Just two decades ago the mention of a belly button piercing often produced confused and shocked looks. Nowadays, the most common reaction is a knowing “Oh” or indifference. Pierced belly buttons are certainly not commonplace, but they have moved from the fringe underground to a secure position as part of modern pop culture. Those interested in body piercing are folks believing in standing out from the crowd. This usually includes college-going students, socialites, models and rock or pop stars.
Folklore and History of Body Piercing
Piercing folklore has it that the Egyptian royal family had pierced belly buttons and wore gold rings in their navels, and that this was easily facilitated by the fact that they all had deep navels due to inbreeding. If this is true, then navel piercing has been around for a very long time. Even if it is not true, there haven’t been many occurrences of navel piercing in history, and it’s clearly more of a modern piercing than ear, nose or lip rings. Although highly aesthetic on many navels, this is a difficult piercing to heal due to its placement on the body.
Reasons for Body Piercing
Body piercing generally has been around for centuries. It has played different roles throughout history such as – the upper class Aztecs and Mayans adorned their lips with labrets of pure gold. In ancient Egypt, only pharaohs and their royal families were permitted to pierce their navels. In India, the elite were distinguished by the value of their nose jewellery.
Ironically, nostril piercing was later adopted by western hippies who travelled to India in the late 1960’s and 70’s, and by the punks of the 1980s and '90s, in order to shock the social rank it once stood for. In the name of religion, Aztec and Mayan shamans and high priests pierced their tongues to communicate with the gods.
The Healing Process of Body Piercing
It easily takes six to nine months to heal from a body piercing, with 50% of people finally healing completely after a full year or even longer. The midsection of the body is highly active during all over body movements. The tissue is also very muscular and the blood supply to the surface skin is much less than on other pierced areas of the body.
Clothing can easily irritate a belly button piercing, and many people find they have to dress more loosely and make sure that the waistbands of their clothing do not rub on the new jewellery.
Freshly pierced navels are sensitive to many kinds of soaps and even antibiotic ointments and washes. With the belly button – less is more for cleansing and healing. Try to clean the piercing once in the morning and once at night and try not to play with it in the meantime.
Once healed, there are a wide variety of captured bead rings, curved barbells, dangles and belly chains to wear. Navels are happy wearing surgical steel, gold, titanium and niobium. If you partake in sports of any kind or enjoy highly vigorous physical activity and your jewellery is in the way, there are a few options. One is to tape the ring down with a piece of first aid tape. Or you can take out the jewellery and temporarily replace it with a loop of nylon monofilament line of the appropriate thickness.
Body Piercing Metals and Other Materials
Body piercing jewellery can made from stainless and surgical steel, titanium, nickel-free gold, platinum, amber, Lucite (clear colour for those who need to be discreet about their piercing), glass, wood or more elaborate semi-precious gemstones.
There are various types of body piercing done apart from the belly button piercing, such as the nipple, tongue, eyebrow, lower lip and groin.
Although it well could be another passing fad – the truth is that people are ready to go to any lengths and suffer any amount of pain to create their desired look.
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