No. Some people claim you can change an outie to an innie – by taping a quarter over it, for example – but it's just not true.
If a child is born with an "outie" belly button, there is a 90 percent chance that it will close on its own by the time the child turns 5 years old. However, if the defect is not closed by age 5, the chances are much less that it will ever close completely.
One to 2 weeks after birth, this stump falls off and what remains is your belly button. As a result, your belly button is essentially a scar. Whether it's an innie or outie depends on how your skin grows as it heals. The way your belly button looks is mostly by chance.
Despite common folklore, you can't flatten an outie by strapping something across your baby's belly or by taping a quarter over it. In fact, there's nothing you can (or should) do to change an outie. Instead, as your child grows, help them understand that it's just another way a body can look.
Should an outie be corrected? An outie belly button is a cosmetic issue and doesn't require surgery. Granulomas need to be treated to avoid infection. Hernias usually disappear on their own and those that don't can be treated with a simple surgical procedure after the age of 4 or 5.
Most of us have innie belly buttons, with only about 10 percent outies.
Contrary to popular belief, the shape of your belly button has nothing to do with how the umbilical cord was cut or clamped—so don't blame your doctor (or your S.O.). Instead, most outies are formed because of extra scar tissue that's found beneath the belly button—something that's beyond anyone's control.
It's related to the presence of space between the skin and the abdominal wall, he says. If the soft tissue protrudes through, you've got an outie, which is much rarer in people than the more-desired innie.
Outie-to-Innie Surgery
Umbilicoplasty is the plastic surgery procedure that can reshape both the innie and outie belly button, although it also can be reshaped during a tummy tuck. Outie-to-innie surgery often allows people to be more comfortable with their bodies and boosts a patient's self-confidence and self-esteem.
It's not recommended to pierce “outie” tissue. A normal navel piercing goes only through the surface skin at the edge or the navel, while an “outie” navel is more complex than simple surface skin; it is residual scarring from the umbilical cord. As such, an infected “outie” piercing can become dangerous quickly.
Infection. A fresh piercing is an open wound and therefore vulnerable to infection. This is especially true for an outie or traditional belly button piercing. Bloodborne infections like tetanus, hepatitis B and C, and HIV are also possible if contaminated needles are used.
According to a study at the University of Missouri, small, T-shaped belly buttons are the most attractive. Researchers showed pictures of innies, outies, and belly buttons of all shapes and sizes to a group of men and women who rated them on a scale of 1 to 10 from least to most attractive.
With this in mind, there isn't a certain belly button type that can or can't have a piercing. As long as you have skin above your belly button (and we're pretty sure you do), an experienced piercer should be able to pierce the belly button.
It's possible to pick up an infection from any body of water, so while your piercing heals you should avoid swimming in: swimming pools. streams, lakes and rivers.
Belly buttons are barely a few millimetres deep at a young age. At a young age, belly buttons have an elongated shape. The diameter of the navel varies from fifteen to twenty millimetres. The body weight, pregnancies and abdominal wall hernia can influence the appearance.
Rejection usually happens in the weeks and months following a new piercing, but it can also happen years, even decades, later. If you bump your old piercing in an odd way or have an infection that kicks your immune system into overdrive, you might suddenly see signs of migration and rejection.
The best navels are: oval shaped, vertically oriented (with a 46:54 ratio), and horizontally positioned.
Sinkkonen pointed out a study by Charles Puckett and colleagues of the University of Misouri, which asked people to choose from a number of navels the one that was most attractive. The subjects agreed: the best-looking navels were vertically oriented with a T-shape.
Because a belly button is essentially a weak point in the abdomen, the extra pressure could cause an “innie” belly button to become an “outie.” However, this occurrence usually reverts after a woman gives birth. Some women do notice their belly button changes shape after pregnancy.
The body weight, pregnancies and abdominal wall hernia can influence the appearance. With increasing age or body weight, the belly button shape becomes oval across and the depth of the belly button increases. After pregnancy, the navel can protrude.
Lifting weights can contribute to the protrusion, since it could cause an increase in intra-abdominal pressure that will push against an umbilical hernia defect, causing it to enlarge over time. In some cases, the variations in layers of tissue thickness simply make some people more susceptible.
Sinkkonen pointed out a study by Charles Puckett and colleagues of the University of Misouri, which asked people to choose from a number of navels the one that was most attractive. The subjects agreed: the best-looking navels were vertically oriented with a T-shape.
An umbilical hernia occurs when the opening in the abdominal wall that allows the umbilical cord to reach the outside of the body doesn't close completely. Typically this happens in the first few days after birth, but sometimes the hole doesn't close for much longer.