When you are looking to upgrade your belly button ring, understanding how to find the right size is crucial. A belly ring that doesn’t fit well can cause discomfort, or even lead to infection and rejection. Over the years, we’ve helped thousands of customers find their correct belly ring size. In this guide, we'll explore why sizing matters, how to measure your belly button piercing, and tips for selecting the best length and thickness for your unique anatomy. If by the end of the guide you still have questions, leave a comment or contact us—we’re here to help.
Why Size Matters
Getting the size of your new belly ring right is crucial because it directly impacts the health of your navel piercing. If the jewelry is too short, it can cause irritation, redness, and swelling. Over time, it can potentially lead to an infection as the skin is constantly compressed. In our experience, this often happens when the customer is wearing a jewelry design with sharp edges, which makes the situation even worse.
Signs that your belly ring is too short include: difficulty screwing the jewelry on, the skin above the bar forming a small bump as it is compressed, or the skin partially covering the lower part of the jewelry.
Image 1: The belly button ring is too short for this piercing. The lower ball is covered, and the balls are putting pressure on the skin. Over time, this can cause irritation and damage the piercing.
You don’t want your jewelry to be too long either. Most piercers will oversize your jewelry when they first place your piercing to ensure there is enough space for swelling during the initial days of the healing process. Once your piercing has fully healed, revisit your piercer to downsize the jewelry. Navel jewelry that is too long will move around a lot, making it easier to get caught in clothing. The constant movement can cause irritation or lead to rejection, where the skin between the upper rim of your belly button and the piercing hole becomes thinner and thinner until it eventually breaks.
Signs that your navel ring is too long include: a large part of the bar is visible, the lower part of the jewelry extends beyond your belly button, the jewelry moves around in the piercing when you move, and over time, the skin around your piercing becomes thinner.
Loose fit vs. snug fit
When customers ask us what their perfect fit would be, we usually suggest two options: the snug fit and the loose fit.
With the snug fit, the shaft of the belly ring is fully covered by skin, but there is still enough wiggle room to ensure the skin isn’t pinched. The snug fit can look sleek and polished, but if you opt for this, it's best to choose round jewelry with no sharp edges or pointy shapes to avoid irritation.
Image 2: the jewelry fits the navel piercing of the model well: the bar is entirely covered, but the balls are not. The jewelry doesn’t put any stress on the piercing.
With the loose fit, 1 to 2 mm of the bar remains uncovered. Some customers prefer the lower gem of their navel jewelry to be centered in the middle of their belly button, and we also recommend this fit for designs that aren’t round, where a snug fit could be risky.
Image 3: also this belly button ring fits well. There is a little wiggle room, but not so much that there is any risk of the belly button ring moving around too much.
Whether you opt for a snug fit or a looser fit is mostly up to you. We recommend the snug fit for small jewelry with round ends, especially for customers with small piercings where there is little skin between the piercing hole and the belly button.
The standard belly button ring length might not fit you
The standard size for belly button rings, which is the size most often sold, is 10 mm in length and 14g in thickness (more on thickness later). However, this doesn't necessarily indicate whether or how it will fit you. The correct size for you depends on how your piercing was placed, how it healed, and your anatomy. In our experience, many customers who got their piercing a decade ago need shorter navel jewelry than those who got theirs more recently. But again, these are just anecdotes. The rule of thumb is that there is no rule of thumb—you really need to measure your piercing to get the size right.
How to measure your piercing to find the perfect fit
There are two ways of finding the right size: measuring your piercing and measuring your jewelry. The second option only works in case you have a belly ring that already fits you well.
To measure your belly button piercing, you want to measure the distance between the piercing hole and the upper rim of your belly button, like in the drawing below.
To get an accurate measurement, we advise customers to:
- use a millimeter (mm) ruler because millimeters are smaller than 1/6 of an inch, making the measurement more precise;
- stand up straight, as sitting down can distort the measurement;
- avoid pulling on the skin in any way;
- if possible, have a friend or family member take a picture.
For example, if you measure around 7.5 mm, we would recommend an 8 mm belly ring for a snug fit and a 10 mm ring for a loose fit. A 6 mm belly ring would be too short and cause issues.
