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The Daily Insight

How long can you keep a belly ring in?

Author

Ava Bailey

Updated on June 03, 2026

Fresh belly piercings tend to close quickly. If you've had one for years, it can close in a few weeks, but for some people it can take longer. Make sure you clean the area regularly until it's fully healed. If you want to keep your piercing for the long term, put jewelry in it all the time.

Then, can you keep a belly ring in while pregnant?

A belly button piercing is perfectly safe to keep during pregnancy, as long as it wasn't done in the last four weeks. It's just a matter of keeping it clean and watching it closely as your belly grows.

Beside above, can I change my belly ring after 3 weeks? You can change it earlier (from around 4 weeks would be the recommended minimum) as long as you keep following your aftercare routine and make sure that the new belly ring or bar is sterilised before you insert it into the piercing.

Herein, can a belly ring piercing close?

Navel piercings are surface piercings. As a rule, surface piercings tend to close quickly. While a fresh belly button piercing closes quickly, after a couple years some people find it closes within a few weeks. For others, it never closes, instead, the hole simply gets smaller but remains visible.

How long is a normal belly button ring?

10mm

Related Question Answers

Is there fake belly button rings?

Fake Belly Navel Non Clip on Piercing Aqua Lt Blue Unique Vine Dangle Ring.

When should you take out your belly ring when pregnant?

Q: Do I have to take my belly button ring out now that I'm pregnant? A: Not right away, but once your belly really starts to pop (by week 20 or so), you'll probably want to remove it. The skin covering your belly begins to stretch, the area around the ring may become irritated and painful, and more prone to infection.

What do you do with your belly button ring when pregnant?

As for getting your belly button or anything else pierced during pregnancy, it's better to hold off until after delivery. It's not a good idea to puncture the skin when you're expecting, since doing so ups the odds of an avoidable infection.

What can you not do after getting your bellybutton pierced?

During the healing process, you should do the following:
  1. Avoid hot tubs, pools, and lakes. Your wound can come into contact with bacteria in the water.
  2. Opt for clean, loose-fitting clothing. Tight garments can irritate the area and trap bacteria.
  3. Protect the piercing.
  4. Avoid the sun to prevent sunburns.

Why are pregnancy belly rings so long?

These retainers are made to be long because they can be customized to fit - something that can be done right in the comfort of your own home. Being pregnant is nothing short of a miracle of nature But you don't have to give up on your navel ring due to your growing baby bump!

Is Belly piercing Haram?

Men aren't allowed to have piercings at all, because that is considered to imitate women, which is not allowed in Islam. Piercings of any type are Haram (forbidden) on Men, as adornment by jewellery is only allowed for women. And piercings will be a sort of “imitating” women.

Will a belly button piercing close after 5 years?

Answer: Will my navel piercing hole close over? If you still have a piercing hole after five years then its very unlikely it will now close. The hole has formed a "scar" and is now lined with skin keeping the tract open.

Can you Repierce the same hole?

Can you get re-pierced in the same spot? Maybe, but only a piercing professional can tell you for sure. Book a consultation with a piercing professional who can examine your former earring hole(s) and decide if you can re-pierce the same spot without opening yourself up to complications.

Can you reopen a closed belly button piercing?

Jewelry Rejection or Migration

The original piercing might've closed up as the jewelry position changed slightly from the original pierced location to a higher, closer-to-the-surface or more angled area. If this is the case, you're limited to re-piercing your belly button.

Are belly button piercings Still in Style 2020?

2020 Jewelry Trend: Belly Button Rings

But with low-rise jeans and crop tops on the up and up, a little stomach ornament is necessary. Newer, 2020 versions of belly button rings are minimalistic and not as sparkly as their 2000s predecessors. Rather than a lot of bling, simple gold hoops have taken over.

What will happen if I change my belly ring too early?

Removing belly button jewelry before the piercing is healed may result in the hole closing before new jewelry can be inserted. A fully healed piercing won't hurt at all and the area around the piercing will be the same color as the rest of your skin. Some piercing shops will change the jewelry for you.

Can I just change the balls on my navel piercing?

Go to your piercer and have them replace it. Not only will they replace it they will make sure the area is clean.

Can I change my belly button ring after a month?

