STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

nunzi182 · Kate Spade

Attention All Belly Ring Wearers...

crystal · Kate Spade

wow, you've got a unique threshhold for pain! i got my belly button pierced about 5 years ago as well & to me it felt no worse than a pinch. i don't have any tattoos, but my cousin has three & says they are much more painful than her belly ring. plus it takes so much longer, at least w/ a piercing it's over in an instant. anyways, i know what u mean about the ball sitting on ur skin, but are u asking if it will fall thru eventually? or do u mean will it be pushed out (i.e. the skin covering the bar will get thinner & thinner until eventually it won't hold the ring anymore & u'll have a funky scar? either way, i know people that have had them longer than me & haven't heard of this happening. i take my belly ring out every once in a while tho & leave it out overnight. my cousin did this once & her hole all but closed up! but that was after having it for 2 years. i leave mine out from time to time to kinda let it close up a bit so that the hole doesn't get all huge & let the ring fall thru. HTH!

nunzi182 · Kate Spade

I've never tried taking mine out for long periods of time. I'm too afraid to take it out overnight b/c I don't want it to close even though I've had it five years. I just took it out now though and plan to put it back in when I go sleep that way I can "monitor" it until then.

My ultimate fears is that the bar that the skin covers will break through....I know it sounds odd but it happened to a friend of mine in High School (or so she said).

Thanks.

Tara · Dooney & Bourke

I fainted after I got my belly button pierced. I thought it was WAY more painful than my tattoo. Anyway, I had my belly button pierced for ~5 years and I finally took it out ~2 years ago. It is finally beginning to close up, but the hole left is disgusting - I hate it. Can you try rotating a smaller ring every so often to prevent the hole stretching out? Maybe one of those "spacers" - those small plastic straw-like things that people use to prevent piercing holes from closing?

Since it took my almost 2 years to have my piercing close up, I think you would be ok overnight.

nunzi182 · Kate Spade

I'm not familiar with spacers. Do they work in conjunction with the belly ring or alone?

Tara · Dooney & Bourke

I may not have the correct lingo......they are basically just clear plastic cylinders that you put in your piercing to hold the piercing hole open. I know a friend of mine uses a clear one in her nose piercing when she goes to interviews and such. It is thinner and virtually "invisible". I couldn't find a picture online, but I am sure if you asked at a piercing place they would know what you are talking about.

blubirde · Chanel

I don't have any advice. I've had my belly ring for about 3-4 years now and it's the weirdest thing. It still gets kinda funky every now and then and I have to clean it really carefully, like when I first got it. It's bizarre. I also never take mine out because I'm afraid it will close up completely.

But I know what you mean about the ball sitting on the skin. I finally changed mine into a drop ring. One that drops from the top, not the bottom. And it's a thick piece of metal (the drop) not a little dainty thing so that really keeps the ring weighted pretty evenly so it doesn't rest one way or the other too much. You could try one of those. The only thing is that they're pretty hard to find. I found mine on clearance at Target one day but I've never seen another one like it. I love it though and I'd never wear another kind.

Grace · Dooney & Bourke

I had mine for 7 years and never had a problem. I took it out and it closed up in about a week. Then of course I wanted it back. I can get an earring through the hole but not my old barbell. I've been thinking about getting it re-done....

nunzi182 · Kate Spade

blubirde wrote:

I don't have any advice. I've had my belly ring for about 3-4 years now and it's the weirdest thing. It still gets kinda funky every now and then and I have to clean it really carefully, like when I first got it. It's bizarre. I also never take mine out because I'm afraid it will close up completely.
But I know what you mean about the ball sitting on the skin. I finally changed mine into a drop ring. One that drops from the top, not the bottom. And it's a thick piece of metal (the drop) not a little dainty thing so that really keeps the ring weighted pretty evenly so it doesn't rest one way or the other too much. You could try one of those. The only thing is that they're pretty hard to find. I found mine on clearance at Target one day but I've never seen another one like it. I love it though and I'd never wear another kind.

At least I know I'm not crazy! Do you have a picture of that type of belly ring? I've never seen or heard of one like it.

blink · Coach

I had mine done in 1995, then I removed it in 1999 because I happened to lose the top ball somewhere and I was tired of it anyway so I didn't bother putting in a new ring.

Anyway, that was six years ago and I still have a noticable brown spot where it was
(though it doesn't bother me). There is also still a hole, though it is mostly closed up and hurts when I have bothered to try to pierce through it again. Because new epidermus formed around the ring in the weeks after piercing, the hole won't really completely go away unless you actually surgically break new skin and have it sewn together. Same thing with ear piercings.

I would suggest changing up your rings now and again, especially some lighter weight ones, maybe with a plastic ball or smaller gauge ring. The heavier the ring you wear, the more likely your piercing will stretch over time and be even more noticable once you decide to stop wearing belly rings...if you do stop, that is.