Belly button piercing has gradually become one of the most popular body piercing styles in recent years. It is now so in vogue that not only fashionistas opt for naval piercing. Almost every female and even college students have the belly button piercing. You should try it out too.
Belly button piercing with the right navel ring looks astonishing. Fortunately, you will be spoilt for choices. This is because there are a lot of pieces and stones to fit perfectly into your piercing.
There are lots of rings and barbel designs available to pick. You can choose one that goes with your personality. But for wearing the right type of jewelry, you need to get the right piercing. And getting that piercing from an expert is even more important.
What stops most people from getting this piercing is the thought of how much pain the process will be. But does navel piercing really hurt? You will find out about this and many more in this article
How Painful is Belly Button Piercing?
There is no certainty that you are not going to get hurt or feel any pain from belly button piercing. So, it is safe to say that piercing pain is subjective. But in comparison to nose piercing it is much less painful.
Some people know how to deal with pains, and this will come in handy here. Others cannot handle the slightest of pains. Then the final category is those that fall in between the first 2 categories.
There have been situations of people that had their navel piercing and claimed not to feel any pain afterward. On the other hand, there have been situations where people felt pain throughout the whole process.
So the question of “how painful belly button piercing is” depends on how well you can tolerate pain. The same piercing on the same spot can result in the different intensities of pain for different persons. You can compare two different piercings on your body But not for others.
Belly Button Piercing Pain scale (1-10)
Rating this piercing pain on a scale of 1 to 10, it would be at 6 -7. If you are one that cannot handle any manner of pain, be rest assured the pain won’t be as bad as you crying in the piercing room. These figures are still not up to the excruciating pain level.
For people that fall in between high and low tolerance of pain, the scale would be at 5. This pain is normal, just like being stung by an insect.
People with high tolerance pain levels will have a piercing pain scale of between 3-4. The pain here is very minimal. You may not even feel anything sometimes.
I just divided it into three different scales of pain bearing. And I hope almost everyone’s pain feeling lies somewhere between any of these three.
Does Belly Button Piercing Hurt a Lot?
Yes, it hurts coz it is a process of perforating skin and body modification. But yes it is not that painful that no one can bear.
Belly button pain from the needle will last for less than a minute. You have a low tolerance to pain if you still feel more pain after this period of time.
Soreness comes after the needle pain. But soreness, on the other hand, depends on a lot of factors. You will be provided aftercare instructions and if you follow it to the letter you should overcome soreness quickly. Therefore, soreness only lasts for a few days. It can last for weeks in the worst cases.
If you do not adhere strictly to aftercare instructions, it can lead to other complications. You can get irritations and other skin issues. This will most definitely lead to more pain and slow down your healing process.
There is also a situation known as rejected naval piercing. However, this is a rare occurrence and specialist piercers know how best to handle it. It can also elongate the pain period of the naval piercing.
Picking the Right Jewelry for your Belly Button
First of all, your jewelry for an enabled piercing is always going to be a 14 gauge. This means that 14 gauge is the thickness of the bar. This is the industry standard.
Every once in a while, you can come across a 12 gauge. But in most cases, no matter where you go, the 14 gauge is the best choice. Anything thinner could possibly cut or get pulled out. So always stick with 14 gauge.
For the length of your bar, the best is the 7/16. This is a pretty common size length to get pierced with. It gives you a little bit of room for swelling. It also helps with healing, draining and discharge of all other funky stuff that is definitely going to occur during the healing of your piercing
Now, once it has healed, you can get a shorter bar if you want to. Get one that does not hang down the bottom of the navel. You can get a 3/8, but some people even go as far as a 5/16. However, this is something you can figure out with your piercer.
If you like the feel and the look of a little bit looser jewelry, then you can stick with that 7/16 or 3/8. There are plenty of options for you to don.
How to Ease Belly Button Piercing Pain?
The basic healing period for a naval piercing is roughly 6 to 8 months. This slightly varies from person to person, but on average, it is most likely to be 6 to 8 months.
During this period, don’t touch it, don’t play with it and most importantly, don’t spin or rotate it. Avoid too much touching or playing with your piercing.
Keep it as stationary as possible during the entire healing period. Although 6-8 months sounds like a really long time, it goes by really fast.
If you are touching it, it’s just like picking out a scar. You are going to get excess scar tissue. It also leads to bringing dirt or bacteria into the piercing.
There are other precautions to take note of as far navel piercing is concerned. Never apply hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, Neosporin or even antibacterial soap. They are all too harsh and cause a lot more damage than good especially to the skin.
They all go into the skin and just dissolve everything away. If you have a scab you are trying to keep intact, the antibacterial will chew and dissolve it up. This is going to cause irritation. Also, your body is going to form a lot more scar tissue. This is because the scabs are constantly getting chewed up and dissolved.
So, do not use any bottle cleaner. If it ever looks like there is a problem and you are concerned about it, do not self-medicate it. Go and see your piercer and do whatever they say you should do about it.
Using Salt Water for Aftercare of Naval Piercing
The best way to take care of belly button piercing is with salt water soaks. Saltwater soaks are really easy and inexpensive to use.
To go about it, first, go to the grocery store. Get a gallon of distilled water, after that go to the salt section and get some non-iodized salt. Non-iodized sea salt means you are looking for pure sea salt. For a pure sea salt, when you read the ingredients list, the only ingredient there should be sea salt, no additives.
Once you have those two items, mix four teaspoons of the salt to one gallon of water. Shake it up, and that gives you a big jug to keep around the house. So just fill that jug up, and store it at room temperature.
Get a coffee cup, always makes sure it’s porcelain or glass and never paper plastic. Paper and plastic can contaminate your saltwater solution. Fill the coffee cup with a saltwater solution, microwave for a few seconds. That way, it’s going to be at body temperature. Use this on the navel once or twice a day
Everybody’s microwave slightly varies, so you have to observe for the first couple of times. But usually when it Lukewarm or at body temperature, push it up against your navel. Push really hard on the belly button and get it to seal itself off or get a bit of suction going.
Leave it for 5 to 10 minutes, but make sure you wait and let it soak in. While doing this, you can listen to music, watch TV or brush your teeth just to pass away time. When you’re done, lean forward, pull the glass off, set it to the side and rinse yourself off with water. Take a wet paper towel and wipe it down.
Conclusion
Naval piercing is a more delicate piercing than other body piercing. Hence, you will be doing yourself a lot of favor by hiring a professional and well-experienced piercer. This is the only way you can be in safe hands.
After the piercing, the piercer would provide you with some aftercare materials and how to use them. You can also reach out to the piercer in case a complication arises. On no account, you should self-medicate without the advice of your piercer. This is very important.
I hope you enjoyed and got the exact information that you are looking for. Do not forget how much you liked it, what else you want to add or what I missed. I’ll be waiting for your comment.
