Navel Piercing Aftercare

Healing timeline

• Typically 6–12 months.
• Starter bars are curved and long for swelling; downsizing is usually ready at 6–8 weeks.
• Minimum age: 16+ when the anatomy is suitable (a parent or legal guardian must be present to sign for minors).

Daily cleaning

• Wash your hands before you touch the piercing, and otherwise leave it alone.
• Soak or spray with sterile saline twice a day, then pat dry with clean disposable paper — never a cloth towel.
• Let it air dry after showering rather than trapping moisture under a waistband.

What to avoid

• Avoid high waistbands, belts, and tight leggings that press on the piercing; go low-rise or loose while healing.
• Skip crunches, sit-ups, and anything that folds the belly against the bar for the first few weeks.
• Don't twist, rotate, or slide the jewelry — movement drags bacteria into the channel and delays healing.
• Skip alcohol, peroxide, Bactine, Neosporin, tea tree oil, and over-cleaning; they irritate the wound.
• Stay out of pools, hot tubs, lakes, and baths until healed; showers are fine.
• Don't change the jewelry yourself during healing — book a jewelry change at the studio.

What to expect

• Some bleeding, swelling, tenderness, bruising, and clear or whitish crust are normal in the first weeks.
• Redness and a small bump at the top hole are common after pressure from clothing and settle when the pressure stops.
• A piercing can feel healed on the outside before the inside has closed — keep cleaning for the full window.

When to get help

• Get medical attention for spreading redness, red streaks, fever, thick yellow or green discharge, or heat and swelling that keeps increasing.
• Come in if the bar looks like it's pushing toward the surface or the skin between the holes thins.