Navel (Belly-Button) Piercings in Nairobi, Kenya
A navel piercing (also referred to as a belly button piercing) is a type of piercing located through the skin of the navel. Although it most frequently affects the upper fold of skin, it can also occur below or around the borders of the navel. It might heal quickly and painlessly, like an ear piercing, or it might heal more like a surface piercing with a longer recovery period. Healing typically takes between 6 and 12 months, but this varies from person to person due to physiologic variances. [1] Even though navel piercings reject less frequently than the majority of other surface piercings, they nonetheless reject more frequently than non-surface piercings. A properly performed navel piercing requires making the initial wound inside the navel canal and piercing the skin around the navel. Any angle where there is a visible flap of skin can be used to perform this, however the most common way to pierce the navel is through the upper rim.
The Navel Piercing Procedure
The navel piercing procedure typically involves the following steps:
- Preparation: Your piercer will thoroughly wash their hands and put on disposable gloves to maintain cleanliness and prevent the spread of infection. They will also sterilize the piercing equipment and the area around the navel.
- Consultation: Before beginning the piercing, your piercer will have a consultation with you to discuss the procedure, answer any questions or concerns you may have, and ensure you understand the aftercare instructions.
- Marking the piercing: Using a sterile marker, your piercer will mark the entry and exit points for the piercing on your navel. This allows you to review and approve the placement before the piercing begins.
- Piercing: Once you’ve approved the placement, your piercer will use a sterile needle to create the hole for the piercing. The needle is typically hollow, allowing for the insertion of the jewelry.
- Inserting the jewelry: After the hole is created, your piercer will immediately insert the jewelry into the piercing. This is usually done swiftly to minimize discomfort and allow the jewelry to sit properly in the piercing.
- Finishing touches: Once the jewelry is in place, your piercer will clean the area around the piercing again and provide you with aftercare instructions. They may also offer advice on how to minimize discomfort and promote healing.
- Aftercare instructions: It’s essential to follow the aftercare instructions provided by your piercer carefully to ensure proper healing and reduce the risk of infection. This typically includes cleaning the piercing regularly with saline solution or mild soap and water, avoiding tight clothing that may irritate the piercing, and refraining from swimming in pools or bodies of water until the piercing is fully healed.
Throughout the procedure, the piercer should maintain a sterile environment and adhere to strict hygiene practices to minimize the risk of infection. If you have any concerns or questions during the piercing process, don’t hesitate to communicate with your piercer. Your comfort and safety are their top priorities.
Considerations before getting a Navel Piercing
Before getting a navel piercing, it’s important to consider several factors to ensure it’s the right decision for you:
- Health Considerations: Assess your overall health and any medical conditions you may have. If you have a weakened immune system or certain medical conditions, consult with a healthcare professional before getting a piercing to ensure it’s safe for you.
- Pain Tolerance: Understand that getting a piercing involves some level of discomfort or pain. If you have a low pain tolerance, you may want to mentally prepare yourself or consider alternative piercing locations.
- Healing Time: Navel piercings typically take several months to fully heal. Consider whether you’re willing to commit to the aftercare routine and wait for the piercing to heal before engaging in activities that could irritate or disrupt the healing process.
- Lifestyle: Evaluate your lifestyle and daily activities. Certain activities, such as contact sports, swimming, or wearing tight clothing, may need to be avoided during the healing period to prevent complications or discomfort.
- Professional Environment: Some workplaces have policies regarding visible piercings. Consider whether a navel piercing aligns with your workplace’s dress code and if it may impact your professional image or opportunities.
- Allergies and Sensitivities: Be aware of any allergies or sensitivities you have to metals or materials commonly used in piercing jewelry, such as nickel. Opt for high-quality, hypoallergenic materials to minimize the risk of allergic reactions.
- Piercing Studio Selection: Research piercing studios in your area and choose a reputable studio with experienced piercers who prioritize hygiene and safety. Read reviews, ask for recommendations, and visit the studio in person if possible to assess its cleanliness and professionalism.
- Cost: Consider the cost of the piercing, including the initial procedure, jewelry, and aftercare products. While price shouldn’t be the sole determining factor, ensure you’re comfortable with the total cost before proceeding.
- Long-Term Commitment: Navel piercings are semi-permanent and leave a visible scar if removed. Consider whether you’re comfortable with the long-term commitment and potential scarring associated with the piercing.
