You generally can't get a standard belly button piercing if you have an outie, a flat or shallow navel without a lip/hood, or if you've had a tummy tuck, due to risks like infection, rejection, or damage, as these anatomies lack the necessary skin fold for proper healing and jewelry anchoring; however, a professional piercer can advise on potential alternatives like floating navel piercings.
Popular or not, not all navels are suitable for piercing. (While almost all navels can be pierced, the trick is healing the piercing—and not all navels are shaped to accommodate this.)
❌ If you have an outie navel (where tissue protrudes outward), we cannot safely pierce it. This type of anatomy involves internal tissue, and piercing it can lead to serious complications, including infection and improper healing.
If your navel is not a pierceable shape, that doesn't mean you're too fat, too thin, or deformed; it's simply that your navel is not shaped in such a way that we think you can heal the piercing.
If it's a true outie or caused by a hernia, piercing is usually not safe. However, some people may be able to get a lower belly piercing or explore other options after consulting a professional.
If your navel is flat; your skin in the area isn't supple; you don't have a lip above your navel, we recommend opting for a different piercing because the piercer won't be able to perform a belly piercing.
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.
Swirly/spiral: A rare form in which the umbilical cord scar forms a swirl shape. Split: The protruding umbilical cord scar extends outwards, but is cleft in two by a fissure which extends part or all the way through the umbilical cord scar. This form is similar in appearance to a coffee bean.
If your navel is too flat, too deep, scarred, or you have an outtie your navel may not be ideal for a piercing. These types of anatomy *can* sometimes be pierced, but that doesn't always mean they should be. Piercing a navel that isn't suited for it can cause irritation, migration and potentially rejection.
Belly button piercing rules focus on hygiene, minimizing irritation, and allowing healing by cleaning with saline, avoiding touching/rotating jewelry, wearing loose clothes, staying out of pools/baths, and waiting 6-12 months to change jewelry, with key "don'ts" including alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, and picking at crusts to prevent infection and ensure proper healing.
A "Cinderella piercing" isn't a standard piercing name, but it likely refers to a second lobe ear piercing, often done in South Asian cultures as a rite of passage after the first, creating an "earring stack" that adds elegance, similar to Cinderella's magical transformation, or could be a misunderstanding for other female genital piercings like the Christina or Isabella, but most commonly it means that classic, subtle second earlobe piercing.
Yes, a navel piercing is definitely possible with the right anatomy. Basically, you can never be too fat for an umbilical piercing! With a folded abdomen we will place a floating navel piercing, as mentioned before. However, it is not recommended to place a navel piercing if there is too much pressure on the piercing.
With the rise of curated belly piercing jewellery, Gen Z and influencers are embracing this bold yet elegant look.
The rarest piercings often involve extreme locations, custom jewelry, or complex procedures, with contenders like the Rhino piercing (vertical through the nose tip), Uvula piercing (back of the throat), Achilles Heel piercing (between ankle bone and tendon), and the custom-made Mad Max (two connected surface piercings) being extremely uncommon due to skill needed, healing challenges, or unique requirements, making them stand out from even unique options like floating navels or septills, notes PierceBody and Monster Piercing.
Do you need a flat stomach for a belly button piercing? Nope, you can have a belly and get a piercing. However, having loose skin around your ring could cause friction and irritation. You may have to talk to a few different piercers to find one with experience working with curvy people so you can get a good result.
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.
' - Often times, it's because you have what's described as a 'collapsing' navel. A totally normal and natural phenomenon that happens when the upper 'shelf' of your navel collapses onto the bottom portion.
Yes. Some of the most notoriously anatomy dependent piercings include: the navel: you need to have a defined lip at the top of your belly button, and your navel can't collapse upon sitting down.
“The vertical oval shape, the presence of superior hooding, and the absence of protrusion are the main features that make a navel attractive for human eyes, confirming conclusions from other navel shape studies.”
The navel region is an erogenous zone with heightened sensitivity that when touched by the finger or the tip of the tongue can produce erotic sensations. Individuals who are ticklish in that area can be aroused by tickling, blowing raspberries, or being teased with a feather, flower, or blade of grass.
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.
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.