I have always been intensely interested in body modifications. Piercings, in particular.
At A Glance Author Brandi Contact royal.e.fuct@gmail.com When N/A Studio Miller Cotton's Tattoos Location Springfield, MO My mother, who is even now amazingly trendy at her young age of fifty-seven, has always wanted me to pierce my navel. She would have loved to have seen me pierce it years ago, but I just never got around to it. It was never due to a lack of interest or courage on my part; mostly, just a lack of money.
She was thrilled to find out when I came home for spring break that I had finally done it.
It was March 14, 2006, and what would have been my three-year anniversary with my boyfriend; however, we had broken up two weeks prior and I was going through a pretty tough time, needless to say. I had been moping around my apartment for days, and finally, I just said, "Eh, fuck it. I'm getting something pierced."
My roommate Laura and I both attend college here in Springfield, MO, and seeing as it is a college town, there is no shortage of piercing parlors, so we drove to Miller Cotton's Tattoos. I mostly dragged Laura along for moral support, but she was excited that I was finally doing it and came quite willingly.
As soon as we entered, I was surprised to see that we were the only customers there. That raised my suspicions immediately, so I took a quick but thorough glance around.
The place seemed sterile, and when I had decided it suited me, I went up to the counter and told the guy behind that I wanted to get my navel pierced. He asked for my driver's license and swiped my debit card for the amount of $30, which is pretty cheap for a piercing from what I've heard.
I was sad to find out that they don't allow friends or family back into the piercing rooms because of sterility guidelines, but I understood and Laura gave me a quick hug and then stayed out in the lobby flipping through binders of tattoo designs.
I followed the piercer into the room in the back. Another guy, whom I assumed was a piercer as well, trailed behind and stuck around to watch the procedure. I guess he was just bored, since there was not much else to do.
I would love to share the names of the piercers, but they never told me. Weird, huh?
I asked a few questions about aftercare, since they didn't volunteer the information before the piercing as I had expected from reading other piercing experiences, and asked if they would pierce with a barbell so it wouldn't get caught on things. They said they only pierced with captive bead rings, which I thought was weird but figured they knew best. Now I know that I should have a choice in my jewelry, but I just wanted to get it over with before I lost my nerve.
They were both very nice, and the piercer got his tools and the jewelry set up on the tray, marked my navel with the purple pen, had me check the placement and approve it (I was very happy; he had done it perfectly), then had me lie down on the dentist-like chair.
I was pretty nervous by this point, but I figured, "Eh, a pinch and it's over." I could handle that. I once had to suffer through thirteen shots at a doctor's office; surely, this couldn't be that bad.
...Right?
Wrong.
The piercer told me to breathe evenly, and then counted to three and started pushing the hollow needle through. Now, it wasn't as quick as everyone else seems to speak of; it took at least a full minute and a half (no joke) to get the needle through my navel's lip.
It hurt so bad I was shrieking like a banshee, and I have a pretty good pain threshold. The other guy held my wrists down, but I wasn't planning on moving at all. I felt paralyzed. I yelled out a few choice words, promptly apologized, and tried to calm down.
After the needle was (FINALLY) through, he put the jewelry in, which hurt too but not nearly as much, and asked me to check it out. I was too weak, and the other guy insisted that I not sit up.
Apparently, I was white as a sheet and he was close to panicking, thinking I must pass out. He went into another room, got me a glass of water and a huge glucose tablet that looked like one of those big chewy Sweet Tarts, except white and chalky, and told me to let it dissolve in my mouth. He was very good at taking care of me. I appreciated their concern, but I didn't think I was going to faint, I just felt really weak. I was sweating pretty badly, but in my defense, so were both the piercing guys.
They joked weakly that I had skin like a tortoise's shell, and that was why it took so long. My skin is tougher than most, but believe me when I say I no longer think that's a good thing.
Even the piercers seemed terrified by the experience. They looked like they'd been through a war after it was over.
Finally, I was able to sit up and look at my new piercing. It was very straight and looked just deep enough to support the jewelry, but not too deep. I was very excited about it.