Carefully considering these factors and consulting with a professional piercer, you can make an informed decision about whether a navel piercing is right for you.
Navel Piercing Aftercare
After getting a navel piercing, proper aftercare is crucial to ensure it heals well and avoids infections. Here are some general guidelines:
- Keep it clean: Clean the piercing gently with saline solution or mild soap and water twice a day. Use a cotton swab or pad to apply the solution and carefully remove any crust or discharge around the piercing.
- Avoid touching: Try not to touch the piercing unnecessarily, especially with unwashed hands. This can introduce bacteria and increase the risk of infection.
- Avoid swimming: Stay out of pools, hot tubs, and natural bodies of water until the piercing is fully healed. These environments can harbor bacteria and increase the risk of infection.
- Avoid tight clothing: Wear loose, breathable clothing to prevent irritation and allow the piercing to breathe.
- Watch for signs of infection: Keep an eye out for symptoms such as increased pain, redness, swelling, warmth, or discharge with an unusual color or odor. If you notice any of these signs, consult with a healthcare professional.
- Don’t remove jewelry prematurely: Wait until the piercing is fully healed before removing or changing the jewelry. Removing it too soon can cause the piercing to close up or become infected.
- Be patient: Healing times vary for each individual but expect it to take several months for the piercing to fully heal. Follow your piercer’s advice and be patient throughout the healing process.
Follow any specific aftercare instructions provided by your piercer, as they may have additional recommendations based on their expertise and your individual situation. If you have any concerns or questions during the healing process, don’t hesitate to reach out to your piercer or for professional for guidance.
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Naval Piercings FAQ’s
Can I pierce the bottom if I can’t pierce the top?
Only a small percentage of persons have a bottom lip thick enough to be pierced. The majority of the time, “no” is the answer.
Can you pierce my outie?
Pierced “outie” tissue is not advised. An “outie” navel is more complicated than basic surface skin; it is leftover scarring from the umbilical cord. A conventional navel piercing just penetrates surface skin at the margin of the navel. Therefore, an infected “outie” navel piercing can quickly turn harmful.
Having said that, some individuals with outies have normal lips of surface skin above or below them, resembling a “innie” navel with a small outie inside. This surface skin may be pierceable depending on the unique curvature of the navel. However, how this works depends totally on your anatomy. The best course of action is to ask your piercer what is viable.
Why do navels take so long to heal?
There is relatively little blood flow to the area where the navel is being pierced since the skin there is not highly vascular. The rate of healing tends to be slower in areas where there is less blood flow. The piercing is constantly bent, stretched, folded, and subjected to friction because of its placement. These two factors primarily contribute to a drawn-out healing phase that might last anywhere from six months to a year.
Navel piercings take so long to heal that complications are more prone to arise during the healing process. A well-cared-for piercing may never cause you any issues, but a wound that is healing for several months to a year is considerably more likely to get uncomfortable or even infected. Keep your (and others’) hands, mouths, and bodily fluids away from it while it heals in order to avoid this happening.
How come the jewelry is so thick?
We typically use a 12 gauge needle to pierce navels at Rebel Inks Tattoo Kenya. According to our expertise, this is typically the best size jewelry for the majority of lifestyles. With 14 gauge jewelry, it is possible to pierce a navel and allow it to heal, but you must be even more cautious and conscientious about your aftercare because the thinner the jewelry, the more likely it is that the piercing will be damaged, leave scars, or even begin to migrate when caught or pulled on. The more internal surface area you have in relation to the jewelry’s thickness, the more skin there is to support the weight of the jewelry.
Consider how the area becomes more resilient and resistant, and, ideally, less prone to minor ripping and scarring, if weight and pressure are applied across a wider area or over more skin cells. It’s similar to carrying around a large backpack on your shoulder Since the weight is distributed more evenly in a bag with wide straps, it doesn’t bite into your shoulder as much. As a result, wearing thicker jewelry may increase your chances of recovering.
Can I go swimming?
Although the risk to your piercing depends on where you’re swimming, we generally advise against swimming for the first month after getting a fresh piercing. Chlorine and saltwater might be suitable for your piercing, but other types of germs in the water might not be. Nobody’s pool’s chemical balance or the presence of other things in the water can ever be guaranteed. Ocean water usually helps to hasten the healing process, but the water on a tropical beach is different from the ocean at varying Shores. Avoid hot tubs, quarries, and lakes at all costs because their water quality is considered questionable.