It's imperative you wait the amount of time necessary to change the belly ring. If you think after one or two months your belly looks good and you're ready for a change, chances are you're going through an excellent healing phase. Keep using your aftercare to facilitate healing as quickly and as safely as possible.

How long after getting a belly button piercing can you swim?

24 hours

How can I make my belly button piercing heal faster?

You'll want a pack of little Dixie cups, Q-tips, cotton balls, sea salt, and saline solution. These items will be crucial in keeping your belly button piercing clean – and keeping it clean is the best way to cut back on complications, such as infection – and to promote fast healing.

How do you take out your belly button ring for the first time?

Soak your new belly button ring in rubbing alcohol for 10 minutes or so to disinfect it. Remove the belly button ring from the rubbing alcohol and pat it dry with a paper towel. Unscrew the top ball from your current belly button ring. Grip the bottom of the ring and gently slide it out of the piercing.

How do you know when your belly button piercing is healed?

You will know that the piercing has healed when there is no redness around it and when you can touch the piercing and even remove it without feeling any pain. Check on your piercing to make sure that an infection hasn't developed and that the area has fully healed.

Can I take my belly piercing out to clean it?

If you suspect an infection, don't remove the jewelry on your own, unless your doctor tells you to do so. Most piercings don't need to be removed to treat infections. Keeping the piercing hole open allows pus to drain. Allowing the hole to close may trap the infection inside of your body, causing an abscess to form.

Does it hurt to change your belly button ring?

Since the skin around the navel is quite fleshy, belly piercings hurt less than other piercing types, like cartilage piercings. However, you are receiving a puncture hole, so there will be some pain involved. The good news is that the process is quick, and any initial piercing pain will be brief.

What kind of belly button ring should I get at first?

Bent barbells are the ideal style to wear as a starter belly button ring. In terms of material, titanium and surgical stainless steel are the safest, most optimal choices for a starter belly button ring.

What kind of ring do they pierce your belly button with?

Most belly button piercings are done with a curved barbell preferably made of 14k gold, 18k gold, or high-quality titanium. The standard size for a navel piercing is 14 Gauge (aka 14G). You should never use a barbell thinner than 18G since a higher gauged needle presents more risk of rejection, tearing, and migration.

When can I change my belly button ring?

In general, expect to wait three months to a year before you're able to switch out the original jewelry. A good sign that it's done healing is that you can move it easily. The skin around your piercing should also look more or less the way it did before you got pierced. There should be no swelling or any discharge.

Is 16 or 14 gauge smaller?

Gauge sizes work in reverse, meaning that higher numbers (like 16 gauge) are thinner than smaller numbers (like a 6 gauge). When discussing gauges, a larger gauge means bigger around, but it is expressed with a smaller number. If you're told that you need a larger gauge than 14, you need to look at 12 or 10, not at 16.

Why is my belly button ring sinking?

If it appears to be sinking into the hole, it could be one of three things. 1 - the barbell is too short (the piercer should have put a longer one in to accommodate swelling). 2 - you have somehow managed to stretch the piercing. 3 - the ball could be too small.

How much do belly button piercings cost?

Navel piercings can range in cost, but they're $40-$60 at most piercing places. This includes both the procedure and the cost of the jewelry. If you're happy with the way things go, it's considered good form to give your piercer a 10-20% tip on top of the regular price. That's it!

What is the smallest gauge belly ring?

Navel jewellery is measured by gauges. The higher the gauge the smaller the piercing. 14g is the standard size that fits most piercings.

Gauge - width of the shaft (eg. 14g)

Gauge Millimeter Inches
16g 1.2mm 3/64"
14g (standard) 1.6mm 1/16"
12g 2mm 5/64"
10g 2.4mm 3/32"

Do I need a longer belly bar?

The Length of the bar is typically 7/16", it is a little long to accommodate for any swelling, drainage, and healing. The navel piercing takes 6 - 8 months to heal, and the barbell should be left in for this time period. A professional Piercer can assess the piercing to determine if you need a shorter barbell.

What are the best belly button rings?

If you have sensitive skin, steel, titanium and BioFlex are your best bets, with titanium being the best of the two metal options. Titanium belly button rings are made of the most inert metal, so they're the least likely to trigger an allergic reaction.