The first time I decided to get a piercing, it was because the cute guy from my maths class said I’d look cute with a bellybutton piercing. After doing some research online I waitied duly until I turned 16, earned some money and headed off.

I rocked up to Purple Haze – which I chose because that was where my sister had her tragus pierced – asked if they had a free slot to get my naval pierced, and waited. I was nervous as all hell – the only piercings I’d experienced before this were my 6 lobe piercings done with a gun at the chemists.

Furthermore my parents had no idea I was getting it done and I didn’t know how they’d react – they were firmly against the idea of body modification.

Then my appointment came around – the time of reckoning! The piercer girl was cute as hell (Zoe, her name is) so I was too busy to really be nervous!! Then the clamp came, and the pinch, and a bit of pain but strangely not as much as I’d anticipated – and I had a brand new belly piercing!!

She sat me down afterwards, explained all the aftercare, that I’d have to avoid lying on my stomach for a while and all that. It got infected after two weeks and it took a year and a couple of courses of antibiotics to really settle, but it was worth it.

It was after that I realised that I really love piercings. I then went back to Purple Haze (and Zoe) twice more to get an anti-helix, a daith and a rook, before decided purple haze was a liiiiitle too expensive, and changed to Chadstone to get my lip and 2 helixes done. I left, of course, considerable healing time between all of them.
I still have a tragus, another rook and 3 more helixes on the agenda!

That first belly piercing was what made me discover my (so far) only passion – tattoos and piercings!! So if it wasn’t for Logan from my maths class, I wouldn’t have this awesome excuse to post my little story online.

THANKS LOGAN FOR THE INSPIRATION and thankyou the internet and piercers for giving me something to turn to and better how I percieve myself with!!

I’ve posted a picture of my right ear – the daith and my two helixes as I don’t actually have a picture of my bellybutton due to lighting issues with cameras and shadows!!

To do this the person would need to have what is known as an “outie” navel where the belly button is actually sticking out. Not many people have this and so the piercing is often made through the upper rim of the navel instead.

Many celebrities such as Britney Spears and Janet Jackson have made the navel body piercing as popular as it is today.

It is particularly favoured amongst teenage girls who are looking to stand out. However, unfortunately many people rush into getting their navel pierced and they do not fully understand what the piercing involves. This is when infections can develop.

What You Should Know

The navel piercing might be the most common type of piercing available today, but there is still a lot of misunderstanding surrounding it. One of the main things that you may not be aware of is the healing time that the piercing needs before you experiment with different belly rings.

Navel body piercings are well known for their likelihood of developing an infection. However, this is easily avoidable if you respect the healing time and if you help the piercing to heal. Using a mild antibacterial soap on the piercing each morning in the shower will help to cleanse the wound.

The piercing itself is done usually with a sterilised clamp. The clamp is situated either below or above the navel and then the sterilised needle is pushed through the skin to create the piercing. This is then followed by the navel jewellery that the client has chosen. Typically for their first navel jewellery, clients tend to opt for belly bars or a simple belly ring. Ideally you should avoid nickel based navel jewellery when you have just had your navel pierced as this does tend to cause an allergic reaction for many people.

Overall navel body piercings are popular and they do tend to boost confidence. However, they do need to be cared for properly if you are to benefit fully from the piercing. There are so many different belly rings to suit all tastes that you can choose from once the piercing has healed. So if you do look after the piercing properly you will soon be able to benefit from a wide range of belly rings!