Pick your belly button, tongue or lip piercing and the day you got it. You get where it is in its healing today, the first day you could change the jewelry, what is normal now, what to do and avoid, and the signs that need a doctor, from medical sources and the piercers’ association.
Belly button piercing
Not before 6 months, once it is healedA belly button piercing heals in 6–12 months (the navel). Add the day you got it for your own dates, what is normal now and what to do.
- Healing time
- 6–12 months (the navel)
- Change the jewelry
- Not before 6 months, once it is healed
What is normal now
Changing the jewelry
It looks healed outside before it is healed inside: ask your piercer before you change it.
- “Don’t change your jewelry until your belly button has completely healed.” — WebMD
- “Don’t hang charms or any object from your jewelry until the piercing is fully healed.” — Association of Professional Piercers
Do, until it has healed
Wash your hands before you touch it, and leave it alone except when you clean it.
- “Wash your hands prior to touching the piercing; leave the piercing alone except when cleaning.” — Association of Professional Piercers
- “Wash your hands before you touch your piercing.” — WebMD
- “Wash your hands before starting.” — Cleveland Clinic
Clean it once or twice a day with sterile saline, and no more than that.
- “At least once a day, dab the area with clean gauze or a paper towel soaked with a sterile saline solution.” — WebMD
- “Your piercing should be cleaned twice a day.” — Cleveland Clinic
- “Don’t clean too much.” — WebMD
Pat it dry with a paper towel, not a cloth towel.
- “Gently dry the area with a clean, disposable paper product.” — WebMD
- “Pat the area dry with a paper towel.” — Cleveland Clinic
- “use a clean paper towel to dry the piercing” — NHS
Wear clean, loose, soft clothes: a tight waistband rubs it.
- “Wear clean, loose, and soft clothes.” — WebMD
- “Opt for clean, loose-fitting clothing.” — Healthline
- “You can protect your piercing from excess irritation, physical trauma from activities like sports, or tight clothing with a hard, vented eye patch (sold at pharmacies).” — Association of Professional Piercers
Don’t
No alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or harsh cleaners.
- “Avoid cleaning with alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, antibacterial soaps, iodine, or any harsh products, as these can damage cells.” — Association of Professional Piercers
- “Even antibacterial cream and hydrogen peroxide may slow healing or trap bacteria inside your new opening.” — WebMD
Stay out of pools, lakes, the sea and hot tubs until it heals.
- “Stay out of lakes, hot tubs, and pools.” — WebMD
- “Avoid hot tubs, pools, and lakes.” — Healthline
- “It’s a good rule of thumb to wait two or three months before swimming, depending upon healing.” — Cleveland Clinic
Don’t play with the jewelry.
- “Resist the urge to touch or play with your barbell.” — WebMD
- “Resist the urge to twist or turn jewelry in the piercing.” — Cleveland Clinic
No charms or dangly rings until it heals: they catch and tear.
- “Don’t wear charms or dangly jewelry in your piercing.” — WebMD
- “Don’t hang charms or any object from your jewelry until the piercing is fully healed.” — Association of Professional Piercers
Where the guides disagree
Turning the jewelry while you clean it
- “During healing, do not twist, spin, or rotate your jewelry.” — Association of Professional Piercers
- “Rotate the jewelry all the way around while cleaning to remove any bacteria from what’s sticking out of your belly button.” — Cleveland Clinic
- “gently turn the jewellery while cleaning the piercing” — NHS
What to clean it with
- “We strongly encourage you to use a sterile saline, labeled for use as a wound wash.” — Association of Professional Piercers
- “Use a saltwater mixture on the piercing.” — Cleveland Clinic
- “Use a sterile saline solution to soak the area for 5 to 10 minutes daily.” — Healthline
An antibacterial cream on it
- “Don’t put anything on your belly button unless a doctor tells you to.” — WebMD
- “Apply an over-the-counter antibacterial cream.” — Cleveland Clinic
Ask your piercer which they want you to follow.
See a doctor if…
Some tenderness, itching, a pale fluid and a crust are normal while a piercing heals. But see a doctor if you have:
- Swelling, pain, heat or redness (or darkness on dark skin) that gets worse instead of settling
- Blood or pus coming out of it (white, green or yellow), or a bad smell
- A fever, chills or feeling generally unwell
- A tongue so swollen it is hard to swallow, talk or breathe: get help at once
- Swelling and redness around a belly button piercing that won’t go away
Ask for an urgent appointment with your doctor (in the UK, a GP or NHS 111). Leave the jewelry in unless a doctor tells you to take it out. (NHS, Cleveland Clinic, Healthline, WebMD.)
Healing times from Cleveland Clinic, Healthline and WebMD; the stages and aftercare quoted from the Association of Professional Piercers, Cleveland Clinic, Healthline, WebMD and the NHS. Checked 2026-10-12. Ours: the first week ends on day 7. This tracker informs; it is not medical advice.
Quick answer: a belly button piercing takes 6–12 months to heal by the medical sources, and Cleveland Clinic says it can take 18. A tongue or lip piercing takes 3–8 weeks. Change the jewelry yourself only once it is healed. A mouth piercing is downsized by your piercer once the swelling goes down. Pick yours and the day you got it, above.
