Download ArticleDownload ArticleThis article was written by Roger Rodriguez and by How.com.vn staff writer, Hunter Rising. Roger Rodriguez, also known as Roger Rabb!t, is the Owner of Ancient Adornments Body Piercing, a piercing studio based in the Los Angeles, California area. With over 25 years of piercing experience, Roger has become the co-owner of several piercing studios such as ENVY Body Piercing and Rebel Rebel Ear Piercing and teaches the craft of body piercing at Ancient Adornments. He is a member of the Association of Professional Piercers (APP).
There are 15 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.
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Did you recently get your belly button pierced and want to put in a new piece of jewelry? Even if you’re really eager to try out a new belly button bar or ring, it’s important that your piercing is completely healed before changing it out. We know that you don’t want to wait longer than you have to, and our complete guide to belly piercings will walk you through each step along the way. Keep reading to learn how to tell if your piercing is healed and how to properly swap out the jewelry.
This article is based on an interview with our piercing specialist, Roger Rodriguez, owner of Ancient Adornments Body Piercing. Check out the full interview here.
Things You Should Know
- Change your belly piercing once it’s healed, which normally takes around 6–12 months.
- Wait until your belly piercing is no longer swollen, red, painful, or leaking discharge to put in a new piece of jewelry.
- To change your belly piercing, wash your skin with a saline solution and unscrew the old jewelry. Gently pull the old jewelry out and slide the new jewelry in.
Steps
Changing a Belly Piercing
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Wash your hands. Rinse your hands under warm water and lather them with fragrance-free antibacterial soap. Scrub your hands thoroughly to remove any dirt, oil, and bacteria so they don’t get into your belly piercing. Rinse and dry your hands thoroughly to remove all the residual suds.[5]- Avoid touching your piercing if you haven’t washed your hands since you could introduce bacteria to the inside of your piercing and cause an infection, even if it’s completely healed.
Clean the piercing site with a saline solution. Use a commercial solution, or make your own saline with ¼ teaspoon (6 g) of table salt with 1 1⁄2 fluid ounces (44 ml) of distilled water. Wet a gauze pad with the solution and hold it against your piercing to soften any discharge. Gently slide your belly piercing up and down so the solution gets inside.[6]- Cleaning your navel piercing ensures you don’t trap any bacteria when you put in your new jewelry.
Wash your new piece of jewelry with antibacterial soap. Plug your sink so the jewelry doesn’t slip down the drain while you’re washing it. Take out your new belly button bar or ring out of the packaging and run it under warm water. Lather fragrance-free soap on your jewelry before rinsing it off with clean water. Then, just pat your jewelry dry with a paper towel.[7]- Stick with antegrade titanium or steel jewelry since it’s surgical-quality and least likely to cause irritation or an infection. If you choose gold jewelry, make sure it's 14 karats or higher so it doesn’t break down.[8]
Unscrew your old belly piercing and slide the new one in. If you have a bar-shaped piece of jewelry, unscrew the top bead. If you have a ring, carefully push on the side of the bead to pop it out. Gently pull the old piece of jewelry through the piercing to remove it completely. Immediately slide the new piece of jewelry in through the bottom hole of the piercing, and attach the bead to hold it in place.[9]- If you feel any pain while you’re trying to remove the jewelry, stop right away since the piercing isn’t fully healed. Leave the jewelry in so you don’t cause any scars or infections.
- Put in new body jewelry as soon as you take the old one out. Your belly piercing may close up overnight and make it difficult or painful to reinsert new jewelry.[10]
Expert Q&A
Tips
- If you’re ever unsure if your belly piercing has healed completely, contact your piercer and have them inspect it. They’ll be happy to help you out and tell you if the piercing is ready for new jewelry.[17]Thanks
- Drink water and stay hydrated to help promote faster healing around the piercing site.Thanks
Warnings
- Avoid using bacitracin, ointments, rubbing alcohol, or hydrogen peroxide on your piercing since it could slow down the healing process.[18]Thanks
References
- ↑ https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/lifestyle/can-i-go-swimming-after-a-piercing/
- ↑ https://youtu.be/DjxSRIt7vjA?t=214
- ↑ https://youtu.be/fUsMLsXahcc?t=41
- ↑ https://safepiercing.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/APP_Healed_Print.pdf
- ↑ https://tats4u.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/7449-PDFs-PiercingAftercare2.pdf
- ↑ https://www.cieh.org/media/1976/tattoo-toolkit_part-c_04-body-and-surface-piercing-aftercare.pdf
- ↑ https://youtu.be/N9eUR1cHfXQ?t=78
- ↑ https://tats4u.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/7449-PDFs-PiercingAftercare2.pdf
- ↑ https://youtu.be/PllWuV76HJs?t=37
- ↑ https://safepiercing.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/APP_Body-Aftercare_2021-edit-1.pdf
- ↑ https://www.cieh.org/media/1976/tattoo-toolkit_part-c_04-body-and-surface-piercing-aftercare.pdf
- ↑ https://uhs.berkeley.edu/health-topics/body-piercings
- ↑ https://tats4u.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/7449-PDFs-PiercingAftercare2.pdf
- ↑ https://gurkhatattoofamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/4-Navel-Piercing-After-care.pdf
- ↑ https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/lifestyle/can-i-go-swimming-after-a-piercing/
- ↑ https://www.sutterhealth.org/health/teens/physical/body-piercing
- ↑ https://tats4u.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/7449-PDFs-PiercingAftercare2.pdf
- ↑ https://uhs.berkeley.edu/health-topics/body-piercings
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