Navel piercing (also referred to as belly button piercing) is a type of body piercing. It may heal quickly and with no problems, like an ear piercing, or may heal more like a surface piercing with the associated rejection extended healing time. Healing of this piercing can also be complicated by irritation and damage caused by clothing, especially waistlines or tight clothing, or the position of the navel relative to the bend of the waist.

The actual navel is not pierced when a navel piercing is performed. The most common form of navel piercing is through the upper rim of the navel. A true navel piercing requires the person being pierced to have an "outie" navel to some degree, and is extremely rare. Although there is an urban legend that an infection in a true navel piercing can travel inward to the liver or peritoneum, there are no known cases of this occurring.

History and culture

There is no direct evidence of historical navel piercing, although there is a great deal of historical evidence regarding the decoration of the navel, both for ritual and aesthetic purposes.

The vast majority of those with navel piercings are female.

Other notable celebrities with upper navel piercings include Hayden Panettiere, Beyoncé Knowles,"Celebrities with Belly Piercings" Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Vanessa Hudgens, Jordy Wordy, Christina Milian,NavelRings.biz Jessica Alba, Gisele Bündchen and Miley Cyrus. A celebrity with a lower navel piercing is Keira Knightley.

It is sometimes seen as rebellious or an indication of sexual promiscuity. This is likely due the high incidence of this piercing among pornographic actresses and models.Or: date=September 2008 In more mainstream fashion industries, body modification is generally frowned upon due the inconvenience involved in correcting undesirable modifications.

Due to the popularity of this often-difficult-to-heal piercing among young people, especially young girls, this piercing is often done with improper, unsanitary jewellery or piercing tools, including ear piercing guns. Because many navel piercings are performed and healed semi-clandestinely, piercing studios, doctors and emergency rooms often have to deal with the results of improperly performed, poorly healed navel piercings.Fact: date=September 2008

Jewelry

There has been a special standard established for navel barbells (also called "bananabells" or "bananabars", reference to their curved shape). The standard bananabell is 1.6 mm (1/16") thick and 9.5 mm (3/8") or 11.1 mm (7/16") long, most commonly referred to as a 14-gauge post. The silver caps on either side of the simple barbell post usually measure 5mm in diameter for the upper and 8mm in diameter for the lower.