At A Glance
Author	sarah
When	A week ago
Artist	Kenny
Studio	Inksmith & Rogers
Location	Jacksonville

Ok... so let's see...

Ever since i was like 11 years old I wanted to get my belly button pierced! My mother of coarse felt this was a tacky, distasteful way of self mutilation and said it would be something I would never be allowed to do. Well, as the years went on I eased up on the begging and just sort of forgot about it, thinking it was impossible. That is until a week before I went on my cruise. I proposed the idea to my mom at dinner one night and she said "no"...of course. And then I sort of lost it and went on a rampage about what a good kid I am and how hard I work to do good and not get into too much trouble. And as I was finishing what I was saying, thinking it was just going in one ear and right out the other, she said, "you're absolutely right, and that is why after the cruise is over you can do it." well to make a long story short, I freaked! I was so excited that the first thing I did was run up stairs and start looking for places that were highly recommended by other people online by reading stories such as this one.

Anyway the cruise ended and I finally found a place I wanted to try out, "Inksmith & Rogers" in Jacksonville, Florida. They were the place my brother got his tongue pierced at. He was going through a typical 23 year old phase.

So I finally found time for us to do it and my mom said the only way we could do it is if we had a male go with us to keep HER company, after all she made it very clear she would not be accompanying me in the room while they did it. So I called my dad and asked if he would go with us being that he lives in the area. So he met up with us and we went in. To my surprise, it was very clean and organized looking on the inside and the people who worked there were very nice. The man who ended up being my piercer was outside and opened the door for us. We introduced ourselves and said what we wanted done and then he handed us the form and told us to get it notarized. My heart was pounding so fast I almost threw up...seriously! So we were off to get the form notarized. We finally ended up going to my dad's bank to get it notarized and were back at the place in about 10minutes. When we returned I asked the piercer (Kenny) if he used clamps when piercing (I knew some places didn't but everyone I know who has a navel p iercing always had clamps used on them) so I was curious if that was how he did it. He said no and I was quick to question why. I think I kind of caught him off guard, but he said that just wasn't how he was taught to pierce. That was good enough for me. Any way...and I know right now you are just like "ok...get to the part where he put the needle in", well, I am getting there!

I then picked out my ring 20 questions about sanitation...to be honest, there weren't a whole lot of options but I chose a light pink banana barbell all while listening to my mother give the man the. It was ok for me; you only have to keep it in a month before you can change it. Then he said to come on back. He lead me and my dad to a room where he told me to stand so he could clean my navel area. Then he marked my bellybutton where the piercing would go. I stared at it and approved, although I was so excited and nervous that I would have approved of any marking. Any way I then laid down on a flat cushioned bed thing and he asked me if I was ready, I said no and squeezed my dad's hand. He put the needle like halfway in or at least it felt that way and he then told me to take a breath and as I exhaled and pushed it the rest of the way through. People...the needle is nothing! It looks so huge when you first see it and you will be freaked out by it, but when it goes in, it just feels like a bunch of pressure shooti ng upward. However, it in my opinion did not sting it was a sharp pressure on your belly and that is it. It's over in like 10 seconds and then putting in the jewelry does not hurt. I heard it did. I didn't sit up until I was told to do so, so I never even knew the transition between needle and jewelry. But he told me to slowly sit up and that I was done. I saw it and was in love. He did such a good job that I would recommend him for anyone in the Jacksonville area who wants it done. It to my surprise never got red! Even now a week later, it still never got red or infected! He gave us some H2Ocean and told me to not go in water (besides showers) for 4 weeks and to not change the jewelry for 4 weeks. Total, it cost us $58 plus a $10 tip (because he was awesome) and we left. The whole experience is so worth doing and I am so proud that I didn't back down. I love it and if you still want to do it...definitely go for it...I think you'll love it too!