Rules of proper belly button ring care

A belly button piercing is a fun accessory and it’s exciting to get it done. Especially if you spend months convincing your parents that it was okay, or if you were waiting to turn a certain age so you could get it pierced without parental consent. People generally get really excited after they see how cute their first belly button ring will look.

But when you get home and a little of the excitement has worn off, what then? It looks great, right? But it’s also a little sore. And you bought tons of cute belly button rings online, but the piercer said you had to wait to change it. So what do you do? You wait.

The single worst thing you can do  with new belly button rings is to ruin them forever by improper care or changing the belly button ring too early. Not only will you have to remove the navel jewelry, but you also suffer risks of painful infection that could spread throughout your body. Not to mention the pain or discomfort you will feel.

Properly licensed piercers will always provide you with detailed directions on how to take care of your new belly button ring. Most will recommend that you use warm water and antibacterial soap to clean the piercing once per day. On the other hand, some of them will recommend that you use a sea salt/water combination and will sell the products in the salon. All piercers will recommend that you clean your piercing only once per day to prevent drying, and they will all tell you to NEVER use Neosporin or rubbing alcohol to clean the piercing.

Neosporin is known to trap any germs against the piercing, which will only cause infection and pain in the future. Rubbing alcohol will do nothing but dry out the belly button piercing and cause itching.

In addition, you should wait at least six months before even attempting to change your belly button ring. In some cases, you will need to wait almost a full year before you are able to wear a new belly button ring. This is vitally important because if you change it too soon, you run the serious risk of causing dangerous infections, as well as ruining the piercing and allowing it to close. So many people have removed the ring, and then been unable to put another one back it. It’s not worth the risk, just be patient.

Some piercers will recommend that you twist the belly button ring once per day, and others will tell you not to. It really depends on who you ask and the industry has not yet come to a consensus of which is best. It’s necessary to avoid touching the piercing as much as possible.  Even if you wash your hands, you’ll still have natural oils on your fingers that could transfer gems and cause painful infections. They will also recommend that you avoid wearing tight clothing that will rub against your new belly button ring and that you should avoid activities that will cause excessive sweating, at least for the first few weeks.

Belly button rings are a safe and desirable piercing, and if you care for them properly, they’ll be a great fashion accessory for many years to come.