Brea

As a part of the punk scene I saw too many scary things happen with piercings, so none of those for me (though I do have a tribal tattoo of Jesus on my right arm). Shanazel that story made me spit rice and goat cheese on my lap!!

As far as things being 'popular' you wouldn't believe how incredibly difficult it is to find a leather bra in Minneapolis...because they are no longer 'in'. Did I just move to the land of Esme Squalor? Am I going to have to start drinking parsley sodas to fit in? Yeesh. I never knew anyone put this much stock on 'trendy'.

-Brea Morgiane

__________________
www.breamorgiane.com

adiemus

I use dilute hydrogen peroxide to clean mine if it gets a little red and weepy (hasn't for ages, but it did during the 9 months or so of healing). The hydrogen peroxide fizzes on the dead skin, and I've always used it for ears and belly button.

__________________
He wahine, he taonga- Every woman is a treasure(Maori proverb)

sstacy123

Yeah, I've always used peroxide for my ears as well...I've only used it on my navel once because I'd read somewhere on the internet not to use it...but the little salt spray I have doesn't seem to be working well...so if the peroxide works for you I think I may try it some more...

Q-Tip

Navel jewel Question:
What if you have an ugly bellybutton - can you wear one then?

Shanazel

Sure. Buy a nice big jewel and glue it over your bb with spirit glue.

RioDancerCO

lol, what a crazy thread Okay, a couple comments:
Stacey, I have had my navel pierced for years and it never seemed to want to heal properly. After much searching and asking for advice from piercers I finally found a type of body jewelry called BioFlex. Apparently it's the same material used in some types of heart surgery (heck if I know). Anyway the key is that it's flexible and inert (no allergic reactions). Within a couple days (seriously!) it was making huge healing progress. I found a few at FreshTrends.com under flexible jewelry.
On Peroxide: When it foams away the dead skin, sometimes it damages the new as well. Also, it tends to dry things out which can make new skin stick to the jewelry. When you bend at the middle, the new skin can be damaged. Diluted would be better, just make sure the water is clean (boiled)
On Super Glue: interestingly enough, I believe super glue was actually invented to put on skin Doctors will use it sometimes instead of stitches. Now, I'm sure there are a lot of chemical differences between glues at the store so asking a doc wouldn't be a bad plan. If you'd prefer to stay away from super glue, there's a product made for theatrical makeup and prosthetics (like fake mustaches) called spirit gum. Test it first in case you're sensitive.
On belly dancers and belly jewelry: Well, the two don't necessarily have anything to do with each other (aside from what we've already discussed), but if a girls gonna go showing her stomach all the time, the temptation to decorate can be a bit higher

__________________
Rio

Chani

Is there any such thing as an ugly belly button? They're all different. Having said that my youngest has what we all think is a particularly lovely navel - it looks like a rose and her middle name is Rose. She was a Lotus Born baby which means there was no cutting of the cord which was allowed to dry up and fall off naturally which happened when she was 4 days and 2 hours old. So perhaps that has something to do with it. I notice Lotus babies never seem to have "outies" and only "innies" but which looks nicer is just personal taste. A belly piercing might make you like our navel more, however, they are usually as an accent rather than a disguise and it might draw more attention to a part of your body you don't like than you want. In any case your belly button is probably not ugly as you believe. Perhaps unique might be a better way of looking at it?

Chani

sstacy123

<sniff> I lost my piercing yesterday...it worked its way through my skin...

Mosaic

Ouch that sounds painful - do you mean it actually broke the skin? or did it just slip out.

JeriBD

I got mine pierced earlier this year (February I think) because I thought they were pretty and I wanted to do something spontaneous. I got mine done profesionaly (the onyl way you should get it done) and it hurt like hell but I have thick skin on my stomach. Please never ever pierce your own navel. It's incredibaly dangerous/stupid since it's one of the hardest (if not the hardest) piercing to heal and infection and rejection(where the piercing pushes itself out through the skin) rate is pretty high. Also the only things you should be using on your piercing is sea salt (not regular table salt) or anti-bacterial soap like dial. Saline solution can be ok as well. There are a few other things but those are the most common. Peroxide and rubbing alcohol are a no-no.

Sorry for the derail. I am a bit of a piercing nerd