Table of Contents
The belly button piercing seems amazing and very cool from the outside viewpoint but, they demand a lot of effort to maintain them for a long period. A belly button demands a lot of time to heal than any other part of the body.
For your convenience, I am sharing the right process and important aspects that you must know for getting pierced correctly. If you follow the advice given in this article, you will surely get pierced without facing any major problem, you will have a piercing that is not only stylish but healthy also.
What Exactly Is a Belly Button Piercing?
When you get an ornament or a ring through the skin of your belly button that is called belly button piercing. Always remember that getting a piercing on the belly button is a straightforward thing and will take solely a few minutes but taking care of it takes 6 months to 1 year or may up to 1 year. Throughout that period and after, you will have to give more attention to caring for only that specific area.
Is Your Belly Button a Good Fit For Piercing?
Usually, piercing goes through the upper part of the belly button’s skin. If we see technically, anyone can get this type of piercing but it is good to having a skin’s flap on the upper part of the belly button because it makes it easier for the piercer to put the jewelry through and it also helps in healing properly. The piercing also demands a space behind and below the flap so that the area doesn’t turn irritated during the process of healing. There is a possibility that the piercer will go for the belly button’s lower part if he couldn’t find the skin’s solid flap on the upper part. Here is an example of what how a piercing on the belly button will look like:
If you are having an outie belly then probably you won’t be able to get a piercing on your belly button. Many people think that piercing on the outie belly is the only real piercing because it associates with the inner part of the belly button. However, this can lead to infections in the outie belly, and they can go into your internal organs that can be very dangerous. A reputable piercer won’t even take this risk. Here is how an outie belly button looks like:
Does Piercing On Belly Button Hurt a lot?
Most people have confessed that it does not hurt that much. If we compare it to ear piercing or any other part of the body, we can clearly say that it will hurt very little. If you got piercing on any other body part before, you will experience way less pain than that. There is a huge possibility that you will face soreness and throbbing in the first few days, but no need to worry, it would not interfere in your life for a long time.
But there is a downside also, it takes a lot longer time to heal than other piercings. It takes at least 1 year or up to 1 year to as I mentioned above. So, try to get a piercing in the winters so that you can show off your completely healed piercing in the beach season.
What Are The Risks In Getting Belly Button Piercing?
Most people didn’t experience any problems but still, there is a huge possibility of getting a few risks.
-
Allergic reaction
This may occur because of the existing nickel in the jewelry.
-
Bleeding excessively
-
Infection
The piercing on the belly button has more chances to catch infections than the other part of your body because of the shape of the belly button. The bacteria finds it very easy to make a hole inside it. If the needle of the piercing wasn’t sterile, there are higher chances that you will get infections like tetanus and hepatitis.
-
Jewelry migration or rejection
When your body pushes the jewelry out and you see more barbell that is called rejection. When the piercing starts moving internally to a different place that is called migration.
-
Tearing
If the jewelry caches you on the things, it can tear your skin, and maybe there you will need stitches.
-
Permanent scarring
This risk may take place when you don’t remove the jewelry when the body indicates to remove it.
You can easily minimize the risks by finding a good piercer and caring for the belly button rightly (we will be discussing these topics in the upcoming sections).
The Procedure For Getting a Best Belly Button Piercing
Here is the procedure for getting the best experience in piercing, so make sure to follow the process.
1. Have Knowledge About The Regulation And Laws
If your age is above 18 years, make sure to take your official Id with you like a passport or driving license. If you are below 18, you must have the parents present to sign off on your piercing. Here you can know all about the laws and regulations of piercing for all the US states.
A lot of piercing places follow the laws very strictly and say that they won’t pierce the minors or anyone who is below 16 years even if they are having the consult of their guardians or parents.
2. Search For a Good Piercing Place
If the quality of the piercing place is qualitative, it can make a huge difference in the healing process of the belly button. You must search for a place that has good reviews and proper credentials. Many piercing places also have a website, so be sure to check their portfolio and reviews of other customers.
Never go to the sketchy stalls that state in the between malls or any other place that doesn’t look like a doctor’s office when you enter the room of piercing. Keep in mind that piercing should get done with the proper sterile equipment in a hygienic environment. It will ensure the lowest risks of getting caught by any infection.
One more thing: Never allow any piercer to pierce you with a gun, it can lead to many problems in that area, and also, you won’t be able to get properly sterilized.
3. Get Prepared
Before going to the pierced place, make sure you take a shower and clean the belly button area. Your belly button should not be smelly because a stranger will have to touch it. Be hydrated and eat something at least within an hour so you don’t get the feeling of woozy when the process is running.
Important: Never get drunk before getting a piercing in your belly button. The piercer may turn you away because you don’t have enough ability to make appropriate decisions after drinking. Drinking before getting belly button piercing can also lead to heavy bleeding at the piercing site. You must have a healthy living at least before 24 hours before getting pierced.
4. It’s The Time To Choose Your Jewelry
You must say no to the jewelry that is made up of nickel or sterling silver because this material has more probability of producing any allergic reactions in people who have sensitive skin. If you had pierced in the past, be careful of how your body reacted at that time.
Keep in mind, you won’t be able to take out the jewelry for the next six months to a year, so choose the jewelry very carefully, it shouldn’t make you tired of seeing it. If you pick a piece of barbell jewelry rather than a ring, it would be a perfect fit because it has very low risks of getting caught in the kinds of stuff when the healing process is going on.
