Don’t rely on amateurs or DIY videos when it comes to getting a body piercing. When a piercing is performed outside of a specialized, sterile environment, your risk for contracting an infectious disease increases.
Belly Button Piercing
A belly button piercing is when you have a ring or other ornament through the skin around your belly button. If you want to get a belly button piercing, keep in mind that it only takes a few minutes to get it done, but it can take up to a year to heal. During that time — as well as after — you’ll need to take extra care of this area.
Belly Button Piercing Safety
If you want to have a belly button piercing, take steps to prevent problems:
- Choose a piercer with care. Just because a piercer has a license doesn’t mean they’re well trained and experienced in piercing. Ask your piercer how long they’ve been doing this and how they learned. Ask how they continue to learn and improve. This is important because piercing does have risks, including infection and the possibility of spreading blood-borne diseases. A good piercer should be willing to talk to you about their qualifications and the details of the piercing you want. If you don’t trust them, look for another piercer.
- Go to a salon you trust. Look for a clean, sanitary shop that has a license from the Association of Professional Piercers. You should see a sign on the wall. The lighting should be good so your piercer can see what they’re doing.
- Make sure the needle is sanitary. Instruments should be in sealed pouches, which shows they are sterile. If your piercer uses a disposable, one-use needle, you should watch them open a new package.
- Choose your jewelry carefully. Medical-grade stainless steel is the least likely to cause an allergic reaction. Other safe choices include gold (14 karat or higher), titanium, and niobium. The ring or stud you choose should have a shiny finish and be free of nicks, scratches, or rough edges.
If the jewelry has irregular surfaces, your skin will grow to fill those areas. Anytime the jewelry gets moved, your skin could tear. If this happens a lot, you’ll get scarring and it may take even longer to heal. You’ll also be at more risk of infection.
Belly Button Piercing Procedure
If you go to a salon to get your piercing, a trained piercer will pass a sterile, hollow needle through the loose skin of your navel. Here’s what to expect:
- Your piercer will mark the spot to be pierced.
- You’ll feel a sharp pinch and can expect a small amount of blood.
- The jewelry you choose will go through this new opening.
- Expect to pay for both the piercing and the jewelry you pick.
- You shouldn’t get this done with a piercing gun since it can damage your tissue and raise the chances of infection.
Belly Button Piercing Aftercare
Unlike pierced ears, which take 4-6 weeks to heal, your belly button may not fully heal for up to 1 year. You’ll go home with tips on how to keep your new piercing clean and prevent infection.
- Wash your handsbefore you touch your piercing. Also, don’t let anyone else touch the area until it has healed.
- Swab with saline solution to keep it clean and avoid infection. At least once a day, dab the area with clean gauze or a paper towel soaked with saline solution. You can use a ready-made brand or dissolve 1/8 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of warm, distilled, or bottled water. If your piercer suggests that you use soap, choose a mild, scent-free one. Rinse well so you don’t leave any soap behind.
- Don’t clean too much. Cleaning too often or too much can slow down healing.
- Gently dry the area with a clean, disposable paper product.
- Leave any crust alone. It’s normal for a white or yellow-colored fluid (not pus) to ooze from your new piercing. This may form a crust that can itch or feel tight. Try not to pick at it, since that will cause the area to bleed. This crust will come off on its own as your piercing heals.
- Don’t put anything on your belly button unless a doctor tells you to. That includes lotions, oil, and perfume. Even antibacterial cream and hydrogen peroxide may slow healing or trap bacteria inside your new opening.
- Wear clean, loose, and soft clothes. Tight clothing and rough fabric will rub against your piercing, which can make it take longer to heal. You may want to use a stretchy, elastic bandage to hold an eye patch over your belly button and protect the area.
- Stay out of lakes, hot tubs, and pools. A waterproof bandage may help, but it’s best to avoid any water that may not be clean and could cause an infection.
