By Brianna, from New York.
I’ve wanted my belly button pierced since I was around ten, when I found out you could pierce a belly button! My mother would NEVER let me get any sort of piercing except my ears, so I had to wait until I left for college. I looked up piercing shops online near my school, and picked one where they offered the cheapest prices, including the first piece of jewelry AND aftercare solution in the total cost.
I told my roommate that if it looked sketchy we were leaving, but it didn’t; it was open, clean, and well-lit. There were two people ahead of me already there getting pierced and the piercer was very professional. When it was my turn, I asked “belly button please,” and he told me to pick my jewelry. I had brought a bioplast piece with me but he recommended against using it (which turned out to be silly GO BIOPLAST FOR INITIAL PIERCINGS, I’ve learned from experience!), so I picked a stainless steel one with blue gems from the case. He took it to be sterilized and directed me to the percing area. I stood in front of the mirror to be able to watch him mark my belly as we discussed our slight OCD tendencies in terms of exactness. Finally it was chair time and he instructed me to lie across the chair so my belly was flat.
I’ve been scared of needles my whole life, but I’d been wanting this SO BAD for SO LONG. I figured since I was paying the guy, I wasn’t going to freak out on him, haha. My roommate held my hand, the piercer put the clamps on, said “ready,” and OUCH! Of course it HURT, but the discomfort of the clamps helped distract from the pain. My roommate told me I was so beast about it, and that my expression didn’t even change, nor did I squeeze her hand. If someone who once took 2+ hours to get blood drawn was beast about this, then you can defo handle it, too! 🙂 I looked in the mirror and instantly LOVED IT!! It was well worth 30 seconds of pain! He gave me a sea salt spray, instructing me to spray twice a day, and a card with aftercare instructions on it.