How to measure a belly ring you already own and that fits you well
If you already have a belly ring that fits you well and want to buy one of the same size, here is the best way to measure it: remove the ring and screw the ball back on. Then, measure the distance between the two points where the balls are attached to the bar, as shown in the picture below.
If possible, use a caliper for maximum accuracy; otherwise, use a ruler with a millimeter (mm) scale.
Keep in mind that not all manufacturers measure their jewelry the same way. We measure our jewelry as explained here, but others might use different methods, so it's always a good idea to ask before buying.
Understanding thickness and gauges of belly rings
A 14g belly ring is a ring that is 1.5 to 1.6 mm thick. The 'g' stands for gauge and measures the diameter of the bar. The two most common gauge sizes for belly rings are 14g and 16g:
- 14g (1.5-1.6 mm or 0.064"): This is the standard thickness for belly rings.
- 16g (1.2 mm or 0.047"): Slightly thinner, this gauge is standard for cartilage jewelry.
Nowadays, most belly button piercings are done with a 14g needle, but when belly button piercings became popular in the ‘90s, some piercers used thinner needles. For this reason, most navel jewelry available today is 14g.
It’s usually best to stick with the thickness you’re already wearing. Downsizing to a thinner gauge can make it difficult to upsize later, and thinner jewelry can move around more, potentially introducing germs into the piercing.
As a rule of thumb, if you got your piercing in the last couple of years, have always worn your jewelry, and standard jewelry fits you, then go with 14g jewelry. If you haven’t worn jewelry for some time and your piercing has shrunk so that 14g jewelry no longer fits, then opt for the thinner 16g.
Sometimes, after pregnancy or a long break from wearing jewelry, even a 16g belly ring may be too thick. If the only jewelry you can insert into your piercing is earrings, you'll need 18g jewelry, which is around 1 mm thick. This type of belly ring is hard to find, but we’re happy to help you with a customized piece.
How to measure the thickness of a belly ring
The difference between 14g and 16g is only about 0.4 mm, which is a little thinner than a fingernail, so it can be hard to distinguish with the untrained eye. Here are some ways to check the gauge size of your belly ring:
- The only precise way to measure the thickness of navel jewelry is to use a caliper.
- The next best method is to use a millimeter (mm) scaled ruler. If the measurement you get is around 1 mm, it’s a 16g piece. If the measurement is between 1 and 2 mm, it is 14g.
- Bank cards typically measure 0.76 mm in thickness. Place the shaft of your navel jewelry on a flat surface and compare it to two bank cards stacked on top of each other. If the thickness of the jewelry matches the height of the two cards, you are looking at a 14g piece. When using this method, ensure the bank cards are not embossed—they need to have a flat, uniform surface.
If you still have any doubts, you can send us a picture or ask your piercer. People who handle body jewelry daily can usually determine the gauge size at a glance.
Our Belly Button Ring sizes
Standard belly rings are about 10 mm in length and 14g in thickness, but, as we have already mentioned, the size you need might be quite different. For our most popular jewelry, we carry various sizes ranging from 6 mm to 12 mm in length, with 2 mm increments in between, and in 16g and 14g thicknesses. Below is a size chart for belly rings that also serves as a conversion chart.
If you don’t find your size on this chart, you can reach out to us. We routinely create custom navel jewelry for our customers. In the past, we’ve made navel jewelry as short as 3 mm and as long as 20 mm. We can also personalize the bend of the bar and the angle at which the bar is attached to the bezel. The price remains the same as listed, but depending on the specifics, the jewelry may take several weeks to reach you.
What to Do If Your Navel Jewelry Doesn’t Fit Properly
If you’ve bought a new piece of jewelry and it feels uncomfortable to wear, it’s best to remove it and wear your old jewelry until you find a replacement that fits well. In our opinion, the risk of irritation, infection, or rejection is too high.
If you purchased the jewelry from our shop, please reach out to us. We understand that getting the size right can be tricky, and we’ll do our best to assist you as quickly as possible.
Still Need Help? We’re Here for You.
Choosing the right size for your body jewelry is crucial for both comfort and healing. By following these tips, you can ensure that your new belly button ring looks great and feels comfortable. We hope you find something in our shop that you like.
If you need any help with sizing, please reach out.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider subscribing to our newsletter—it comes with a discount on your first purchase, as well as updates on our designs and content.