Usually, a piece of jewelry is about 2mm in diameter. Picking a thicker piece of jewelry could be a great choice because it assists the piercing strong and resistance to migration and tearing.
5. Now Pay To Your Piercer
Most of the piercer will charge almost $40 to $60. It will be the cost of both procedure and jewelry. If you are happy with the results, consider giving a 10 to 20% tip to the piercer.
Done! You have got a beautiful belly button piercing. Now let’s move forward to the harder and longer part.
Taking Care Of Your Belly Button’s Piercing?
Don’t ever try to touch your piercing without washing your hands properly. If you don’t follow this, you are welcoming the infections to affect you. You should leave the piercing alone to get healed except when you have to slightly shift it to clean.
Don’t wear tight clothes, try to wear loose clothes so that the piercing doesn’t get irritated. In the first couple of months, you should sleep on your back and try to avoid tanning the beds. There is a huge possibility that the UV rays will set back the potential of the body’s natural healing process.
Try to avoid taking baths in the hot tubs and public pools because here your piercing can catch infections from the bacteria that is lying in the water. If you eagerly want to go into the pool during the initial months of your piercing, you must promptly clean it after coming out from the pool.
You can also do sit-ups and many other exercises when you are in the healing process. You should stop if you experience any discomfort because of the movement.
One of the best ways to take care of the piercing during the healing process is to wash it with the solution of saline at least twice a day in the very first month of the healing process. You can buy a saline solution that is being sold at the pharmacies. You can also make your own saline solution by combining a teaspoon of sea salt with the five water’s ounces.
Set down the saline solution in a tiny cup and press the cup’s rim against your stomach around the pierced range, now lean back to the entirely submerge piercing for at least two minutes. After doing that, bring a q-tip and soak it in the saline solution, rub it very gently on the areas where the piercing was gone over.
There is a possibility that you will see your piercing leaking clear fluid that builds a curst around the hole, don’t get worried this is a normal thing in the early process of healing. You may also experience some redness, discoloration, and swelling but these issues will probably disappear very soon.
Keep in mind that there is no need to clean the piercing more than 2 to 3 times. If you do, it can lead to dryness and irritation to that particular area.
After a month, if you notice that everything is going fine, here you can stop the daily cleanings. You may need to clean it sporadically if you see that the piercing is not completely healed. Until you touch the mark of six months, you should minimize those activities that I mentioned above.
Potential Problems And It’s Solution
In this section, you will learn how to spot the indications of troubles with the belly button piercing. it is very essential for taking action upon these effects instantly so that you won’t have to suffer from any health issues.
Bacterial Infections
Bacterial infections in the belly button piercing are very common. Here are the signs of infection:
- You are experiencing a burning sensation in the pierced area.
- Abdominal Pain. If the case is severe, probably the infection will go internal.
- Radiating red lines.
- Consistently Acute Paining (Occasional sharp movement and slight bruising are a normal thing).
- Skin is quite hot to touch on the pierced area.
- Green-yellowish ooze along with a foul odor.
- Seeing redness around the piercing.
- Swelling around the pierced area.
If you feel that you are having an infection, first of all, leave the jewelry in your belly button. If you take it out, it can lead to negative complications. You should use the same cleaning technique that I mentioned in the last section, but soak your piercing in the solution for at least 10 minutes.
You can also rub a little bit of antibacterial cream on your piercing to lighten the infection but make sure you use it softly.
If the infection doesn’t get wiped, visit the doctor for the checkup if you don’t want it to turn more damaging. If the infection becomes too much dangerous then you should go back to your piercer and ask him to take out the jewelry.
Allergic Reaction
This takes place when you choose any wrong type of jewelry. These are the signs of an allergic reaction:
- Itching rashes nearby the pierced area.
- Intermittent tenderness nearby the area of the piercing.
If you experience any allergic reaction, immediately go back to your piercer and request him to turn the jewelry out for any different type of material.
Rejection And Migration
Rejection and Migration is another issue that is very common in belly button piercing. Here are the signs of it:
- The hole is appearing very bigger than it was in the beginning stage.
- Scarring and redness in the pierced area.
- Movement of the hole of piercing and marked by the redness trail.
- The skin between the holes is translucent and thin.
If you ever notice this, you must go to your piercer and ask him to remove your jewelry. Let it get entirely healed and try getting pierced again. This is the only way to fix it.
Rejection and Migration don’t cause any health risk but it can produce aesthetic problems if not addressed at the right time. If your body rejects the belly button piercing, remove it immediately otherwise it can cause severe scarring.
How Can You Know That The Healing Is Done?
If you have touched the 9 months and not noticing any problem that I mentioned in the previous section, you can check your belly button piercing if it is completely healed or not.
Properly wash your hands, slide it backward and onward a little bit to confirm that it is moving smoothly without any discomfort. If you feel that everything is looking good, I suggest you go to your piercer to get confirmation that your piercing is fully healed. They will take out your piercing and replace the jewelry for you.
Conclusion
These were all the important aspects of belly button piercing that you should know. Now I hope this article was helpful to you. So, whenever you go for getting pierced on your belly button, make sure to keep these important things in your mind, and take care of your piercing correctly.
More Articles That Might Interest You
How Much You Need To Walk To Lose Weight? Briefly Explained
Future trends in 2021 in the Wellness Industry that you should know right now
