Belly button / navel piercing

[nic3c]

I got my belly button / navel pierced about two years ago. I just went to a shop to buy a different colour bar and the girl told me i'd have to take the piercing out in about 6 months coz it's going to start growing out. Is the piercing only supposed to last 2 and a half years? I thought it was going to last longer. All that pain and a scar for only 2 and a half years...

[ummmm]

I know a few this has happened to. I've had mine in for about 10 years now and no problems...

[fairkatrina]

It depends on a lot of things: your size, if you have put on / lost weight, how deep the piercing is, how high it is etc. These type of piercings will naturally grow out eventually because they are always pushing against the natural lie of the skin (eyebrow, neck and chest piercings are the same). The only places you can get pierced that will stay open are ears, nose and lip. The shortest-lived piercing is usually the back of the neck, followed by the eyebrow, and then the bellybutton, and while 2 and a half years is quite a short time, it is just one of those things. I had a friend who's bellybutton piercing came out after six months.

[loukr]

I've had mine for 4 years or more now I think.. not too sure. How old are you? If you had it done quite young, that can be the problem, because you were still growing, I saw it too many times when I was at school.

[nic3c]

I'm 25. Guess i was just unlucky...any tips on how to help the scar heal up nicely after i take it out? I'm definitely not doing it again...

[Pippa68]

My daughters has grown out ~ after only 7 months. She has a nice little scar.

Apparently it is more usual for under 18's navel piercings to grow out, but it can happen to anyone. It's a long period of rejection ;o)

[yelofox]

Mine grew out after 2 months.

[nic3c]

Woah!

[loukr]

there's creams such as the palmers cocoa butter ones, they help reduce stretch marks and scarring, but only when the wound's healed. Have you taken it out now? surely that would reduce scarring wouldn't it?

[nic3c]

Not yet, i'm going to leave it in for the summer. It probably won't make much difference to the scar. She said it's still growing out slowly at the moment (i'm on the smallest size bar you can get) but in 6 months it'll start growing out quickly and i'll have to take it out before i get a long vertical scar instead of two small round ones...i wish i'd been told all this before i had it done!