Navel Piercing FAQ
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Please browse the navel pictures below. See if you can find one that is similar to yours.
Most of the pictures are of un-pierced navels.
I have written a little description of the best shaped jewellery and my reason for this. I have also included
a short insight into what I would consider the important facts when being presented with the navel for an initial
piercing and what jewellery I would recommend to the customer should they be choosing something from our own BMG
range.
Richard Soper MAR RSA Graduate of the international school of body piercing. Managing Director of BMG Ltd,
jewellery designer for BMG body jewellery and piercer at the Real Shop. The UK's Head Office for BMG designer
Jewellery.
Please scroll down and find the navel that looks most like yours >>>>>>>
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Belly Button 1
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Navel type:
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Not quite an outey as you can see the area just above the main hollow has a lip, the piercing
would be no problem with little chance of it growing out. The navel piercing should be done with a curved
belly bar as the area is very flat, a ring would sit to one side throwing the piercing crooked after a few weeks.
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Suitable BMG jewellery:
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An ideal piece for this navel piercing would be something flattish to stop the belly bar rocking
from left to right giving it lateral stability. I would recommend a Trillion or diamond cluster flower gem. Both
these pieces offer lateral stability and are big enough to hide the not very attractive fleshy swirls.
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Healing estimate:
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This navel is very open allowing for good air circulation, it is also higher than the belt line.
With regular light cleaning and sensible jewellery the belly piercing should settle within 4/6 weeks and be
completely healed inside 6 months (this is assuming the person leads a healthy lifestyle).
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Belly Button 2
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Navel type:
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This thin oval shape navel is suitable for piercing with either a belly ring or a curved belly bar
with a 5mm ball or gemstone. A bigger ball or navel seating would hamper the healing as the ball would be rubbing
on the left and right side of the navel and add forward pressure making it more likely to grow out.
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Suitable BMG jewellery:
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An ideal piece for this navel would be any of ball closure rings size 10mm or 12mm. If I was to use
a curved navel bar, the open oval, mini or a small 5mm diamond solitaire or duet could be used. After healing any of
the belly droppers would also suit. For piercing, the body jewellery (if using a curved belly bar) would have to be
slightly more curved than normal to take away any pressure so that it does not grow out.
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Healing estimate:
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This navel is not very deep. Using the correct navel jewellery it should have reasonable air circulation,
it is also higher than the belt line. With regular light cleaning and sensible piercing jewellery it should settle
within 6/8 weeks and be completely healed inside 8 months (this is assuming the person leads a healthy lifestyle).
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Belly Button 3
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Navel type:
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This navel is deep, small and round but has width from left to right. You can see that the area
just below the navel is quite prominent and sticks out further than the area we are piercing at the top. If you
look carefully you can also see a red line where the belt line has been - this goes directly across the area to be
pierced. I would strongly recommend that this person wears lower clothing so that it does not rub the navel piercing.
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Suitable BMG jewellery:
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I would recommend a curved bar with a normal round or teardrop shaped setting no larger than 10mm.
Open oval, Open heart, Open drop, Saturn or Rock Chic would all be suitable. The jewellery would need more of a curve
than normal so that it does not keep popping out of the top every time they sit down. Wearing the correct length of
jewellery will always be very important for this navel type.
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Healing estimate:
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This navel is quite deep. Using the correct jewellery it should have reasonable air circulation, with
suitable clothing and regular light cleaning this person will take longer than most. It should settle within 6/8 weeks
and be completely healed inside 8/12 months (this is assuming the person leads a healthy lifestyle).
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Belly Button 4
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Navel type:
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This navel is deep and very small. You can see that the area just below the navel has a scar from
exploratory surgery. The navel piercing could be done easily with a belly ring but the person would not be able to wear
a curved navel bar as the piercing would need to be too deep to stop it going crooked. I would prefer to do the piercing
with a small curved belly bar with just a small end. Using a mini from the BMG range would be ideal as it is flat at
the back. I would use a 12mm bar but leave 2/3 mm of bar so that the mini sits just below the hole allowing for
air circulation.
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Suitable BMG jewellery:
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Mini or a small diamond ball around 4/5mm would be suitable. I would also recommend having the belly
bar shortened as soon as it is healed to prevent it turning left or right.
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Healing estimate:
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This navel is deep. The piercing would be prone to growing out unless an extra curve is added to the bar.