How to use it
Pick the piercing (belly button, tongue or lip) and the day you got it, or tap one of the quick buttons (today, a week, a month or three months ago). You get where it is in its healing today on a timeline, the first day you could change the jewelry, what is normal now, what to do and what to avoid, where the guides disagree, and the signs that need a doctor. Copy the link and the page opens on your piercing and your day.
The healing times, and who says them
Belly button: months, not weeks. Cleveland Clinic: “Go into it with the understanding that a typical recovery period can be six months to a year, but that it may take as long as 18 months.” Healthline: “It can take anywhere from nine months to a year for a belly button piercing to fully heal.” WebMD says why: “This is because your piercing is in a body part that moves all day.”
Tongue and lip: weeks. Healthline: “A tongue piercing takes about 6 to 8 weeks to heal.” For the lip, Healthline again: “Vertical lip piercings heal in about 6 to 8 weeks.” WebMD gives mouth piercings less: “Healing usually takes 3 to 4 weeks.” The tracker uses the whole range, 3–8 weeks.
A mouth piercing gets a shorter bar first. The first bar is long to leave room for the swelling. The Association of Professional Piercers: “Once the swelling has subsided, it is vital to replace the original, longer jewelry with a shorter post or barbell to avoid damage to the teeth and gums.” That change is your piercer’s job: “Because this necessary jewelry change often occurs during healing, it should be done by a qualified piercer.”
Why no eyebrow? None of the medical sources read for this tracker gives a healing time for an eyebrow piercing, and the piercers’ association’s own table has no eyebrow row. The tracker does not invent one.
| Piercing | Medical sources | Piercers’ association | Earliest change, if healed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belly button | 6–12 months | 6–9 months or longer | 6 months |
| Tongue | 3–8 weeks | 6–8 weeks or longer | 3 weeks |
| Lip | 3–8 weeks | 2–3 months or longer | 3 weeks |
The piercers’ association’s times are from its Procedure Manual, which adds that “human bodies differ, so healing times will vary”. Where it is longer than the medical sources, as for the lip, give your piercing the longer time before you change it.
What is ours: the first week ends on day 7, and a month is 30.4375 days. Every time and every line of care is the sources’.
Worked examples
- A belly button piercing, 60 days old: healing — keep the jewelry in. Its window opens on day 183, 123 days away; it should be healed by day 365.
- A tongue piercing, 14 days old: healing — keep the jewelry in. Its window opens on day 21, 7 days away. The swelling should be down, so ask your piercer about the shorter bar.
- A lip piercing, 45 days old: in its healing window. It may be healed now; by the piercers’ association’s 2–3 months, give it longer before you change it yourself.
Common mistakes
- Changing a belly ring at 6 weeks. That is an earlobe’s time. A navel needs months.
- Keeping the long tongue bar. Once the swelling is down, the long bar knocks your teeth and gums: have it downsized.
- A dangly charm on a new navel piercing. It catches and tears. Wait until it has healed.
- Mouthwash with alcohol. It irritates a mouth piercing: use an alcohol-free one, salty water or plain water.
- Trusting how it looks. A piercing heals from the outside in, so it can look healed before it is.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a belly button piercing take to heal?
6 months to a year by the medical sources, and Cleveland Clinic says it can take as long as 18 months. It moves every time you bend or twist, which is why it is slow.
How long does a tongue piercing take to heal?
3 to 8 weeks across the medical sources: WebMD says 3 to 4 weeks for mouth piercings, Healthline 6 to 8 for the tongue. The swelling goes down in the first week or two, and the long first bar is then swapped by your piercer for a shorter one.
When can I change my belly button ring?
Not before 6 months, and only once it has fully healed: WebMD says not to change it until it has completely healed. Your piercer can tell you if it is ready.
How do you take care of a belly button piercing?
Wash your hands first, clean it once or twice a day with sterile saline (no more), pat it dry with a paper towel, wear loose clothes, stay out of pools and hot tubs, and leave the jewelry alone. No alcohol, peroxide or charms until it heals.
How do you take care of a tongue piercing?
Rinse after you eat or drink (an alcohol-free mouthwash, salty water or plain water), keep brushing and flossing, eat soft, cold food while it is swollen, don’t play with the bar, and no kissing or oral sex until it heals.
How do you clean a lip piercing?
Inside the mouth, the same as a tongue piercing: rinse after eating and drinking. Outside, the piercers’ association says to rinse it with warm water once a day and with saline twice a day, then dry it gently with gauze.
How long does an eyebrow piercing take to heal?
We could not find a medical source that says: Cleveland Clinic, Healthline and WebMD give no time, and the piercers’ association’s healing table has no eyebrow row. Ask your piercer, and treat it like any skin piercing: clean, leave it alone, and change the jewelry only once it has healed.
On Needle Style
Ideas for when it has healed: belly button piercing ideas, the tongue piercing trend and nose piercing ideas.
More free tools: the ear and nose piercing healing tracker, the ear piercing chart and the gauge size chart.