There are two main types of belly buttons that people have: innies and outies. Although innies are usually deemed more desirable, outies are actually far rarer. According to the American Museum of Natural History, only 10% of people in the world even have outies.
The subjects agreed: the best-looking navels were vertically oriented with a T-shape. Those with particularly large belly buttons, or with any sort of protrusions — sorry, outies — or distortions, received lower scores.
Researchers determined the "perfect navel" was a small, "T- or vertically shaped umbilicus with superior hooding," as shown. This is obviously subjective. Researchers determined the "perfect navel" was a small, "T- or vertically shaped umbilicus with superior hooding," as shown.
Most of us have innie belly buttons, with only about 10 percent outies. A few of us may have something in between, or even a little of both! Here are some more fun facts about our belly buttons.
Most people who have an "outie" fall into one of two categories: either they were born with a tiny umbilical hernia, which is most likely, or had a small infection at the base of the umbilical cord that went unnoticed. This will cause unusual tissue called granulation tissue to form.
People take their cues about you based on your belly button
According to a paper in The FASEB Journal, people prefer navels that are T-shaped or oval, and vertical with a little hooding. While outies are considered unattractive, it may come of surprise that innies that are too deep are also given the cold shoulder.
They determined that a beautiful belly button: Has a vertical ratio of 46:54 between xiphoid process and lower limit of vulvar cleft. A midline horizontal position. A length 5% of the length of the xiphoid process to the lower limit of vulvar cleft. An oval shape with no hooding or superior hooding.
Many folks wonder how they ended up with one or the other type of belly button. Is it genetics? Does it depend on how your umbilical cord is cut at birth? Turns out that it is just depends on the amount of space there is at birth between the skin and the abdominal wall.
The depth of your belly button can change throughout your life, depending on how much fat your are storing around your middle. Innie belly buttons often get deeper when someone puts on some weight.
A navel stone is sometimes called an omphalolith or umbolith. It is a condition where substances like sebum, or skin oil, hair, dead skin cells, and dirt can accumulate and form a hardball. The stone is usually a dark color and firm to the touch. They may resemble a large blackhead in the opening of the navel.
Your belly button is home to many types of bacteria. You may also have fungi (like the yeast called Candida) and other germs in there. Combine that with dead skin cells and the natural oils from your skin and you've got the recipe for an unpleasant odor.
But it's really mostly random, as the umbilical cord is always clamped well away from the navel and doesn't usually affect innie or outie status. The shape of the belly button a person ends up with, however, is determined by how the umbilical cord was attached, not where it was cut.
While belly buttons come in all shapes and sizes, they generally fall into one of two camps: innie vs. outie belly buttons. Innie belly buttons occur when the skin of the umbilicus goes in to form a type of hole in the abdomen. In outie belly buttons, the skin of the navel sticks out and gives the appearance of a knot.
Belly buttons are barely a few millimetres deep at a young age. At a young age, belly buttons have an elongated shape. The diameter of the navel varies from fifteen to twenty millimetres. The body weight, pregnancies and abdominal wall hernia can influence the appearance.
Complications can occur when the protruding abdominal tissue becomes trapped (incarcerated) and can no longer be pushed back into the abdominal cavity. This reduces the blood supply to the section of trapped intestine and can lead to abdominal pain and tissue damage.
Your size doesn't matter as much as your shape
It's a common misconception that those who are more slender are more suitable for navel piercings than those who are curvy. In fact, the shape of your navel area is more important than your size.
It is completely normal and very common — about 56% of people with vulvas may have an "outie." It's also normal to have outer labia that stick out, asymetrical labia, a larger clitoris, and more.
Innie or outie: Whether you have an innie or an outie bellybutton has nothing to do with whether your mother had one or your father or your grandfather. In other words, it has nothing to do with genetics. And it has nothing to do with how the doctor cut your umbilical cord.
nounInformal. a protruding navel. a person having such a navel.
Sometimes outies can be caused by an umbilical hernia in the baby or another medical problem, but most of it is just due to what your genes encoded.