If this person takes care to keep the inside of the navel clean and dry it should settle within 6/8 weeks and be
completely healed inside 8/12 months (this is assuming the person leads a healthy lifestyle).
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Belly Button 5
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Navel type:
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This navel is a classic outey - not really suitable for piercing at the top. There is more room and a small
lip of skin at the bottom of the navel. I would recommend the navel piercing to be done at the bottom "a
downey". However
this is still not ideal but by using a small belly ring or small navel bar would be possible.
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Suitable BMG jewellery:
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This is one ugly navel and desperately need hiding. Once healed I would recommend a flowergem
as this has a flat back and is big enough to hide the ugly navel. The flower would cover the navel with the ball being
underneath at the bottom.
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Healing estimate:
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This navel is open offering good circulation of air. It should heal up quickly settling in
approx 4/6 weeks. It should be completely healed inside 5/6 months (this is assuming the person leads a healthy lifestyle).
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Belly Button 6
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Navel type:
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This navel is an oval shape with more flesh at the bottom than the top. It could be pierced either at the
top or bottom easily. The initial jewellery should be a round or oval curved navel bar.
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Suitable BMG jewellery:
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Perfect for the initial belly piercing is our Open Oval as it is the right shape and offers
good air circulation as the frame is vented behind the gemstone. However most designs would work OK.
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Healing estimate:
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This navel is normal, using suitable jewellery it should settle within 4/6 weeks. It should
be completely healed inside 5/6 months (this is assuming the person leads a healthy lifestyle).
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Belly Button 7
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Navel type:
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This navel is probably one of the most common shapes and ideal for piercing with a wide range of jewellery.
It is not too deep and quite open. The only thing I would be concerned about is putting in something too heavy. The flesh
above the navel looks quite soft with not much strength so putting in something that weighed more than 4/5 grams could
stretch the skin downwards. I would recommend a curved belly bar rather than a belly ring.
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Suitable BMG jewellery:
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Most designs from the BMG range are suitable but for the initial piercing I would stick to
Open Oval, Open Drop, Open Heart, Saturn, Rock Chic, Trillion, English Rose or Moonstone Wrap.
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Healing estimate:
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This navel is normal, using suitable jewellery it should settle within 4/6 weeks. It should
be completely healed inside 5/6 months (this is assuming the person leads a healthy lifestyle).
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Belly Button 8
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I threw this one in to show how wearing jewellery which is too long can ruin your navel piercing.
It is important to ensure your navel jewellery is not too long or too short - this is why BMG supply your jewellery
to any size. Before placing your order please read the
measuring your
piercing section, to ensure you get it right.
The belly piercing is awkward, it has shrunk but this person has just left in the initial jewellery. Because the jewellery
is far too long it has found a seating by turning to the left. Now the piercing is crooked. I would recommend they get
the correct length in ASAP before it gets any worse.
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Belly Button 9
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Navel type:
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The hook - always a bit awkward but many people have them. In an ideal world I would design a piece for
this navel which has more metal on the side without the crease - this would rectify the unbalance. Piercing this navel
is done by using the centre or the top curve - often marking these up gives an optical illusion of being straight when it
is not. Using care and attention to mark this up correctly the navel is easily piercable with a curved belly bar or belly
ring. The only problem with "the hook" is the area on your left as you look at the picture just underneath, the top curve
is more raised than the right. The trick is to get the body jewellery to sit facing front. The raise of flesh will
naturally turn the jewellery to the right (as you look at it) - A piece of navel jewellery offering left to right stability
is essential for a good result. For this navel piercing I would recommend the BMG Trillion (as worn by Abi
Titmus) as it
will take away any optical illusion and offer the left to right stability required. Alternatively we could start from
scratch and design the perfect custom made belly bar.
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Suitable BMG jewellery:
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Trillion (as worn by Abi
Titmus)
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Healing estimate:
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This navel is normal, using suitable body jewellery it should settle within 4/6 weeks.
It should be completely healed inside 5/6 months (this is assuming the person leads a healthy lifestyle).
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Belly Button 10
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Navel type:
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The plug hole - A bit cruel but it reminds me of swirling water disappearing down a plug hole.
Nice and open with loads of air circulation this is an easy belly to pierce. Initial body jewellery should be a
curved belly bar as there is not enough depth for a navel ring to remain straight, ball closure rings would turn
this piercing crooked very quickly. Most BMG designs would be suitable for this navel piercing.
