Before you even purchase the rings, check that they are made from a reliable material that won’t irritate your skin. Just because the piercing site appears healed and healthy, doesn’t mean you are immune to germs and infection. The best materials for belly button rings are 316L surgical steel (a form of stainless steel), titanium, Bioplast or Bioflex, 24K plated gold and 14K real gold. Jewelry made from these products are strong and sturdy and won’t break.

Before inserting the belly button ring, sterilize each product with warm soapy water to remove any dirt and oil.  When you prepare to change the belly ring, clean your hands with soap and water as you would any other time you touch the ring.

Twist and remove the top ball from the new belly ring and put it off to the side. Hold the bottom ball of the belly button ring you are wearing between two fingers. Gently twist the top ball of the navel ring you are wearing to remove it from the barbell. Slowly pull the belly button ring down and out of your navel piercing.

Immediate grab the replacement belly ring and position the ball-less part of the barbell near the inside of your belly button (where the piercing hole is). Slowly and gently apply pressure and continue until the barbell pokes through the top hole of your piercing.

Grab the top ball of your new ring and gently screw it on while holding the barbell still with your thumb and forefinger. After that is complete, immediately wash your hands, as well as the old belly button ring

However, after you get home from the piercing salon, then what? It looks great, right? But it’s also a little sore. And you bought tons

of cute belly button rings online, but the piercer said you had to wait to change it. So what do you do? You wait.

The single worst thing you can do after piercing your belly button ring is to ruin it forever by improper care or changing the belly button ring too early. It will be especially detrimental because you’ll have to both take away your current belly ring AND run the risk of serious illness due to infection. Not to mention the pain or discomfort you will feel.

Properly licensed piercers will always provide you with detailed directions on how to take care of your new belly button ring.

Generally they suggest you clean your piercing only once a day and use warm water and soap to do so.All piercers will recommend that you clean your piercing only once per day to prevent drying, and they will all tell you to NEVER use Neosporin or rubbing alcohol to clean the piercing.

In addition, you should wait at least six months before even attempting to change your belly button ring. In fact, man

y people wait up to a year before attempting to remove or replace the navel ring. This is vitally important because if you change it too soon, you run the serious risk of causing dangerous infections, as well as ruining the piercing and allowing it to close.

It’s necessary to avoid touching the piercing as much as possible.  Even if you wash your hands, you’ll still have natural oils on your fingers that could transfer gems and cause painful infections. They will also recommend that you avoid wearing tight clothing that will rub against your new belly button ring and that you should avoid activities that will cause excessive sweating, at least for the first few weeks.

Belly button rings are a safe and desirable piercing, and if you care for them properly, they’ll be a great fashion accessory for many years to come.

Like all belly button rings, it’s important to sterilize the ring as soon as you get it. Even if it comes in a sealed package, it’s still beneficial to clean your body jewelry because the ring was probably handled during the packaging process. Natural oils and dirt on people’s hands can easily cause infection or irritation in your piercing, even if you’ve had it done for years.

There are a variety of options for sterilizing your belly button ring, but most places recommend using warm soapy water to clean the ring before you insert it into the piercing. Another option is to “autoclave”  your belly jewelry at a local salon or tattoo parlor. Autoclaving is a method of sterilization that uses extreme temperatures to kill harmful germs.

You should always avoid using rubbing alcohol or other abrasive materials to clean your heart belly button ring, or any other body jewelry.

Navel rings with hearts will always be popular because they work for so many people. They can serve as a romantic gift or just a fun flirty purchase for yourself. There are so many diverse heart belly button rings available that one is sure to meet the needs of every person who desires a heart ring.

Navel jewelry is commonly worn by young women and girls. In addition, they are growing in popularity for pre-teens and males as well. This is one trend that has been around for more than 20 years and it’s sure to stay popular. Heart belly button rings are at the top of the list so go ahead and get one for yourself and enjoy the trend.

But what’s a person to do if her problem is not inadequate design but rather inadequate sizes? Never fear!  Options are beginning to surface for those with not-your-average piercings who need not-your-average body jewelry.  For example, several manufacturers offer a “pregnancy belly button ring” that is made of a flexible material that can be cut to size, and then self-threads.  This type of belly button ring can be used other places as well.  Say, a super wide industrial or a super short belly piercing.

The same can be said for a style of post earring designed initially for labret and monroe piercings.  This ring has a similar advantage in that it can be cut to any size.  It’d be idea for a conch piercing or someone who wants a very short lip ring.

It’s available here and it’s only $8.99!  Plus this site has the option for free shipping if you spend a certain amount of money.  And you can also sign up for their e-mail newsletter to get coupons.

I recommend this belly button ring to anyone.  To look professional at work and school, I usually don’t like to wear any crazy dangling belly button rings.  This one is great because it’s not plain or boring but it still looks classy.  Just wanted to share!

