A Floating Navel Piercing sits the position of the barbell deeper into the inside of the navel while still coming out the top in the traditional placement. It's there where you can get creative with lots of cute options in jewelry from sparkling stones, or cascading dangles! (
A Floating Navel Piercing
“Floating navels are for folks that have a more deep-set navel, or a navel that collapses when they sit down. The jewelry has something smaller on the bottom, inside the navel — generally a small bead or disc — then the top of it can be just as simplistic or have a super fun adornment.
The difference between a conventional Navel Piercing vs. Floating Navel Piercing is the jewelry: Floating Navel Piercing uses a Flat Disc or Small Bead at the bottom, instead of a large Ball or Gemstone on traditional navel curves.
“For some anatomy shapes, a floating navel can help it heal better. The M&M disc (which are flat discs) on the bar allows for the client to sit comfortably, avoiding the bottom of the bar getting caught in the skin and delaying healing,” says Niki.
A floating navel piercing is an alternative for people who cannot get a traditional belly piercing due to the anatomy of their bodies. A floating navel piercing follows the same guidelines as a traditional belly piercing, but the bottom portion is much deeper into the navel, making it nearly invisible to the eye.
As for the healing time and aftercare, the placement doesn't change anything. Mayfield said both "floating" belly button piercings and traditional ones are fairly easy. "The 'less is more' approach for piercing aftercare is suggested for all piercings," said Ellis.
If a closing navel is pierced with standard jewelry (bead or gem on bottom/bead or gem on top), then the constant pressure and movement of the surrounding area can potentially lead to irritation, migration, and eventual rejection of the jewelry.
It's not recommended to pierce “outie” tissue. A normal navel piercing goes only through surface skin at the edge of the navel, while an “outie” navel is more complex than simple surface skin; it is residual scarring from the umbilical cord. As such, an infected “outie” navel piercing can become dangerous quickly.
Does getting a belly button piercing look good? Yes, because it draws the eye in - AKA it makes you look leaner. It's simple science: the eye is drawn to the piercing so your stomach automatically looks flatter.
The needle gauge used for a floating navel piercing is a 12 or 14 gauge. The healing time is typically between three and six months. The best jewelry type of floating navel piercings is banana barbells.
That's why we recommend getting pierced with either a surgical steel belly ring or titanium navel jewelry. Titanium is the most inert metal that body jewelry can be made from, and therefore the material least likely to cause an allergic reaction.
In order to be a candidate for a navel piercing, you need to have a protruding lip of skin on the top (or, uncommonly, on the bottom) of your navel, with enough space behind the flap for jewelry to sit comfortably. The flap must have a definite front and back, with a clear edge dividing the two.
You should avoid swimming for at least 24 hours after having a piercing, and ideally until it has healed properly. While it's still healing, it's important to keep the piercing dry as there's a risk of infection.
Slow or minimal weight gain or loss won't be a problem, however, and once your piercing has healed, this is something that you likely won't have to worry about.
Your size: Overweight people can get this piercing if they want, but it's not recommended if your navel becomes covered over by skin and fat when you sit. That can suffocate the piercing and build up more sweat, which makes healing more difficult and is a breeding ground for bacteria.
These risks include: Allergic reactions to the jewelry. Excessive bleeding. Jewelry rejection or migration (migration is when the piercing moves internally to a slightly different spot, and rejection is when your body starts to push the jewelry out and you see more and more of the barbell)
Implant-Grade Stainless Steel: “[Implant-grade] stainless steel is usually the safest type of metal for a piercing due to its low irritant or allergic sensitizing potential,” says board-certified dermatologist Lauren Dozier, DO, FAAD.
Because of the way they formed after birth, outie belly buttons are made of a different type of tissue than other belly buttons. As a result, there is an increased danger of infection and pain when piercing outie belly buttons.
Try not to put pressure on the jewelry. This means that you should stay away from tight clothing, and try not to slouch when you sit to avoid squishing the jewelry between the tummy rolls that the majority of us tend to have.
Most kinds of ring or bar jewelry can be worn in a navel piercing. Navels are most often pierced with a 14g curved barbell, which is recommended to be worn until the piercing has completely healed, the healing time is typically anywhere between 6 – 12 months.
If there is a large ball or gemstone like a traditional navel curve, the area will be extremely uncomfortable and the piercing will never heal. At worse, the piercing can reject entirely, leaving a large discoloured scar.
A belly button piercing was originally meant to signify sexual attraction, or to draw sexual advances to the woman wearing it. These days, most girls just like them because they are cute, but when women first started piercing their belly buttons, it was for a sign of sexuality!