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Suitable BMG jewellery:
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Trillion, Rock Chic, any of the open ranges, English Rose, Moonstone wrap etc.
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Healing estimate:
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This navel is normal, using suitable belly jewellery it should settle within 4/6 weeks.
It should be completely healed inside 5/6 months (this is assuming the person leads a healthy lifestyle).
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Belly Button 11
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Navel type:
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Half moon with a smooth drop down from the navel. This is probably the most versatile of navels and
very common. It is nice belly to pierce and will heal well as the air circulation around the piercing is good as there
is no hollow for bacteria to hide in. Teardrops, Trillions and Rock Chic's suit this type of navel for an initial belly
piercing. Droppers are great once this is healed as they will just hang down perfectly. The navel is attractive. When you
look at it you don't feel the urge to say yuck.
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Suitable BMG jewellery:
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Trillion, Rock Chic, any of the open ranges, English Rose, Moonstone wrap etc.
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Healing estimate:
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This navel is normal, using suitable body jewellery it should settle within 4/6 weeks.
It should be completely healed inside 5/6 months (this is assuming the person leads a healthy lifestyle).
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Belly Button 12
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Navel type:
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Half moon with a smooth drop down from the navel.
As you can see this navel is very similar to the one above (No 11). In piercing terms the only difference to be aware of is
that the skin just above the navel is loose. The sutability of body jewellery is the same exept that I am going to ensure
the piece used is not too heavy as the skin has less rigidity to hold much weight.
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Suitable BMG jewellery:
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Teardrops, Trillions and Rock Chic's suit this type of navel for an initial piercing.
Light weight droppers such as three tear dropper or 3 heart dropper are great once this is healed as they will just hang
down perfectly.
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Healing estimate:
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This navel is normal, using suitable body jewellery it should settle within 4/6 weeks.
It should be completely healed inside 5/6 months (this is assuming the person leads a healthy lifestyle).
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Belly Button 13
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Navel type:
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The hairy hollow - quite an easy one to do. Suitable for a belly ring or a curved navel bar.
I would prefer the curved bar as a ring piercing would have to be deep to stop the ring turning the piercing crooked and
therefore the owner will have problems wearing a bar in the future. The bar will need to have a small ball or something
vented to stop bacterial build up behind it. If the piercing was done with a large round ball it would act like a plug
sealing off air ventilation and making the piercing prone to infection.
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Suitable BMG jewellery:
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Open Oval, Mini, Open Drop, small solitaire.
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Healing estimate:
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This navel is normal, using suitable jewellery it should settle within 4/6 weeks.
It should be completely healed inside 5/6 months (this is assuming the person leads a healthy lifestyle).
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Belly Button 14
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Navel type:
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The reverse "C" - In someways this is similar to the hook as it requires lateral stability to stop the
raised section of the left (as you look at the picture) from turning the bar to the right. Not suitable for a belly ring
piercing as this would find a seating on the left (as you look at the picture) throwing it crooked. I would use either a
small ball or something wide at the top to help it sit facing forward.
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Suitable BMG jewellery:
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Open Oval, Trillion or Rock Chic.
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Healing estimate:
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This navel is normal, using suitable body jewellery it should settle within 5/7 weeks.
It should be completely healed inside 6/8 months (this is assuming the person leads a healthy lifestyle).
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Belly Button 15
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Navel type:
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Another half moon with a smooth drop down from the navel. As with 11 and 12 it is probably
the most versatile of navels and very common. This particular half moon is quite small so the body jewellery will have
to be a little smaller. The trillion may be too large but most other designs will suit. The main reason for showing yet
another half moon is that you can see straight away the belt line. This persons navel is very low in fact it is quite a
bit below the belt line. This is not too much of a problem as long as they don't wear tight fitting clothes that will
cause it to be rubbed during every day living. The skin itself looks unhealthy so I would recommend that the customer
comes back for a check up in approx 6 weeks. Just so we can keep an eye on things.
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Suitable BMG jewellery:
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Rock Chic, any of the open ranges, English Rose, Moonstone wrap etc.
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Healing estimate:
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This navel is normal, using suitable body jewellery it should settle within 6/8 weeks.
It should be completely healed inside 6/8 months (this is assuming the person leads a healthy lifestyle).
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