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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To get my belly button pierced?

51 replies

Flossyfloof · 01/01/2015 00:26

I really want to. Have you got yours done? Do you like it? I have got as far as looking at local studios on the net.
Will I look like a twat though? I am 54 and my tummy is on the rounded side rather than washboard.

OP posts:
Flossyfloof · 01/01/2015 11:43

Picture please, Alconleigh??

OP posts:
Flossyfloof · 01/01/2015 11:43

Is silver not recommended? I only wear silver or gold in my ears.

OP posts:
Flossyfloof · 01/01/2015 11:44

I could not do the clitty thing. Ooh!

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SparklesForEveryone · 01/01/2015 11:46

i had one for a year, and it wouldnt heal, so in the end i took it out.

i still think you should go for it - remember, regret the things you did, not the things you didnt do!

Alconleigh · 01/01/2015 12:19

Ha ha I may have to decline the picture request. It has a lovely sparkly green jewel though. Honestly it only hurts for a second. Heals in a few weeks. And the benefits it brings are glorious.......

notagainffffffffs · 01/01/2015 12:23

Had mine done at 14 and love it! Go for it!

HermioneWeasley · 01/01/2015 12:30

Had mine done when I was young and lithe and still have it in. Took probably a month to heal - they do core out part of your flesh! I bathed mine in salt water twice a day and it healed well and never had an infection. Go for it!

TENDTOprocrastinate · 01/01/2015 12:41

Mine took a year to heal which was a PITA. I had it done when I was 21 and it looked great in my flat tum. After 2kids and a not so firm tum age 33 I decided to take it out. I felt it looked like it was sagging and was embarrassed by it when on hol and wearing a bikini. Plus it can get caught in your tights/waistband which is irritating.

Fluffyears · 01/01/2015 12:51

I had one but it got infected. I have quite a deep navel. It got caught in my waistband and the skin tore slightly then infection set in and there was no saving it. Had a lovely figure back then so it looked fab.

WantToButWouldnt · 01/01/2015 12:57

They're a bit passé really. Plus it REALLY hurts.

BadtzMaru · 01/01/2015 13:10

Get it done if you want to, I always wanted a nose stud but never got it done in my youth and I'm worried it would look a bit mid life crisis now, a navel one is much more discreet though. The navel one hurts like a motherfucker to get done though, I had one many years ago and still remember the pain, much worse than any of my 4 tattoos.

SillyBugger · 01/01/2015 13:36

I kind of fancy one - I like the look of them and I have a flat belly, but I'm mid-thirties - I thought I was too old and only teenagers had them! This thread is making me re-think. On the other hand dh doesn't like the idea (he thinks it's for teenagers too), but meh.

Does it matter what sort of belly button you have? Mine is pretty flat (not an innie or an outie, it's barely there)! I wonder if they'd actually be able to do it.

JellyDiamond · 01/01/2015 13:48

I had mine done at 18 and for some reason it never really healed properly. I ended up with a huge lump which one day burst and oozed puss everywhere (sorry, TMI I know), and I had to use a saline solution to keep it clean for a while after until it healed altogether.

I don't know why my body didn't accept the piercing there as I've had my ears done since I was about eight and then got a second lobe piercing in my early teens and have never had any problems.

I've recently been thinking of getting my nose done actually.

MrsMarcJacobs · 01/01/2015 13:55

It's very nineties - I did have mine done but gave it up when pregnant. It did get infected but only at the beginning. I did have a washboard stomach back then. I say go for it if it makes you feel sexy.

Flossyfloof · 01/01/2015 14:02

Nineties is good for me - quite complimentary actually! I saw a girl with a dangly one the other day and thought it looked really pretty.

OP posts:
MadameJosephine · 01/01/2015 14:09

Go for it, what's the worst that can happen? If you don't like it you can always take it out.

If I had a belly worth piercing I'd love to have it pierced but I'd have to lose a few stone before I could find my navel :)

Ouch @ clitoral hood piercing alconleigh!!

nocutsnobuttsnococonuts · 01/01/2015 19:28

the pregnancy bar was a kind of plastic flexible one... but wasn't long enough for my huge bump!!

for those considering a nose it hurts like hell was much worse than my lip piercing and tattoo (cant compare to belly as that was numbed) I no longer have my lip piercing - Kind of regret taking out but at the time was trying to be more grown up as was bad enough being pregnant at 19 let alone looking younger! I still have my nose ring though Grin

the clitoral one, does it really make things better during sex??

