Professional piercers often discourage using topical numbing creams for belly button piercings because they can alter skin texture, making piercing harder and potentially leading to irritation or inflammation, though some piercers might use a fast-acting "freezy" spray for quick numbing, and you can use OTC creams like Emla at home for at least 1-1.5 hours before your appointment for some effect. The belly button area is fleshy, so the pain is usually quick, like a pinch, but it's a personal choice if you're very nervous.
Belly Button Piercing Pain
Like other soft tissue piercings, however, the pain is momentary and not very intense. If you're really concerned about pain, you can ask your piercer to apply a topical anestheticOpens a new window beforehand.
No. Numbing cream is not a good idea. It impacts blood flow and tissue texture which makes the actual act of piercing more difficult and often results in seriously wonky piercings. No reputable piercer will use or advise the use of numbing agents.
The "3-2 piercing rule" is a popular guideline for creating a balanced ear piercing arrangement, suggesting three piercings on the lobe and two on the upper cartilage for a harmonious, curated look, or applying a 2:3 ratio of piercings to space for overall balance, often pairing small studs with statement pieces for a chic, "undone" style that avoids overcrowding and emphasizes personal anatomy.
Post-Piercing Care
To help it heal, don't touch the piercing too much, let it get some air, and don't wear clothes that might catch on the jewellery. Use light jewellery for the first year to keep the piercing safe and reduce the chance of problems like migration and scars.
A belly button piercing generally hurts moderately, often described as a quick, sharp pinch or tug, around a 4-5 out of 10 on a pain scale, less than cartilage but more than an earlobe. The pain is brief during the piercing itself, but expect some soreness, throbbing, and tenderness in the first few days as it heals. Pain levels vary by person, but the fleshy nature of the area usually makes it manageable, and a skilled piercer helps keep the process fast and accurate.
The least painful piercings are generally standard earlobe and some fleshy lip piercings (like labret), followed by nostril/septum and tongue piercings, due to soft tissue with fewer nerves, feeling like a quick pinch or sting; cartilage piercings (helix, tragus) are slightly more painful but still manageable, while piercings with thick tissue or many nerves (like nipples or certain genital piercings) rank higher in pain.
The top five most painful piercings often cited include the Industrial, Rook, Snug, Industrial, and sometimes genital piercings or dermal piercings, with ear cartilage piercings (especially those through thick cartilage like the Snug or Rook) frequently ranking high due to nerve endings and thickness, while genital piercings are considered extremely painful by many. Pain is subjective, but cartilage piercings like the Rook, Industrial, and Snug are consistently ranked high, sometimes reaching a 9/10 on pain scales.
Our guidelines recommend that you are healing no more than 3-4 piercings at one time. But how does that break down? If the piercings are only going through soft tissue, like earlobes for example, you can safely heal up to 4 piercings at one time.
A nose piercing typically ranks around a 4-7 out of 10 on the pain scale, varying by person and location; nostril piercings are often a quick, sharp pinch (around 4-6/10), while septum piercings can feel intense but brief (around 6-7/10), especially if the cartilage is thick, though it's generally considered manageable and quick to heal.
We don't use numbing cream because it can interfere with the quality of the piercing —numbing agents may cause swelling or tightening, making it harder to pierce precisely. The process is quick, and we focus on keeping you calm and comfortable.
Tips for Calming Pre-Piercing Jitters
Bring a friend: Having a supportive buddy by your side can make the experience more fun and less stressful. Breathe: Deep, steady breaths really do help calm nerves. Eat beforehand: A light meal can keep your blood sugar stable and reduce dizziness.
You may have already asked yourself: can I pierce under anesthesia? This question is asked a lot and the answer is simple: no.
Importance of Going to a Professional
The navel area contains a lot of nerves and blood vessels, so a misplaced piercing can result in a bloody mess and/or lasting nerve damage.
Many professional piercers advise against numbing agents, as they can change the skin's texture and make it more challenging to perform a precise piercing.
What to avoid with a new piercing:
The 3/2 piercing rule is a guideline that helps determine a safe number of piercings for your ear's upper cartilage, specifically the helix and flat areas. The rule suggests that for every three units of unpierced cartilage, you can safely have two units of pierced cartilage. Think of it like a ratio.
Most Painful Piercings from Mild to Wild
The "2:3 piercing rule" is a curated ear guideline suggesting that for every two piercings, you should have three units of space between them, aiming for a balanced look, often by placing two piercings on the lobe and three on the upper cartilage, or by using larger jewelry at the bottom (lobes) and smaller pieces (studs/huggies) as you go up the ear for a cascading, uncluttered aesthetic. It's a styling tip, not a strict rule, for creating harmonious ear stacks.
What piercings reject the most? Surface piercings have the highest rejection rate. Surface piercings such as microdermals as well as eyebrow piercings and navel piercings reject the most because they are closest to the surface of the skin.
Most people describe it as a quick pinch or a sharp tug that lasts just a few seconds. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most painful, a belly button piercing pain is usually rated around a 4 or 5.
Of all the body sites commonly pierced, the navel is the most likely to become infected because of its shape. Infections can often be treated with good skin hygiene and antibiotic medications.
OK, so enough, let's move on to some of the more common dangerous piercings to get done:
Lobe piercings are the classics. These guys are usually the fastest to heal and least likely to give you trouble. You still need to follow a good aftercare routine, especially if you're stacking multiple lobe piercings. For more details, peep our lobe ear piercing healing chart.
Nostril Piercings
These piercings are slightly more painful than earlobe, lip, and navel piercings. The reason for this is because the needle has to go through cartilage, which is tougher than just flesh.