Tongue Ring
The traditional tongue ring is a 14 or 16 gauge straight barbell that penetrates directly vertical through the center of the tongue.  The web tongue ring is generally a 14 or 16 gauge shorter, curved barbell (similar to and eyebrow ring) that sits horizontal through the “web” under the tongue.

Both of these piercings take a fairly short amount of time to heal and can be ready to change in as little as 4 weeks.  Most states require age 16 or age 18 for piercing.

Industrial
The industrial is a piercing that penetrates two parts of the outer ear.  It can be done in various places but both holes are generally along the cartilage of the ear and are 14 or 16 gauge.  A ball is secured to each end and this piercing takes 4 to 6 months to heal.

Labret/Monroe
Although the labret and monroe are two different piercings, they are a similar concept.  They each pierce the area directly around the mouth or lips.  Typically the Monroe is on the top lip, off to the side (like the infamous Marilyn Monroe mole) and the labret is on the bottom, usually in the center. These piercings go directly through the lip and use a unique type of ring.  They are 16 gauge and very short; the back is a flat surface that can rest against the gum or teeth and the outside is a ball or decorative gem.

Surface Rings
Surface piercings are exactly what the name implies; they are on the surface.  They do not penetrate one spot on the skin and come out on another, rather they stick into the skin and do not come out the other side.   They stay in the body by using a “fishhook” design.  That is, they can move down into the skin, but as you pull out of the skin, it will be stopped, or stuck, by the hook.  In most cases these rings are professionally removed or changed.

To wear the fake belly button ring, a user need not have the actual piercing.  This is ideal for people who do not want to go through the piercing process or who are not always allowed to have body jewelry (because of parents, dress codes, work, school, etc.).

Fake belly button rings typically have an arm that is attached to a spring and has a flat surface on the end that will press into the skin.  Wearers will pull the movable arm back and hold the clip open.  Then they will place the bottom or stationary arm inside the navel and press it to the back.  Then they should gently close the clip by moving the movable arm back into position and the belly button ring will be attached.

There are some styles that require a person to glue a gem to the navel to create the look of a belly button ring.  Others have a spring loaded system that attaches the non-piercing belly button ring.  These are reportedly of lesser quality and suffer a lot of user complaints

There is a wide variance in cost on this body jewelry, depending on the style and size.  Typically, the low prices are approximately $75.00 while the higher prices can reach up to $150.00.  Women like to wear gold earrings, gold necklaces and gold rings so why wouldn’t they also want to have 14K real gold belly button rings?

Because of the popularity and cost of real gold body jewelry, some people are skeptic that they will be tricked into purchasing a fake and being over charged.  To avoid this, be certain that you purchase your gold belly button ring and all other body jewelry from a respected Web site or retail store.  Check the store’s return policy and see if they offer any verification that their product is real gold.

Real gold belly button rings make a great gift for a loved one.  Find a 14K real white or yellow gold belly button ring and present it to her to show how much you care.  Everyone likes to feel special and who could turn down something as special as a 14K REAL gold belly button ring?

Traditional Non-Dangling

These belly button rings are the oldest, and probably the most popular.  They’re kind of like an old standard of the body jewelry industry.  They are most commonly made with a curved barbell, sometimes referred to as a banana-bell. Traditional non-dangling belly button rings are usually 14 gauge and the balls are sometimes decorated with gems and jewels.

Dangling

Dangling belly button rings can vary from just a short charm to a long chain that wraps around the wearers waste.  They include anything from flags to jewels and even words or personalized holographic pictures.

Reverse

This kind of belly ring is sometimes difficult to understand, especially when customers only see a picture online.  They’re actually quite simple to explain, however.  They use the same gauge and style as the non-dangling ring and dangling ring, except that the gems or decorations extend from the top ball rather than the bottom.  The belly button ring extends in front of the navel, rather than dangling below it.

Spiral

Spiral navel rings are a fairly new style but have become very popular.  They are non dangling but they are twisted into the piercing rather than being pushed straight through.

By T.C. Kuster

Even though these decorative trends are legal, many people, especially parents of teens, wonder if these are actually safe.  Can they cause accidental damage?  Will they get infected?  And of course, how painful will they be?

One of the most common piercing’s is the belly button ring.  It’s relatively easy to hide and on the lower end of the price scale for body piercings.  For this reason, it’s an explosive fad among teen and preteen girls.  To find out if the piercing is actually safe, this blogger did a bit of research!  Below are a couple of sites that give a doctor and other health professionals’ opinions of body piercings.

http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/articles/881.html

http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=243&np=292&id=2227

Bottom line:  body piercing and body modification is complete safe when treated as a surgical procedure and when properly cared for.