Navels 101- What to Look for Getting this Popular Piercing

Navel piercings are arguably one of the most popular that many piercers offer. These classic piercings have been popular since Alicia Silverstone’s body double got one in the Aerosmith video, and since Brittney Spears put one in center stage with her crop tops and skirts. They are also unfortunately one of the piercings we see done incorrectly the most often. This little writeup is to share some information about navel piercings, and what to look for to ensure you are seeing an artist who is piercing you correctly.

Here we can see scarring showing improper placement outside the navel, compared with the correctly done piercing inside the navel.

To start, navel piercings should always be placed inside the navel. Not in the tissue above or in front of the navel. Regardless of the shape or size of your navel there is never any reason to pierce just the tissue in front of the navel. When you stand, sit, and lay the bottom of the piercing needs to be inside the navel. I have heard clients told that their piercing couldn’t be in their navel because of shape, size, placement, weight, or other factors. This is blatantly untrue. A navel piercing should always be in the navel. This is something you can check portfolios for, and if you see someone who is piercing them outside this area, I would strongly suggest you not be pierced by them. A red flag would be a piercer who doesn’t check your anatomy before showing you jewelry, or during marking. Checking placement for clients can be tricky, but the best way I’ve found is to use a mirror to look at your piercing while laying. Is it obviously inside your navel? Perfect! Are you unsure, or does it look to be in front of your navel? Time to see a reputable piercer and have this checked in person.

Navels come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and should be handled and pierced according to the clients anatomy. This often means starting with one of two types of jewelry. More commonly seen online is a double gem navel, where there is a gemstone on both the top and bottom. This is a great look for someone with a navel that retains its shape when they stand, sit, and lay. The other style is a floating navel, where there is a gem on top and a small disc on the bottom. This is ideal for someone whose navel collapses when they sit or lay. These styles are not interchangeable. If your navel is suited for a floating navel being pierced with any other jewelry will cause irritation and migration. Likewise, the disc commonly put on the bottom of a floating navel can sometimes cause rubbing and irritation on a classic navel during healing. That said, once fully healed you can wear whichever style you prefer. It’s purely for the healing time that you must leave your initial style in. I know being patient is hard, but it’s worth it for a healthy, happy piercing that you can wear for a lifetime!