The Truth About Belly Button Piercings

Belly button piercings were all the rage back in the '90s, and celebrities like Jessica Alba, Priyanka Chopra, Beyoncé, Kendall Jenner, and Zoe Kravitz have all had jewelry adorning their navel at some stage during their lives. Almost as popular with teenagers today as they were back then, they are fairly easy to do, but take forever to fully heal. 

According to Canadian piercing studio, Pierced, you can actually get your belly button pierced in a few different places, but the top of the navel is the most common. Like any piercing, when you are getting your belly button pierced, pain varies based on your personal pain threshold. However, Pierced warns on their website that pain during belly button piercings is slightly higher than usual. You should definitely never get your navel pierced with a piercing gun — a hollow, piercing-specific needle is always the way to go. 

The key to avoiding a piercing infection is to keep it clean, so it's crucial to follow your piercer's aftercare instructions to the letter. Healthline also recommends keeping the piercing out of public pools and the sun, and also recommends those with brand new navel piercings to wear loose-fitting clothing to prevent rubbing and irritation. 

When it comes to healing, belly button piercings are believed to take up to an entire year. There are a couple of factors that can affect the time it takes to heal — location and size of the piercing — and it's a good idea to keep your eye out for any signs of complications, such as the jewelry loosening, migrating, or the piercing hole gradually getting bigger.

While Healthline believes that a creamy discharge immediately after you get your piercing is natural, if you notice any swelling, redness, or colored discharge, it's best to contact your doctor to get it checked out.