Can i pierce my bellybutton at home

Lauren Dozier —a dermatologist and medical director at Brickell Cosmetic Center in Miami, FL—suggests staying away from antibitotic ointment, as this can suffocate the piercing site and cause more problems. After washing your hands with soap and water, rinse the area with warm water. You can effectively change out a belly button piercing yourself, but you have to be completely sure that your piercing is fully healed before doing so.

And, as mentioned, while six to eight months is the typical healing period, it could actually take up to a full year. According to Outland, the top of the jewelry usually comes unscrewed, allowing for the jewelry to be slipped out and easily replaced in the same manner.

The one thing to keep in mind is to always wash your hands before touching the piercing in any way to avoid irritating it or transferring bacteria. The typical jewelry choice for belly button piercings is a curved barbell , which slightly curves outward to pop against your belly button and generally fit better with the natural shape of your body.

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I Accept Show Purposes. By Isabelle Lichtenstein. Isabelle Lichtenstein. Isabelle Lichtenstein is a contributing writer for Byrdie where she covers tattoos and piercings. If you choose to, read on. However, note that it is always safer to go to a professional. Start by sterilizing your equipment and belly button with the alcohol to reduce the chance of infection. Then, pierce your skin from the bottom so you can see where the needle exits.

Carefully insert your belly button ring into the hollow needle and use it to push the needle out of your skin. Finally, screw the end on the ring to secure it in place. For more tips, including how to look after your new piercing, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. Please log in with your username or email to continue.

No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article parts. Tips and Warnings. Things You'll Need. Related Articles. Article Summary. Part 1. Gather the correct equipment.

Using the correct equipment for piercing your belly button is essential. Otherwise, the piercing could go badly wrong or result in a nasty infection. Using a sewing needle, safety pin or piercing gun to pierce your belly button is a bad idea, as these items are unsafe and will not produce good results.

Create a hygienic environment. Before you proceed with piercing your belly button, you will need to take all precautions necessary to eliminate the chance of getting infected. Wash your hands. Don't forget to wash your hands and lower arms in warm water! Everything needs to be completely sterile.

An even safer precaution is wearing latex gloves if they're sterile and haven't been sitting out. Dry your hands with a paper towel--not a cloth towel that's porous and attracts bacteria. Sterilize the clamp, piercing needle and belly button ring. If you have bought all of these items new which you should have they should be in sterile packaging. However, if they did not, or you have handled them already, you will need to sterilize them yourself before piercing. You can do this by submerging the items in rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide and leaving them to sit in the liquid for a minute or two.

Remove them from the liquid wearing clean latex gloves, if possible and leave them on a clean piece of paper towel to dry completely. Clean around the belly button. Before piercing, it is necessary to thoroughly clean in and around the belly button to remove any bacteria from the surface of the skin.

It's best to use a disinfecting skincare gel especially designed for piercings such as Bactine or rubbing alcohol. Wait for the area to dry completely before proceeding. If necessary, use a Q-Tip or other similar device to get inside your navel. Make sure to clean both above and below the piercing site. Make a mark where the piercing should be. Before you pierce, you will need to have some idea of where the needle is going, so using a body ink marker to mark the entrance and exit locations of the needle is a good idea.

There should be approximately 1 cm. Use a small hand-held mirror to check if the two marks are aligned horizontally and vertically. Only do this while standing, as your stomach scrunches up when sitting and will not give you a straight pierce. Decide whether you want to numb the area.

Some people who are squeamish about pain may want to numb the skin around the belly button with an ice cube wrapped in paper towel before proceeding. However, it is important to be aware that numbing the area with ice will also make the skin tough and rubbery, making it harder to push the piercing needle through. Alternatively, you can apply a little numbing gel such as those used for numbing gums before injections to the area using a q-tip. At this point you may want to unscrew the ball from the top of the belly button ring leave the bottom intact.

You don't want to be fumbling with this while struggling to hold both the clamp and the needle in place. Part 2. Clamp the cleaned area. Now you are ready to begin! Stretch your skin taut and push the needle through in a swift motion. Secure the end of your jewelry to make sure that it stays in place. Method 2. Assess the cleanliness of the shop. Look for general tidiness and watch the artists to make sure that they wear sterile gloves and use sterile solutions on the skin.

Ask them if they own an autoclave. Don't be afraid to walk out of the piercing studio if you don't feel that they are very hygienic with their piercing techniques. Be prepared to show identification to prove you're at least 16 years of age. You will likely be asked to sign a paper for legal purposes. If you are younger than 16, you'll probably need a parent to provide consent before the shop will perform the piercing.

Select the jewelry you would like. A knowledgeable piercing artist will help guide you with what type of jewelry is best for healing. Relax in the chair or lean-to. A surgical-type clamp will be attached to the upper region of your navel to stabilize the tissue in preparation for the puncture. Take a deep breath and relax as much as you can during the procedure.

Your jewelry is placed on the end of the spear and guided through your new piercing. Remember to breathe throughout the procedure for maximum calm and comfort. Method 3. Invert a cup of warm saline solution over your piercing to form a vacuum. Hold the solution in place for 5 to 10 minutes and blot the area with a piece of sterile gauze. Rinse the residue away with a stream of cool water. Skip the rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or harsh soaps to avoid damaging your skin cells. Avoid washing your piercing more than 2 times per day.

Squeeze a pearl-sized drop of soap onto the piercing and gently rub the piercing and jewelry with your fingers. Rinse the area and dry it with sterile gauze. Make sure the soap is antimicrobial and it has no scent, the fragrance will make the chances of infection higher. Keep all bodily fluids and lotions off of your piercing.

Steer clear of any oral contact with your navel, and avoid applying lotions, creams or cosmetics to the wound. Protect your piercing if you go into a lake, pool or hot tub. Try a waterproof wound-sealant bandage, which you can get at a drugstore. Buy a hard, vented eye patch at a drugstore. Put the eye patch over the piercing and secure it by wrapping a cloth bandage around your abdomen. The eye patch will help to protect your piercing if you have to wear tight clothing or engage in contact sports.

Keep the jewelry in until the piercing has completely healed. Don't hang any charms off of the jewelry until the healing process is finished. No, because the size, or gage, of a belly button hole should be bigger than a hole for an earring. Not Helpful 4 Helpful If I have an "outie" belly button, will they have to remove it before the procedure? Not Helpful 7 Helpful Bring someone with you, as a distraction or chat with the piercer. The pain's over pretty quickly, and it really just feels like a pinch.

Not Helpful 3 Helpful It will be hard to get the jewelry through the piercing since its not hollow and will not give a clean, straight hole when you pierce it.

It also increases you chance of infection, even if you sterilize it. Not Helpful 5 Helpful How long do I have to wait to go swimming after getting my belly button pierced?

You would usually wait 2 to 4 months, but it depends on heal quickly you heal. Not Helpful 9 Helpful Sometimes a yellow-ish fluid and sticky blood come out of my navel.

Does this mean my piercing is infected? No, it's normal for the first few months of the healing process. The fluid should be yellow or white.