CassieBearRawr · 01/01/2015 20:43

If you want it, do it. Pain is personal and varies from person to person - you have people here saying it was the most painful, I barely felt mine. YMMV.

Find a reputable piercer, one registered with the local council. They should have their up to date certificate up in the studio. Ask lots of questions - anyone who fobs you off isn't a good bet. Ask to see portfolios of the piercer's healed piercings they've done - portfolios showing a bunch of red, freshly done piercings are about as much use as a chocolate teapot.

You'll want it doing with titanium preferably (a reputable piercer will use this by default anyway), and preferably a plain bar (i.e. no dangly decorations) as it's less likely to catch and cause irritation than a ring. You can always change your jewellery later once it's healed.

Ignore all these people talking about infections - a tiny minority will have had actual infections, the rest it will have merely been irritated. Painful, swollen, lymph filled irritations perhaps, but irritations nonetheless!

Infection happens because of one of two things - your piercer was shit and introduced the infection with unhygienic practices, or as long as you did your research and chose a reputable and professional piercer any infection will have been caused by you later. Follow a good aftercare routine and that won't happen!

Best aftercare? LIMA - leave it mostly alone! No touching, turning, twisting, playing. Only touch it if if absolutely necessary and always clean your hands before doing so. Sea salt soaks twice a day for 10-20 minutes - 1/8 teaspoon per cup of water - for the first few weeks, then play it by ear.

coastergirl · 01/01/2015 21:01

Had mine done when I was 18. Didn't hurt at all (and I'm a bit of a wuss with pain), and healed really well. Never had any issues with it. Took it out a few years ago when I got bored with it, and it's healed over now. Loved it when I was younger though!

aermingers · 01/01/2015 21:10

I had mine done in 1995. I took it out in about 2002. It still emits lovely stinky cheese every now and again. You might like to think about that before you get it done.

CassieBearRawr · 01/01/2015 21:28

@aermingers Think you need to wash your belly button more often! Grin

Sususu · 01/01/2015 21:34

I had mine done at 19 and still have it 15 years later. I'm rather attached to it now, belly button looks strange if I take it out.

Least painful and easiest to heal piercing I have had.

Reddottys12 · 01/01/2015 21:41

Do it! Why not? Life's too short!!

sykadelic · 01/01/2015 21:47

I've got mine pierced and had it done at 17, I'm 32 now. I have absolutely no plans to remove it and even when pregnant plan to leave my bar in as long as I can and switch to a longer one if needed. I can change the bar but I don't tend to. I have several different kinds of bars but it's only for me so I'll change it if I feel the need or want.

I was careful with mine and took good care of it. It's never grown out but it did get an infection when I went swimming at an indoor pool about a week or so after getting it done. I got it stuck once on the carpet (dangly piece while doing homework on the ground) and tying my shoes was hard for a few days after I got it done because I couldn't bend without it hurting a little (and I was being extra cautious).

I've only taken it out twice for several hours at a time because it was weird to see a little bump while wearing my formal dresses. (1. Uni formal, 2. wedding).

I fiddle with it sometimes when I'm thinking, I'm not really sure why, and really notice when I don't have it in (I lost my bar at work once and couldn't find my spares so went shopping asap to get a replacement).

Mine was done at my doctors office with a local anaesthetic (Australia).

It's part of me, and has been part of my life for almost half my life. If you want to get it done, go ahead and get it done. I'm sure people think it's strange that someone "old" like me has one but not that many people know, I don't go shouting it from the rooftops.

MollyMaDurga · 01/01/2015 21:48

Cleaning with salt water really does the trick. I never had an infection and it healed very quickly. Had it done about 12 years ago? Am 45 now, still like it. I have a silver ring with a dangly stone, it looks better now I've got a bit more weight on than when I was very skinny. Go for it, if it's not your thing you can always take it out.