The titanium CBR was kind of boring, but they told me it'd be much easier to clean (although I know now that I shouldn't move the jewelry anyway while cleaning it, so it's kind of six of one, half dozen of the other when it comes to jewelry and really should be just a matter of opinion), so I decided it would suffice.
My piercer told me that I could change the jewelry in six to eight weeks, which made me furrow my brows, since I knew navel piercings take at least six months to heal enough to change the jewelry, but I decided against saying anything. I knew I'd wait the minimum healing time of six months before I switched the jewelry, but I didn't want to offend the piercer.
Anyway, they were very nice about the whole thing. After I felt strong enough to leave, they handed me a small (too small, in my opinion) aftercare sheet and a tiny bag of sea salt, and then guided me out into the lobby by the elbows and made sure I didn't faint or fall as I walked out.
Laura, who'd heard me and the piercers carrying on in there, looked worried sick, but I assured her I was fine. I did, however, ask her to drive my car home, since I still wasn't sure that I wouldn't faint and didn't want to take the chance, minimal or no.
So I turned what had been my three-year anniversary into "The Day I Got My Belly Button Pierced." Not bad, huh?
I washed my navel with diluted Dial Soap in the shower each morning, and rotated the jewelry to clean it all, making sure to get all the soap out. (I had done my research before getting pierced, as everyone should, and had read that you are not supposed to move the jewelry, but that's what my piercer had said, so I listened to him for awhile and finally decided against his advice.)
I also took a vitamin C tablet and a zinc tablet along with my daily multivitamin, and did several ten-to-fifteen minute long sea salt soaks every day, and that all really sped the healing process along.
It was sore for a few days, and then was very sensitive for a week, but after that, it didn't hurt at all.
The guys at Miller Cotton's were very professional and considerate the night I got pierced, but when I went in about seven and a half weeks later to ask a question about changing the bead on my CBR, the piercer I dealt with this time, Brian, was one I'd never met before and turned out to be a real jerk. He treated me like I was stupid. I pretty much decided that I would go elsewhere from that point forward; if he treats his customers like that, he doesn't deserve MY business. It's a shame, but it totally turned me off to Miller Cotton's, no matter how nice the first two guys were.
I have had my piercing for two months now, and love it. (Oh, and so does my boyfriend, who crawled back after a month. Haha. And now we're happier than ever.)
It hasn't ever gotten infected, or developed keloids or abscesses. I've babied it very religiously, though, and hope it continues to be happy and healthy. It's hardly even red now, although it's a little dark around the holes. It is still shedding lymph, but I clean it off gently with a Q-Tip after my sea salt soaks, and that's been easy.
I went to Kaleidoscope, a really cool shop here in Springfield, yesterday with Laura. She had decided on a whim to get her cartilage pierced. The procedure went very smoothly, and the piercer, Qui Qui, was amazing. (And the piercing looks great.)
Everything he told Laura totally contradicted what the guys at Miller Cotton's had told me, but I trust him far more, as he has much more experience and he seemed to really love what he was doing. I think it makes a difference to get a piercer who has a passion for his job.
I will follow his aftercare suggestions from here on out, and I'm sure I will have no troubles with my piercing.
I asked him if he'd change my CBR to a barbell since I knew I'd be wearing tighter shirts than normal this summer because of my job, and he was very willing to do so. I bought a blue double-jewelled barbell for $23, and he changed my jewelry for free.
It was completely painless, which I was thrilled about, and looks so much better now. The barbell is a lot less in the way than my CBR was. The ring always turned and laid to one side. It looked stupid, and I didn't want my piercing to heal at a crooked angle. The barbell will really help it to heal straight.
I love my new jewelry; it adds such a pretty sparkle to my navel. I will be completely content to leave this piece in until September. It's perfect.
Well, that's my story. If you're considering piercing your navel, I say go for it. And don't worry, your experience probably won't be nearly as painful as mine. If you're in the Springfield, MO area, definitely check out Kaleidoscope. All the piercers there have many years of experience, but I'd recommend Qui Qui. He was incredible.
Eventually, I plan to get a whole slew of new piercings. And hey, now I know I can survive it! Heh. Thanks for reading!
~Brandi