Piercing Information Healing time: 6 - 12 months Min. thread thickness: 1,6 mm. Length / Diameter: Variable Pain (1 - 10): 2

Piercing Information Healing time: 6 - 12 months Min. thread thickness: 1,6 mm. Length / Diameter: Variable Pain (1 - 10): 2

Belly button piercings are among the most popular in the Western world, and also at Bodymod. Back in the day, punks popularized this piercing in the late 80s. Today, it is young girls who typically get it done. But actually anyone can have them 🙃

What is a belly button piercing?

A belly button piercing can typically be done in two ways. The most common is to pierce the skin just above the navel itself, at around 1 centimeter high.

Another way to do a belly button piercing is by piercing the tissue right under the navel. This kind is called a top-down belly button piercing or reverse belly-button piercing.

What kind of piercing jewelry should I wear?

Curved balls are the most popular - they’re sometimes called bananas - You can choose them to be simple or with dangling ornaments.
You can wear top-down belly bars in a reverse navel piercing or just regular curved barbells, turned upside down. Lately we also see more and more people wearing rings in their navel piercings, but you should use that only after your piercing is totally healed.

What are the steps to get a navel piercing done?

A belly button piercing is done much in the same way as so many other piercings.

1. First, the area is disinfected and the exact location is marked with a sterile skin-marker.
2. Then the piercer grasps the area with sterile forceps to compress the skin and passes a one-time use, sterile and hollow needle through. That’s when you feel a brief prick. The forceps are lightly removed and a cork plug is stuck at the end of the needle to protect skin.
3. The piercing jewelry rod is then inserted inside the hollow needle. The needle is finally removed and the piercing ball is screwed on.
4. The piercer will disinfect the area once again.

Is it painful to get a belly button piercing?

Not really! On a scale from 1 to 10, the pain to get a belly button piercing is 2.

Besides the prick you get when the needle is inserted through the skin, a belly button piercing should not cause you any more pain. This is one of the reasons why this piercing is so popular.

What materials should I choose?

For a brand new navel piercing, titanium is typically used. However, it has become increasingly popular to use micropolished surgical steel, as it does not release nickel and the material is cheaper.

It’s recommended to start off with a titanium piece, especially if you suffer from a nickel allergy.

If possible, you should avoid changing your navel piercing during the healing period. Once the healing period is over, you can change your jewelry to, for example, acrylic or 14K gold.

If you do a lot of sport, it may be a good idea to wear PTFE. It can be sterilized by autoclave (a special machine for piercing jewelry) and is flexible. This material is advisable when you are exposed to bending and bangs.

What size should I use?

The standard size for belly button jewelry is 10 mm in length and 1.6 mm in thread thickness. These are the measurements for standard bars, but many people end up using shorter rods.

If you want to wear noticeable piercing bars, you should go for those with a top ball of 5 mm and a bottom ball of 8mm. If you want to be more discreet, the ball sizes should be 4 mm at the top and 6 mm at the bottom.

Can my body reject my belly button piercing?

Unfortunately yes, all kinds of piercings have the risk of being rejected by our bodies. If your piercing is not well done or if you have not worn jewelry in the sizes recommended by professional piercers, your body is more likely to reject it.

If you're already in the situation where your belly button piercing is being rejected, it is recommended to take your jewelry out and let the hole close, then have a new one made. This is the option most people eventually have to choose, as navel piercings that are growing out typically don't stop and continue to be rejected by the body.