Q: I have a belly piercing that I had done when I was 29. Now, I'm 58 and my skin is naturally thinning from getting older. My belly ring still looks good, but I've noticed the area of the piercing is getting smaller. Is this common in us older gals? I'm assuming this is a natural occurrence for aging, but I'd like your take on this. Thank you so much! -Jennifer
A: It sounds like your belly piercing is rejecting. That in itself is not uncommon for surface piercings such as the navel. It can be triggered by a number of things, ranging from an incorrectly performed piercing to injury and even for no obvious reason at all. The body begins to push the jewelry outwards through the skin, kind of like when you get a splinter in your finger and can’t remove it all but it eventually makes its way out. While age is not necessarily a cause of piercing rejection, the amount of time that you’ve had it could make it a candidate for your body spontaneously beginning to reject it on its own. The best thing you can do if your piercing is rejecting is to remove the jewelry. Otherwise, there will continue to be less skin holding it in place and leaving it usually results in worse scarring and the potential for it to snag on something and get ripped out. If you really love having your belly pierced, go consult a trustworthy piercer. They may be able to re-pierce it for you once the old one has had some time to heal. Best of luck!
Q: Hi! My name is Martina, and I have had 5 navel piercings but lost all of them because my body rejected them. My body just seems to reject them all, but I need one soooo bad. I took a chance and pierced my nose which took 6 months to heal, before I could change the nose rings. My nose piercing is doing pretty well, and I am just loving it. BTW all the professionals that pierced me say I have very tough skin. Do you have any advice for me where this is concerned? I really need a belly button piercing and if I get one it would be # 6. Should I give up or should I keep trying? -Martina
A: If you got pierced five times in the same spot, I would imagine that your skin would be tough indeed! It’s difficult to give advice based on this information but here are a few things to consider. It is possible that you simply do not have the anatomy for a standard navel piercing. If you want to go ahead and try for a sixth, make sure that you are going to a high-quality, trustworthy, APP certified piercer. It might also be worth asking whether a floating navel piercing might not work better for your body. Check out our blog for more information on that -> click here. If you do go forward with a standard navel piercing, make sure that you are getting threadless or internally threaded jewelry, made with ASTM F-136 titanium and that it is simple jewelry with no heavy charms or dangles. Those can mess with the healing process on a new piercing. Every time you get the same spot pierced; you are accumulating scar tissue. This is going to make the piercing process more difficult and every time you remove the jewelry, it’s going to leave unsightly marks. While I cannot make this decision for you, I would also suggest you check out our clip-on belly rings so that you can get the look you love without putting your belly button through any further trauma. Best of luck!
Disclaimer: Body Candy is only here to give you fun and helpful advice and information when it comes to getting pierced. Always consult a professional piercer to make sure a new piercing is right for you!