The most crucial thing to remember if you swim while your piercing is healing is to make sure you clean it well afterward.
What about exercise and sit-ups?
Sit-ups and exercise normally don’t cause any issues for you or your piercing, but you might want to modify your routine to avoid initially putting too much pressure on your jewelry or piercing. If something hurts, listen to your body and don’t do it. (Sweat shouldn’t harm your piercing either; just make sure to take a shower right after.)
TANNING, what about it?
The act of tanning itself won’t harm your piercing, but tanning lotions and the chemicals they contain might. Be cautious to avoid applying lotion to the piercing if you decide to go tanning.
If I become pregnant, do I have to remove it? Can I have it repaired after having a baby?
It is entirely up to you and what your unique body does whether you decide to remove your jewelry while pregnant. Certainly, as your belly expands to make room for your developing child, the form of your navel will change. Later phases can result in the navel flattening out or turning inside-out, which makes wearing jewelry uncomfortable. As your skin stretches, particularly in the second and third trimesters, jewelry might also get harder to wear. Some women find this pressure to be so intolerable that they take off their jewelry and let the piercing heal; other women choose to wear their jewelry throughout the entire process with no discomfort.
Many times, particularly if the navel piercing was healed completely before getting pregnant, jewelry can be taken out and put back in after birth. The hole can frequently be expanded open afterward, negating the need for re-piercing even if the piercing may slightly diminish in size.
You can typically get your piercing re-pierced after giving birth if you take off your jewelry and it totally closes. Naturally, you should hold off on requesting any more of your body’s energies until you are able to perform your typical daily activities again. (On the same vein, refrain from getting a new piercing until your child has finished breastfeeding. It’s usually really challenging to try to heal anything while still nursing because your body is focused on other things.) Remember that you will be carrying your newborn close to you, frequently on your hip and that you don’t want your child to start kicking his or her feet when you are trying to recover.
Why am I unable to have my navel pierced?
Technically, everyone can have the skin surrounding their navel pierced, but not everyone has the anatomical structure to allow for a navel piercing to heal.
A navel must have a healthy skin lip above (or, in some circumstances, below) the navel and room behind and below the lip for the jewellery to sit comfortably for the wound to heal properly. The skin’s lip should be a flap (similar to an earlobe), with a clear front and rear and a distinct margin separating the two. Lack of a clearly defined “lip” over the navel increases the risk of healing issues, including rejection. Additionally, trying to pierce a navel with a flap but insufficient room behind it for jewellery to rest comfortably would typically lead to a challenging and complicated healing period.
For this reason, when customers come to the studio and ask for a piercing, we will have a piercer examine their navel and talk about whether the piercing is viable first. We will frequently decline to pierce your navel if you come to us asking for one and we don’t believe your navel has a good chance of healing properly. When we know you won’t ultimately get what you want, we don’t want to take your money and subject you to a year or so of suffering and difficulty. If your navel is not pierceable, it doesn’t mean you are too overweight, too thin, or misshapen; it just means that we don’t believe you will be able to heal the piercing appropriately.
Cost of Navel Piercings
The cost of a navel piercing can vary depending on several factors, including the location, the reputation of the piercing studio, the expertise of the piercer, the quality of the jewelry used, and any additional services provided.
Here are some factors that can influence the cost:
- Piercer’s Expertise: Experienced and highly skilled piercers may charge more for their services compared to newer or less experienced piercers.
- Quality of Jewelry: Higher-quality jewelry made from materials like surgical-grade stainless steel, titanium, or gold may come with a higher price tag compared to standard jewelry options.
- Additional Services: Some piercing studios may offer additional services, such as consultation fees, aftercare products, or follow-up appointments, which could add to the overall cost.
At Rebel Inks Tattoos, Tattoo Removal, and Body Piercings Parlour we take pride in being a reputable piercing studio with experienced piercers who prioritize hygiene and safety. While cost is a consideration, it’s crucial not to compromise on quality when it comes to body piercings. Be sure to inquire about the total cost upfront and ask about the materials used for the piercing and jewelry to ensure you’re making an informed decision.
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