Belly Button Piercings
Navel Ring
One of the most popular piercings in today's youth and young adult population- is the navel piercing, also known as the belly button piercing.
The standard navel piercing is through the upper ridge of the navel. Sometimes the navel piercing is through the lower ridge or the left and right ridges of the navel.
Although, history portrays variously decorated belly buttons and stomachs, there is no direct history related to the navel piercing. Today, it is solely a decorative piercing, mostly in the female population.
The body is prone to reject a navel piercing, but with proper care and healing methods, one could successfully heal a belly button piercing.
Many people see the navel piercing as a type of surface piercing, but it is not. Navel piercings are pierced on a curve, versus a flat plane. They are much easier to heal than surface piercings, and they are less likely to reject. Now, that does not mean that your body will not reject a navel piercing, but they are less likely to in comparison to a surface piercing.
And, on that note, many people will get reverse navel piercings which is nothing more than a horizontal piercing, usually below the navel. This is a surface piercing, and will be much harder to heal than the average belly button piercing.
Healing Belly Button Piercings
The navel piercing is relatively simple to heal. In some cases, depending on how a person sleeps, it can be a harder case to deal with.
It is preferable that one sleeps on his/her back while healing a navel piercing.
You should clean it once or twice a day with saline, or a sea salt solution. Put enough saline in a small, disposable cup so that when you lay down, the piercing will be fully covered. Let the piercing soak for 10 to 15 minutes before removing the cup.
In the shower, you can clean the jewelry and the area around the piercing with a mild soap. Gently push the jewelry through the piercing, cleaning the piercing with the soap. Make sure to get all the soap from around the piercing. Leaving soap in a wound, as a piercing is essentially a wound, can cause more irritation.
Navel Piercing Placement
Upper: The upper navel piercing, is the standard piercing, in which the jewelry is placed through the upper ridge above the belly button.
Lower: The lower ridge, directly below the belly button is pierced. Sometimes piercers will choose not to pierce the upper ridge, for anatomical reasons.
Sides: For decorative purposes, people may choose to have the sides (left and/right) of their belly button pierced. This cannot be performed on all people.
Reverse: The reverse navel piercing is a surface piercing below the belly button. The surface bar is placed horizontal versus the standard vertical piercing.
Belly Button Jewelry
Banana Barbell: The most common jewelry used in a navel piercing. The barbell is a slightly curved barbell with a ball on either side. The banana barbell can come with UV balls, metal, acrylic, logo, and patterns balls, as well as dangly fixtures.
Twister Barbells: Essentially, a twister barbell is a barbell that is twisted. Decorative balls can be placed on this particular barbell as well.
Captive Bead Ring (CBR):Sometimes people will wear CBR's in their navel piercing. This can cause a little pressure on the piercing itself.
Today, there are various forms of the above mentioned jewelry pieces. There are banana barbels with dangly attachments for aesthetic appeal. Some banana barbells can be found with logo balls, as well as glow in the dark balls, and other brightly colored acrylic and metal balls.
Navel Piercing Tips and Info
On exception of the first picture, which is original, all other photos can be found at flickr.com.
