navel piercing

I got this message from a piercer who is concerned about her clients:

I was wondering what are your thoughts on healing time on navel Piercings? At the shop i work at we have ton of parents with minors getting their navels pierced and plan on swimming at lakes,pools, hot tubs. We try and educate them as much as we can but I feel like it's not getting through to them even college-adults aren't listening to our advice is there any suggestion on what we should do? (we talk to them about it first then hand out the basic care information.

Thanks, P.

Hi P.,

I describe the healing time for navel piercings as 6-9 months. They're likely to have some ups and downs and seem healed off and on within that time, but they can expect to be in an ongoing healing phase for an extended period of time.

I received this message:

I have heard that surface piercings, eyebrow, navel, anti eyebrow and some others, have a tendency to reject. I was wondering if there are some ways you could prevent or slow down the rejection process for these piercings? If it does start to reject and you take the jewelry out are there fluctuations in rejection risk( more or less risk) that would possibly result in a different outcome if you had it repierced? And also what are some signs to tell if a piercing is rejecting? Thanks! G.

I received a message about navel piercings (belly piercings) and pregnancy
Hey Elayne!

I've recently gone deeper into thinking about getting my navel pierced, I know it will look cute, but I'm concerned about long term side effects. First of all, when you become pregnant, will it scar? And when you lose your baby weight will the hole shrink to the regular size or stay floppy? Also, what is the smallest gauge possible? I want to get the smallest gauge because I feel as though the larger the hole the more obvious it would be when no jewelry was in it, which is rather irritating. Respond as soon as possible! Thanks! S.

 

Hi S.,

Nobody can tell you whether you will end up with stretch marks from a pregnancy, nor exactly what your piercing will do. Ordinarily the area stretches out and shrinks back down--like the rest of the abdomen. I haven't really seen any problems from piercings, and women usually go back to wearing their jewelry as before.

Here's a brief section about navel piercings and pregnancy from my book, The Piercing Bible--The Definitive Guide to Safe Body Piercing:

Navel Piercings and Pregnancy
If your navel piercing is healed and does not cause any problems, simply leave the jewelry in place. However, dramatic alterations to the size and shape of your navel are normal; your innie can become an outie. Once the tissue begins to stretch, many women experience discomfort, inflammation, and sometimes migration. Switching to flexible plastic jewelry usually resolves these problems. If the piercing still doesn’t feel comfortable, you should abandon it until after delivery.

A 14 gauge is the thinnest size used by responsible piercers. With a smaller gauge, it is  more likely you'll experience cutting or tearing and possibly other problems such as migration.

I received this message about nipple piercings:

I was given your book "The Piercing Bible" as a birthday gift this year, I love it! The information is great,and exactly what I have been looking for. I got my nipple spierced about 4.5 years ago after my divorce, a gift to self and I have no regrets, 12 guage rings.

I have 2 questions for you, first i do keep the nipple rings very clean use liquid antibacterial soap in the shower and cleam them well. But they are still constatly looking goopy, meaning there is a lot of really thick white gunk that smells bad. I had heard that perhaps Sterling silver or gold my not cause this effect.

If you have any thoughts that would be great. Also is it cool if a straight guy has a navel ring?

Thanks, Andrew

My reply:

I've answered literally thousands of questions about piercings, but this was the first time I've ever been asked this particular question:

Hi Elayne,

Good morning ! I have a quick question. I am interested in having my navel pierced. I was told by a friend of mine that navel piercing would help reduce the overall belly.

I am really not sure of this & wanted to hear your expert advice. My current waist is 38 inches & if the above said info is true I am definately looking forward to have the piercing done.

Please let me know your thoughts on the same ....

Warm Regards,
Ignatius

My reply:

Hi Ignatius,

If you are asking whether a navel piercing will cause you to lose weight or reduce the dimensions of your abdomen, the answer is no. There's absolutely no reason why a navel piercing would have that effect. Also, navel piercing can make it a little more challenging to be physically active, especially during initial healing, and that certainly wouldn't help with weight loss.

Should you be interested in getting the piercing for aesthetic reasons, here's some practical information from The Piercing Bible:

I received this email from a woman who obviously found her piercings to have a great impact on her quality of life and self esteem:

I've been asked all kinds of questions about body piercing, but this one was a new one to me!

I received a private message on my Tribalectic account: Hi L., Thanks for your message. That's a tough one, but I'm glad to see that you so clear on your own boundaries about this subject. Goodness if you have 10 tattoos and other piercings, I can't imagine it should matter that much if you had another hole or two. Then again, I know some people simply don't understand piercing. I've received some feedback from people who have read my book--individuals that weren't personally interested in the subject. A number of them said that my book helped them to understand why people want to be pierced, and one even said she had never wanted to get one before, but after reading my book she felt inspired to get a body piercing!