of modifications. I suppose it was just the sheer realization that it was something that I could do, and that was its appeal.
At A Glance Author snowmellen Contact snowmellen@bme.anon IAM snowmellen When Two years ago Artist Vanessa Studio Way Cool Tattoos on Yonge (now Yonge St. Tattoos) Location Toronto, ON I think I planned a little for it, but mostly just kept it as an idea that lay kicking around in my head, nebulously planned for some future time. Then I found myself in Toronto visiting a friend and there was a very a nearby shop, Way Cool Tattoos on Yonge (now Yonge St. Tattoos) about which I'd heard nothing but the highest praise. So I pitched the idea: "Hey, I want to get my belly button pierced; I know where we can go". And we were off.
We drove up to the shop and parked on a side street nearby. We walked over to the front door and entered, taking out time proceeding to the counter at the back of the shop, just soaking up the décor of the place. A little awed, I somehow made my way to one of the staff members and inquired about the piercing: Did they have the time to do me now? The price? Would they do it with a curved barbell initially? I don't remember the price, but it was reasonable and the answers to the other two questions were "yes".
I signed a form, and showed my ID (remember I said one of the motivations was that "I could", well this was one of those permitting factors: I was just 18), and was ushered up to the piercing room. It was large, clean and bright; I remember high ceilings, a counter along one side, and of course: the reclining dentist-style chair mounted in the centre. My piercer, Vanessa, introduced herself (actually, I may have met her downstairs and then the two of us proceeded upstairs, I don't recall). I believe we made some small talk and she asked me to lift my t-shirt up and tuck it up under the band of my sportsbra. I complied, and then stood up straight for her as, gloved, she wiped me with Betadine and marked a few guidelines and the entrance and exit holes with some purple-marking-object (I don't recall if it was a marker or toothpick dipped in ink, all I can remember is the purple colour). She had me look in the large mirror on the wall to give the OK. Everything seemed all right to me, so she had me sit down in the chair in a reclining position.
She continued preparing her instruments as she briefed me on the details of the procedure: clamps which would be the most uncomfortable part, then a quick pinch as the needle passed through, then keeping still as she inserted the jewelry (which she showed me in its new, autoclaved baggie). She was all set, and asked me if I was ready to begin, and I was. The clamps were applied: they were uncomfortable as she eased them on, but hardly a problem. I remember seeing the marks standing out clearly in the now-whitened circle of skin in the loop of the forceps, and then Vanessa moved in with needle and implements in her re-gloved hands and obscured my view. I'm sure she had me do some breathing or counting exercise for calming and preparation, but I don't remember it. All I remember is a lightning-fast sensation of pain, almost so fast that I couldn't register it and could make no determination of its degree, then a generalized warm throbbing sensation. I didn't even feel her gentle hands as she smoothly placed the plain stainless steel barbell and tightened the ball down solidly.
She gave me a wipe up to clean away any droplets of blood and most of the orange stain of the Betadine, and had me stand to take a look at her excellent handiwork in the mirror. I was thrilled. It sat completely straight and true to all of the markings, and looked exactly as I could have ever visualized. I felt like it belonged, but it was also an odd sensation seeing something there that hadn't been before. She handed me an aftercare sheet and reviewed the key points: no touching, and cleaning with Spectro-Jel and Q-tips and copious amounts of warm water 2-3 times daily (easiest in the shower, provided the rest of you could handle that much showering). I thanked her profusely and proceeded downstairs, as she stayed upstairs to clean up. I went to the counter, paid with debit, and we were on our way.
I diligently cleaned with Spectro-Jel (a bonus, since I already had some of this very mild antibacterial soap) in the shower, and showered rather frequently in the first couple weeks. The swelling and any continual pain went away within the first few days, but I continued to experience discomfort whenever I would sit in slouching position or lie on my stomach and twist around in bed for quite a long time: several months, in fact. I found it was also very sensitive to my health as well, if I were to begin to get sick or overtired, it would regress considerably in its healing progress. I continued to clean it at minimum daily in the shower with Spectro-Jel, finding that if I were too rushed or forgot one day, it made a substantial difference.
I found the healing quite frustrating, in fact. It looked and felt as though it had healed most of the way, and was comfortable enough to pull on or abuse within the first few weeks, but there was a small area inside the fistula that was still unhealed, and that would ache for hours after I had it bent or folded in an odd position. This continued for long enough that it practically became second nature to adjust it constantly into more comfortable positions, and I found myself regularly tugging on it through my shirt. Still, I knew this shouldn't be happening, and I found one of the biggest causes of discomfort was when the miniscule amounts of dry, barely-visible crusties on the jewelry would scrape through the hole when the jewelry moved. Finally, frustrated with this phenomenon, I set out to use something to maintain the softness of the crusties long enough to finish that final little piece of healing that had been eluding me for almost 6 months. I found that applying the tiniest dab of Polysporin at night after cleaning and in the morning after showering, then working it through the apparently healed hole and wiping away the excess provided the moistness that it so desperately needed. I would seriously advise against this for others, however, since Polysporin or any other antibiotic ointment says directly on the package "not for puncture wounds", because of its oily base that could trap harmful bacteria inside the hole, particularly bad if still in a rather unhealed state.
I definitely kept this fact in mind, taking extra diligence to clean the piercing with much manipulation in the shower (this wasn't uncomfortable, since everything was moistened already) in order to clean it thoroughly. I found, however, that within a week of applying the Polysporin twice daily that final little bit of healing finished up and it became very happy indeed. No more dried up crusting to tear up the still-healing area, no more still-healing area to produced the lymph which would then dry up to be those razor sharp crusties. I'm sure I could have achieved the same results with something less problematic, like a fragrance-free moisturizer or a tiny amount of vitamin E oil (as I didn't need the antibiotic properties of the Polysporin at all), but it did work wonders. I was so relieved to finally have it completely and comfortably healed.
It's been over 3 years now, and it's become something I don't ever think about. It has and always will fit my body well, and has become just a piece of me. Perhaps more than some others' piercings: Vanessa told me at the time that she tightened the balls of the barbell exceptionally tight so it wouldn't fall out, and I might have to come back to have it loosened for me to be able to change jewelry. Well, I never really thought about changing the jewelry, the simple stainless curved barbell suited me just fine, so I never went back to have it loosened. About year after I had it done, however, out of curiosity, I tried taking the balls off. No go. Over time I've tried numerous times to undo it out of curiosity, and friends have as well, I've even resorted to pliers with elastics to protect the jewelry to try to loosen it off. Nothing. I've tried to loosen the top or bottom balls (I'm not even sure which one comes off), but I'm pretty much convinced it's thoroughly fused by now, so even more so a part of me. Overall it was a very positive, but also mostly unremarkable experience, one that I tend not to think about when I think of my piercings, perhaps because of the fact that I never really had the lusting, driving desire for it in the first place, but that on the whole I'm very happy with and would miss horribly if I could manage to remove it.