Caring For Your Body Jewelry

Wearing your body jewelry constantly is the best way to keep it clean. Between regular bathing and/or your body's natural oils, the metal from which your body jewelry is made should stay clean. The rare occasions you need to remove your navel jewelry are usually when you're replacing the piece or if you've recently had an infection that has healed and now you want to remove any crusted residue.

You can clean almost any type of body jewelry with a simple combination of warm water and fragrance free anti-bacterial soap. Use a soft toothbrush to scrub away any hardened residue. Rinse very thoroughly and let air dry. When you do reinsert the jewelry, use a little lubricant to assist the navel jewelry through the piercing's entry.

How to Change Your Belly Jewelry

We all like to change our look every so often and switching belly jewelry is an easy way to do that. Here are the basic steps to easy insertion of your belly jewelry, while keeping your skin infection-free and your jewelry in good shape:

1. Wash both your hands and the jewelry with medical grade soap.
2. Pinch the area next to the piercing and place one end of the belly jewelry at the entrance of the hole (usually bottom to top works the best).
3. With a finger of the pinching hand, massage around the other hole as you gently move the jewelry toward it.
4. Once the end of the belly jewelry has cleared the second hole, clasp or screw the ball in place.
5. Clean your hands and the area again to prevent infection.

Bonus Tip: Change belly jewelry after you shower, since the hot water will have softened the tissue around your piercing.