Belly button piercing is one of the most gorgeous piercings that anyone can see in a person’s body these days, specially to a lot of women. Needless to say, these people are wearing this piercing for a number of reasons. Just in case you do not know, this piercing is also called umbilical dip piercing and navel piercing. The main reason why it is called this way is that its exact location is around the navel part of a person. Most of the time, the jewelry in this kind of piercing is positioned from the upper part of the navel.
History of Belly Button Piercing
In a number of years ago, any piercing that can be seen in the body is a symbol of courage and manliness. Yes, manliness since only those men had piercings in the past years. But as days go by, more and more have been oriented to piercing and believe it or not, they are now the major consumers of piercing jewelries. According to the Egyptian Pharaohs, it has something to do with the ritual transition of the lives of the people here on earth towards what is being called eternity.
It was said that because of the popular culture of many people in the world, the navel piercing has been promoted from one generation to another. It was in the year 1993 when piercing on belly button became known in the entire world after it was seen on the body of a famous model in the international television screens. This model was none other than Christy Turlington. She showed her piercing on the navel during the London fashion show on that year. Since then, great numbers of people worldwide got interested with this kind of piercing. Also check our articles on most popular piercings Nose Piercings, Lip Piercings, Ear Piercings, Dimple Piercings and Tongue Piercings.
The Procedure When Getting Pierced on the Navel
Of course, when you are now fully decided to get pierced on the navel area, then it is very important for you to prepare yourself in the procedure. Once you already arrived in the clinic of a professional piercer, here are the expected things to be done:
- You will be asked to sit down on a chair. While you are sitting down, you should see to it that you check the entire room through your eyes. Make sure that it is clean enough, and has all the necessary things needed in undergoing the procedure. Good examples of these essential things are a hand sink and a disinfectant.
- Your professional piercer should observe proper hygiene while on the procedure. He or she should wash first his or her hands before proceeding to the piercing procedure. It is also important for him to make use of new gloves and mask during the procedure. In this way, the transmission of blood borne illnesses like hepatitis and HIV will never happen for sure.
- A surgical wash should be scrubbed on your navel. The purpose of this is to sterilize the navel area before attaching. This is one way of keeping yourself away from the infections caused by bacteria. Topical anesthetics should not be applied.
- The professional piercer will then attach the jewelry on the navel. This is usually done with the utilization of a thread and a surgical needle.
- The area will then be washed cleanly. This is done when everything is already in place like the jewelry is already attached. That is all and you are finished with the procedure of getting pierced on your navel.
The Pain Factor
Just like any other procedures of getting pierced in the body, the procedure involved is of course, accompanied with pain and discomfort. In other words, it is just normal to feel some pain during and after the procedure. What made piercing on belly button great is the fact that you will only feel minimal pain, when compared to others. In fact, the pain that you might feel is just like a bite of an ant. Some people even describe as a pain that you feel when you are being pinched by somebody. This goes to show that you do not have to worry about pain if you consider undergoing a procedure involved.
Aftercare
Needless to say, there are some important things that you need to do after getting pierced on your navel area. These things are simply called the aftercares. These should never be forgotten so that the wound in the navel will heal soon, and possible infections can be avoided. Here are some of the aftercares you should keep in mind:
- Avoid touching your new piercing. This is very important, especially if it is not yet fully healed. Remember that fresh wound may become worse when it is frequently touched. Of course, it is just normal for you to feel overwhelmed when you have new piercing on the navel area. However, you should bear in mind not to touch it. You can look, but do not touch it.
- If cannot be avoided, wash your hands prior to touching it. Just in case you do not know, your hands are normally full of bacteria since these are the ones you use in touching a lot of things around you. Hence, they are prone to bacteria that may then infect the wound caused by getting pierced. This is why it is best to always wash your hands.
- Wash the piercing. This must be done not more than 2 times every single day. A liquid soap must be used in washing it. But before doing the thing, your hands must be washed well first. You must be careful in putting the soap on the jewelry and in moving it, so that the wound will not be triggered to open. Make sure to pat dry the area, and do not dare to rub it.
- Do not go swimming. One of the best activities done by many people these days is to go swimming on the beaches, rivers, or lakes. However, such enjoyable thing must be avoided if you have just undergone a procedure of getting a belly button piercing. This is simply because bacteria may be acquired from there, which will then worsen the condition of the wound on your navel. Taking a bath on bath tubs is even a big no.