- Don’t wear charms or dangly jewelry in your piercing. Hanging or dangly charms or jewelry can get pulled and tear your skin.
- Watch for signs of infection. These include redness, swelling, yellow or green discharge, or pain when you touch the site. You could also have a fever. If you have any of these symptoms, call your doctor right away.
Belly Button Piercing Risks
Although many people don’t have any problems after they get a body piercing, you could have:
- Infection. A piercing on your belly button is more likely to get infected than other body parts because of its shape. It’s easy for bacteria to hole up inside it. If the piercing needle wasn’t sterile, there’s a chance you could get serious infections like hepatitis or tetanus.
- Tearing. If your jewelry catches on things, it could tear your skin. If this happens, you may need stitches.
- Allergic reaction. This is often due to nickel in the jewelry.
- Scarring. Thick, lumpy scars called keloids may form around the site of your piercing.
- Migration or rejection. Sometimes a piercing moves from its original spot or your body could reject it. This happens most when the piercing wasn’t done in a good place or when the jewelry is too small or of poor quality.
If you run into problems or decide you don’t want it, simply take out your ring or stud. Fresh belly piercings tend to close quickly. If you’ve had one for years, it can close in a few weeks, but for some people it can take longer.
Make sure you clean the area regularly until it’s fully healed. If you want to keep your piercing for the long term, put jewelry in it all the time.
Who Should Not Get a Belly Button Piercing
Some health issues can make it harder for your body to heal or cause you to have a reaction after you get a piercing. Talk to your doctor first if you have:
If you are pregnant or overweight, a belly button ring could move around under your skin, which can lead to scarring.
Show Sources
Center for Young Women’s Health: “Body Piercing.”
Association of Professional Piercers: “Aftercare: Suggested Aftercare for Body Piercing,” “Safe Piercing FAQ,” “Picking Your Piercer,” “Suggested Aftercare Guidelines for Body Piercings.”
HealthyChildren.org: “Body Piercings, Teens & Potential Health Risks: AAP Report Explained.”
NHS: “Body Piercing.”
American Family Physician: “Complications of Body Piercing.”
Mayo Clinic: “Piercings: How to Prevent Complications.”
What Should I Know Before Getting a Belly Button Piercing?
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Was this helpful?
Piercing is one of the oldest and most practiced forms of body modification. This practice has expanded to many different areas of the body, including the belly button.
Belly button piercings can take longer to heal. Knowing what to expect and how to care for the piercing can help you avoid complications.
When you get a piercing, you’re at risk for catching a bloodborne disease, such as hepatitis C. The degree of risk depends on where you go to get the piercing and the standards of the place and person performing the piercing. This is why choosing your piercer is so important.
It’s common practice to ask around for recommendations when looking for a piercer. Word of mouth is often the best way to find a reliable and reputable shop.
Make sure you visit the shop ahead of time so you can get a feel for the place. It should be clean, well-lit, and fully licensed.
Don’t rely on amateurs or DIY videos when it comes to getting a body piercing. When a piercing is performed outside of a specialized, sterile environment, your risk for contracting an infectious disease increases.
While you’re at the shop, ask the piercer about their process and the sterilization methods they use.
Generally, piercers use an autoclave to kill any possible bacteria or other pathogens on the equipment. An autoclave is typically used to sterilize tools that are reusable, such as opening and closing pliers for body jewelry.
All piercing needles should come in sealed, sterile packages. This means they haven’t been used on anyone else. It’s important to not share needles. Doing so increases your risk for bloodborne disease.
Your piercer should also wear disposable gloves at all times.
If the shop uses piercing guns, cancel any appointment you may have made.
Reusable piercing guns can transmit bodily fluids across customers. They can also cause local tissue damage during the piercing process.
Choosing your jewelry
Whether you’re getting your belly button (or any other body part) pierced, it’s important to get quality jewelry. Skimping on the material can lead to undue irritation or infection. Opt for a belly button ring made of 14- or 18-karat gold, titanium, surgical steel, or niobium. Avoid nickel alloys and brass. They can increase your risk for an allergic reaction.
