How to Care for Your Navel Piercing

Everyone is different when it comes to how long it will take for your navel piercing to heal. Healing usually takes anywhere from 2 months to as long as one year for some. With proper navel piercing care you should heal faily quick. Body jewelry is a beautiful piece of jewelry that should always be taken care of. You can buy gold or silver navel rings with lots of different length and styles to choose from.

1. Soap and Water - You must clean your navel a minimum of 2 to 4 times a day with regular soap or I preferred anti-bacterial soap. Lather the soap in the navel area and rinse thoroughly.

2. Sea Salt Soaks (non iodized) - Mix about 1/2 of a teaspoon of sea salt with 1/4 cup of sterilized water (use boiled water that has cooled). put a small amount into a medicine cup. Sit down and flip the cup over really quick and hold it flat on the stomach creating a suction, this way the water won't spill all over the place. I found it good to have a washcloth or small towel around just incase the the suction broke and the water started to leak. Let the navel area soak for about 10 to 15 minutes. Once a day.

3. Bactine and Polysporin - You may apply either of these ointments to your navel piercing. I suggest you use your fingers if you can't get close enough to the barbell then you may use a Q-tip. I don't suggest you use Q-tips or any cotton baton products because they can cause infections when small pieces of baton get stuck in your piercing.

Don'ts

1. Never use rubbing alcohol, this will dry out your piercing.
2. Never play with your barbell or belly ring without cleaning your hands.
3. Try to stay away from pools and hot tubs. If you do go in one rinse your piercing with clean water once you get out. Preference would be to clean it with soap and clean water.
4. Don't change your navel ring until your piercing is totally healed.

Do's

Enjoy having and changing your navel jewelry to whatever your mood is or to match the outfit you have on! There are some fancy dangling

Information on Navel Piercing

Getting your navel pierced is something you should take very serious. Choose a professional that you can trust. Feel free to check out a few different places first. A real professional body piercer will take the time to educate you on your navel piercing. Make sure the shop is clean and everything they use is sterilized. After all you still are at risk to catch hepatitis, AIDS, or HIV. When I got my belly button pierced the barbell I chose was in a sterilized sealed package and so was the needle. Now having said all of that, you are going to love having your belly pierced. Once it is properly healed, you can change your jewelry to a new piercing.

Choosing from a wide selection of different types of navel jewelry you will want to wear like, navel rings, barbells, reverse barbells, bananas, spiral rings and more. You can choose from a large line of navel rings that are made from Titanium, Silver, Gold, PVC, and UV PVC.

They come in all different styles from gemstones, cz (single stones or butterflies, cherries), picture balls, designs (stripes, checkered), and hand painted beads. Most body jewelry barbell shafts are made from 316L surgical steel and the most popular lengths are 8mm, 10mm and 12mm. Remember to clean your new navel ring with rubbing alcohol before putting it in. So have fun choosing your favorite style!

How A Typical Belly Piercing Is Done

First - the person piercing you will clean your belly button area thoroughly, then some measure your belly area to get the length perfect, then they will make a dot on the top of your navel and put a dot on the inside of your belly button.

Second- the person piercing you will take the sterilized clamp and close it on the skin on the top of your belly button. (some people find this painful. I didn't but I could feel the pressure put on the skin.)

Third - You will be asked to take deep breaths this will help calm you down and make you relax. Then the person piercing your navel will hold the clamp in place while they take their other hand and insert the hollow needle through the hole in the clamp. (Once again I found the pain minimal. I would compare the pain of getting my belly pierced to being pinched really good.) You feel the pain for about five seconds.

Forth - So while your thinking on how painless the needle was, he/she will then take a barbell and insert it into the hollow part of the needle then pull the needle out (leaving the barbell inserted), then they will screw the ball onto the top of the barbell and Viola your navel is official pierced.