- Try to have sea salt soaks. It does not mean that you need to go to the beach and soak yourself there. What you need to do here is get an 8 ounce of water and mix it with 1/8-1/4 teaspoon of a sea salt. After mixing them, you must bend and allow the navel area to get soaked on the water. Stay that way within 1-2 minutes, until the entire navel area is wet with the mixture. This can definitely help in the healing process.
The Healing Process
For your own information, the healing process of getting pierced on your navel will depend on various factors. One factor is the aftercare that you performed. If you are doing the aftercare religiously, then it is expected that the healing process will be completed in just a shorter period of time. But if not, then it is no longer surprising why you will wait for a long period of time and suffer from the complications it may bring. The healing process may take as longer as 12 months. Can you believe on that? This is absolutely true. If you notice that the outside wound is already dry, then you should know that the inside of it may not still be fully healed just like the condition of the outside. You can only say that the wound caused by the piercing on belly button is now completely healed when you no longer feel any amount of pain when the jewelry is touched.
If you notice some clear fluids flowing from the pierced area, you should not be worried about it since it is just normal. What you need to do is wipe the fluid with clean cloth or a piece of cotton, because this fluid may attract some bacteria. Even so, if the fluid that comes out from the pierced area has a yellowish-green color that smells bad, then this is the time that you need to fret. It is simply because this is a sign of an infection. If this is the case, do not dare to remove the jewelry from your navel. Because if you will, then the wound may close and the infection will be trapped inside and your entire body will then be affected. The best thing to do is consult your personal doctor, and get some advice.
Cost of Navel Piercing
The cost of piercing on belly button rely on the jewelry used, initially it is $39.95 with colored gems.
What about sit-ups and exercise?
Sit-ups and exercise usually don’t present a problem for you or your piercing. Listen to your body; if it hurts, don’t do it.
Jewelry Options
Over the years, the jewelry that is used for piercing on belly button has continued to undergo some great innovations. Before, this jewelry is kinda flat and you don’t have a wide variety of jewelry options. However, this is not the case these days. You can now find a lot of jewelries that are perfect. A lot of artsy designs have been mushrooming just like the Bali jewelry designs that will really mesmerize you when you see them. Barbell is the most common jewelry option for belly button piercing. In fact, this is the recommended jewelry that should be worn while the wound on the navel part is still fresh.
There are several kinds of barbells that you can choose, and good examples for these are the barbells that have dangling pendants as well as the simple curved barbells. Just in case you do not know, there is a special standard navel barbell, which is recommended by the experts. This is known as the “bananabars” or the “bananabells”. In terms of measurement, the thickness of a standard barbell is around 1.6 mm and 9.5 – 11.1 mm long.
Choosing the Jewelry
In choosing the jewelry for your navel piercing, it is very important that you do it in a careful manner of course. Always keep in mind that you might be putting your own body here at risk. Hence, it is just right to say that you need to be very careful. Try to know first what specific materials used in making the jewelry of your choice. Keep in mind that this jewelry will be directly connected to your body. Meaning to say, this can also directly harm yourself. If the metal material used can be easily corroded with the fluids that come out from the fresh wound on your navel, then it is certainly a big disadvantage on your part. In relation to this, here are some of the materials used in making a belly button jewelry that may not harm you:
- Solid 14K Gold – This is a good choice because this will certainly look good on you. However, you should know that gold may melt down when exposed to too much heat. This is the reason why you need to remove this kind of piercing when you are planning for a sun bathing, if you do not want to end up being troubled.
- Surgical Stainless Steel – This is actually the best choice of jewelry. With this, you don’t have to worry about corrosion since it will never happen to a surgical stainless steel. Allergic reactions are also less possible to happen here, unless you have in-born metal allergies.
- Surgical Titanium – This material is what being used in making dental implant posts. With this, you can say that it will not be easily corroded even with saliva or any form of liquid, specially that one that may come out from the navel wound.
- Tygon Plastic – For people who have innate allergies on metals, there is no need to lose hope since tygon plastic material is the solution for this problem. In fact, it is considered to be the finest metal alternative.
70 Popular Navel Piercing Ideas
Final Words
Without a doubt, a belly button piercing can look great to the wearers. However, be sure to know the important facts about it first before undergoing the procedure.
Hello,there my name is lesley and i would like to get a butterfly tattoo on my neck and behind my ear I’m just looking at some ideas now could ya call me on 0405335200 that would be appreciated heaps cheers thanxs