After meeting with your piercer, they’ll ask you to have a seat in a hydraulic chair. Generally, they’ll recline your chair until you’re lying in a relaxed position.
The piercer will disinfect the area around your navel. If you have body hair around your navel, they may remove this with a new disposable razor.
Next, they’ll mark the spot on your navel they wish to pierce. You should have the opportunity to confirm the placement or discuss the possibility of piercing a different area. For a traditional belly button piercing, they’ll mark the true center above your navel.
After the placement is confirmed, the piercer will use a hollow needle to create a hole in the designated location. Once the hole has been made, they may use forceps to hold the area of skin taut while they insert the jewelry.
You may experience a little bit of bleeding. The piercer will clean up your navel and give you instructions for aftercare.
Any initial itchiness and localized tenderness is normal.
If you experience any discomfort or tightness, it’s recommended that you remove the jewelry that’s currently in place. You can do this yourself with clean hands, or have it done at the shop where you got pierced. But if signs of infection are present, seek medical treatment.
To keep the piercing tract open, you can replace this jewelry with a piece of safe, inert plastic known as a piercing retainer. You can also leave the piercing empty. However, this may cause the hole to close.
It can take anywhere from nine months to a year for a belly button piercing to fully heal. This is because of the constant movement associated with the location. Keeping the area as bacteria-free as possible is essential to healing.
During the healing process, you should do the following:
- Avoid hot tubs, pools, and lakes. Your wound can come into contact with bacteria in the water.
- Opt for clean, loose-fitting clothing. Tight garments can irritate the area and trap bacteria.
- Protect the piercing. Use a protective bandage when you exercise, and clean up the area afterward to avoid irritation or infection.
- Avoid the sun to prevent sunburns.
It’s normal to see an off-white fluid coming out of the area in the first few days after your piercing. This fluid may form a crusty material. Think of this as your body coming to terms with the new object in your navel.
After washing your hands with soap and water, clean the area with warm water. Don’t pick at the area, as it can cause further irritation or bleeding.
Your piercer may recommend you do the following during cleaning:
- Apply a small amount of soap on the new piercing and the area for about 30 seconds. Thoroughly rinse afterward.
- Use a sterile saline solution to soak the area for 5 to 10 minutes daily.
- Use disposable, soft paper products to pat dry.
Piercings and pregnancy
If you become pregnant after having your belly button pierced, you don’t have to part with your jewelry unless it becomes uncomfortable.
It’s normal for the area to feel sore for a few days after the piercing. If you’re experiencing symptoms that are unusual or that occur after the first few days, reach out to your piercer or doctor.
The symptoms of an infection can include:
- rash
- redness
- swelling
- unusual or foul-smelling discharge
If you develop an infection or other irritation, be sure to speak with your piercer or doctor before applying any ointment or other topical treatment to the area.
Choosing to get a piercing is a big decision that requires a lot of aftercare. It can be done safely as long as you make sure to keep the area clean and free of bacteria. Taking care of your general health can help you heal faster and reduce your risk for developing complications.
Last medically reviewed on December 21, 2018
How we reviewed this article:
Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.
- Are your earrings or body piercings causing a nickel allergy? (2018).
health.clevelandclinic.org/are-your-earrings-or-body-piercings-causing-a-nickel-allergy - Association of Professional Piercers. (n.d.). Jewelry for initial piercings.
safepiercing.org/docs/APP_Initial_Web.pdf - Association of Professional Piercers. (n.d.). Safe piercing: FAQ.
safepiercing.org/safe_piercing.php - Body piercing. (2017).
youngwomenshealth.org/2013/08/07/body-piercing - Tohme RA, et al. (2012). Transmission of hepatitis C virus infection through tattooing and piercing: A critical review. DOI:
10.1093/cid/cir991
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