Crop top, shiny jewel in your belly button... totally summer ready! But how exactly does your belly button piercing heal, and how is it pierced? Read all about it in this blog post!
Besides the earlobe, the belly button is perhaps one of the most frequently pierced body parts. Although a belly button piercing is a common piercing, it does require more care and attention than a regular ear piercing. To properly place a belly button piercing, it's important that there's enough skin around your belly button to accommodate the piercing. Your body type is also taken into account before determining the final placement.
Before the Piercing
Your piercer will first check if there's enough skin around your belly button. You need to be able to grasp that flap of skin properly, especially to determine if there's enough skin to insert the barbell or ring of your belly button piercing. The belly button piercing needs to stay in place with minimal tension, otherwise your piercing could become irritated and painful later on.
Your piercer will often also consider your movement and body type. Don't worry, that's all perfectly normal, and in most cases, a belly button piercing can be done without any problems. However, your piercer will also be very honest about whether it's best not to get a belly button piercing. Your skin and body type might not allow for a successful belly button piercing. In that case, it's really best to follow your piercer's advice, as your belly button piercing is more likely to grow out and leave unpleasant scars.
Does a belly button piercing hurt?
Pain is different for everyone, of course, but getting a belly button piercing usually isn't terribly painful. You'll feel it briefly when the needle pierces your skin, which is understandable. However, your piercer will work so quickly and efficiently that it'll be over before you can even say "ouch!" After piercing, your navel piercing will be sensitive, so leave it alone as much as possible.
How long does it take for a navel piercing to heal?
As we mentioned before, a navel piercing has a longer healing period than many other piercings. You should therefore allow for a healing period of 6 to 9 months. In many cases, your piercing will be relatively calm in the first few months. Try to leave your first navel jewelry in for as long as possible, because if you change it too early, your piercing can become irritated again, and the healing process will essentially start over.
Your piercer will have already given you good advice about the aftercare of your navel piercing. Follow it as much as possible. Have you run out of aftercare product? Then you'll find many great aftercare products for cleaning your navel piercing in our shop! Check out our collection of aftercare products for navel piercings here.
Navel piercings and regrowth: what's the deal?
A navel piercing is often considered a type of surface piercing. Although a navel piercing is usually placed through a natural flap of skin, the jewelry usually stays relatively close to the surface of your skin, and there's no natural edge to hold it in place, unlike with a lip piercing. (An eyebrow piercing, for example, is also a type of surface piercing.)
Surface piercings generally have a longer healing period than many other piercings. Blood flow around surface piercings is often different (less), meaning your piercing will need more time to heal properly. If there isn't enough skin around your navel, or if your body type doesn't allow for it, it can cause your piercing to become too tense, potentially causing it to grow out. In principle, any surface piercing can eventually grow out, so your piercer will always carefully assess your suitability for a navel piercing before performing the procedure.
Tight clothing or intense exercise can also irritate your piercing. For your navel piercing to heal properly, it's important to ensure it doesn't get pinched and has enough light and space to heal. If your piercing gets caught too often under tight (sports) clothing, this can cause excessive scarring, irritation/inflammation, or even growth. Therefore, always discuss all the necessary considerations before getting your piercing, especially if you're an avid athlete.
Jewelry for your navel piercing
Have you followed all the aftercare instructions and is your piercing completely healed? Then you can start looking for new navel jewelry!
For piercings, a barbell with a thickness of 1.6 mm is usually chosen. The length depends on the final placement and your body type. A length of 8 to 12 mm is usually common. Jewelry thinner than 1.6 mm is generally not suitable for navel piercings. Thin jewelry can essentially "cut" through your skin, drastically reducing the healing chances of your navel piercing.
Once your piercing has healed, you can switch to other types of jewelry. For example, there are navel piercing bars, with or without stones. But we also have special navel clickers. These clickers are super convenient because their shape means they stick out less than regular piercing rings and fit more comfortably in your navel piercing. In our shop, we have a collection of jewelry specifically for navel piercings; here are the highlights for you:
Navel piercing barbells
Nickel-free steel navel clickers
Genuine gold navel clickers
Titanium navel piercings
