How To Take Out A Belly Button Piercing Ring

Written By Dan Hunter on December 16, 2019
Last Updated: November 27, 2020

Are you itching to change your belly ring? You might be thinking it’s a complicated process to remove your belly ring for the first time. It’s quite simple, as long as you follow a few guidelines.

If you’ve waited the proper amount of time, three months to one year, and you don’t have an infection, scabbing, or pus, it should be okay to remove the jewelry.

It should also be pretty easy to remove the belly ring and change it out for a new one as long as the inner tunnel has healed up nicely.

Guidelines for taking out your belly ring:

Make sure your piercing is completely healed
Wash and sanitize your hands
Keep site clean to avoid infection
Replace ring with new jewelry

Signs You’re Healed

If your piercing has completely healed, the ring should slide easily up and down before you attempt to take it out. If it’s not sliding easily, have patience — you probably haven’t completely healed and you shouldn’t continue your attempt to remove the jewelry. Your piercing will recover in the proper time for your body, and you’ll minimize the effects of inflammation or swelling by waiting.

Another indication your piercing is healed is that the discharge around the piercing has ceased. This is not a sure-fire way to gauge if the piercing is healed but is a good sign that all is well.

When a piercing is finally healed, the edges of the piercing holes will be smooth. As healing occurs, they start to pull inward.

Steps To Taking Out Your Belly Ring

Step 1: Wash Your Hands

Wash your hands with hand sanitizer or rubbing alcohol and warm water before you begin. Dry your hands thoroughly with a clean paper towel. Any residue from soap or sanitizer may irritate your piercing when taking out your belly ring.

Step 2: Slide Ring Out

Screw the ball off the current ring and carefully slide the ring out by gently pulling from the bottom. Replace the ball on the ring and set it aside. It’s always a good idea to disinfect the ring with alcohol after you take it out if you want to keep using it in the future.

Step 3: If You Feel Pain

If you feel any pain or discomfort, don’t tear the ring away from your skin. This may cause infection. If you feel like it’s not coming out easily, see your piercer or doctor to help you take it out. Keep in mind you need to do everything safely to avoid complications.

Step 4: Lie Down if Necessary

When you’re having trouble removing the ring, you might want to lie down. Sometimes this can facilitate the process easily and quickly. Lay back on a bed or on the floor and allow the stomach to become flat. Carefully slide the ring through the piercing and take it out.

Things to Be Cautious Of

Don’t Pull at Belly Ring

If you have to pull and tug at your belly ring to take it out, it’s most likely not healed properly. You may cause significant damage to your skin by forcing it out, and this can cause future permanent scarring.

Be Aware of Swelling

If you see redness or swelling around your piercing or any kind of discharge, immediately see your piercer or doctor to find out how to proceed.

Bacteria from Towel

Never use a towel to dry your hands after you’ve washed them. Bacteria from the towel can get on your hands and cause an infection in your piercing.

After Taking the Belly Ring Out

Once you’ve taken out the ring, make sure you replace it immediately. Sometimes, a new piercing can close in minutes, so make sure you have your new ring on stand-by – you don’t want to be going down the shop to get the area re-pierced. Ensure the new ring has been disinfected and is ready to be replaced in the piercing.

When you’ve replaced your current ring, make sure you look at your belly ring every day to check if there are signs of infection or swelling.

Keep using your after-care routine as you would when you first got your piercing. Replacing a piercing is similar to having a new piercing, so to avoid any problems, be careful with your new replacement piercing. Use a saline solution to keep the area clean.

The best aftercare product I’ve personally used is the After Inked Piercing Aftercare Spray. Not only is it vegan, but it’s also completely alcohol and additive-free. The solution works well on all skin types including sensitive skin, and it comes in a generously-sized mist-spraying bottle for easy application. When using it from the very start of the healing process, the spray helps to decrease healing times and aims to eliminate any lingering pain or soreness.

After you’ve replaced the ring, wipe the surrounding area with rubbing alcohol or sanitizer. This will ensure that the area is disinfected and reduce the chance of developing any kind of infection.

Summary

Taking out your belly ring should be painless and easy. If it doesn’t feel easy, then it isn’t a good idea to take it out. The skin around the piercing should look normal and free of any redness or swelling.

The most important thing is to keep the area, and your hands, free of any bacteria, and you should have no problem taking out your belly ring to replace it.