Here’s Exactly How to Clean Your Belly Button (Because Yes, You Need to!)

When it comes to self-care, we give a ton of attention to our hands, feet, arms, and legs. But there's one little area we tend to overlook — the belly button.

That random (dare I say cute?) hole in the middle of your stomach needs love, too. Even though it may look totally harmless, your belly button, or navel, is actually a breeding ground for some seriously wild bacteria, yeast, and rashes. (Did we mention that this seemingly casual article about cleaning belly buttons was going to become a body horror tale? No? Well, consider yourself warned.)

We’ll cut to the chase: yes, there’s definitely a proper way to clean the belly button, which means there are also some less-than proper ways to go about cleaning it, too. We heard from dermatologists and other medical experts about how to clean your navel the right way — and what could happen if you, y’know, forget to for several months or years. (Oops.) So buckle up, innies and outies alike!

In this article, you’ll find:

• Why do I need to know how to clean my belly button?
• How often should you clean your belly button?
• How to clean your belly button: Innie edition
• How to clean your belly button: Outie edition
• How to clean a belly button piercing

You might be thinking that, surely, your belly button is getting enough by-proxy attention when you soap up other parts of your body in the shower. Why fuss over a body part Kim Kardashian doesn’t even have? For the sake of this exercise, let’s forget that the “clean-by-proxy” school of thought has been the subject of a lot of debate already. It makes sense to think your navel is as clean as it needs to be thanks to the suds it sees when you wash your armpits and chest. Right?

Not exactly.

“The navel is an occluded area where skin rests on skin, creating a dark, moist environment in which bacteria and yeast can breed and can become a cesspool for microbes if not properly maintained,” says Dr. Susan Bard, MD, of Manhattan Dermatology Specialists. “If bacteria and yeast are allowed to breed, it can lead to foul odor and even infection.”

A smelly belly button? Yikes! And the fact you can get a yeast infection in there?!?! Why is no one talking more about this?! I mean, we've all heard about (or had) "belly button lint," but this is a whole new level. And that’s not even the worst of it. Here are a few other casualties of a dirty navel that will give you a new lease on belly button hygiene:

• A dirty belly button can cause dermatitis: Derma-what? Dr. Anna Chacon, MD, a board-certified dermatologist with My Psoriasis Team, says that “dirt and sweat can irritate the sensitive skin in and around the belly button, potentially leading to dermatitis, or rashes.” Even more specifically, a chronically unclean belly button can cause Dermatitis Neglecta to develop, according to Dr. Alpana Mohta, MD, DNB, IFAAD, a dual-board-certified dermatologist. That’s what happens, she says, when sweat, body oils, dead skin cells, and environmental debris accumulate and “form a thick, waxy layer that adheres to the belly button’s skin.” Among the possible side effects? Skin discoloration within the belly button, odor, itching, and secondary bacterial and fungal infections, like bacterial dermatitis and candidiasis. No thanks!
• A dirty belly button can cause dermatosis. While dermatitis deals with skin inflammation, dermatosis is a broader category of skin diseases. And without proper belly button care and cleaning, it could be a consequence, Dr. David Li, MD, MBA, a board-certified dermatologist and founder of Boston Derm Advocate, says. He adds that when the build-up of belly button lint, dirt, and skin debris is “severe,” terra firma-forme dermatosis — a fancy term for a skin condition born of poor hygiene — may develop.
• A dirty belly button can cause naval stones: You read that right. Dr. Chacon says that naval stones, also known as omphaloliths or umboliths, are “hardened accumulations of sebum and keratin that can form in the belly button due to poor hygiene.” They’re basically the result of a “buildup of dirt, sweat, and dead skin cells,” she says, and in rare cases, they can lead to infection and naval abscesses.
• A dirty belly button can cause discharge. Belly button discharge could “indicate an infection or an underlying medical condition, such as an umbilical hernia or a urachal cyst,” Dr. Chacon explains. If you notice any discharge coming out of your belly button — particularly if it’s “foul-smelling, colored, or accompanied by other symptoms like pain or redness,” she adds — you should see a doctor.

Belly button issues are technically more common for people who have piercings, but even those of us with jewelry-free navels aren't totally safe. You should regularly be giving your belly button a little extra TLC to make sure it stays clean and infection-free. But just how regular is regular enough?

Though some dermatologists recommend cleaning belly buttons daily, Dr. Chacon says that isn’t strictly necessary. “You don't need to clean your belly button every day unless you have a specific reason to do so,” she says. “Cleaning it once or twice a week during your regular shower routine is usually sufficient for most people.”

Despite all the -titis and -tosis talk earlier, you also don’t want to overdo belly button cleaning with too-frequent washes or too-hard of scrubbing. The navel is a sensitive area, which is why board-certified dermatologist Dr. Erum N. Ilyas, MD, has actually “seen more problems in patients that clean their belly buttons than those that don’t,” she says. While regular, gentle cleaning definitely is needed for delicate areas where the skin “folds in or back on itself, like belly buttons… or between our fingers and toes,” anything beyond a gentle cleaning “runs a risk of skin irritation, skin breakdown, infection, and non-healing wounds,” Dr. Ilyas warns.

So now that we know what the stakes are — both for skipping out on belly button cleaning entirely as well as cleaning it too roughly — what’s the best way to clean a belly button? Read on to find out exactly how to clean your navel, whether it's an innie or an outie!

1. Grab a Q-tip and mild soap.

Innie belly buttons may need the extra help of a Q-tip to get into all the nooks and crannies of the skin, particularly if you’re trying to clean a deep belly button. Before going in, swab the Q-tip with soap and water; Dr. Chacon says it’s best to use “mild, fragrance-free soap” to avoid irritating the navel’s sensitive skin. Don’t have a Q-tip? A baby washcloth can work, too, and carries the added bonus of exfoliating sweat, dirt, and dead skin away. Just don’t jam something that’s ultimately much wider than your belly button — like a finger and washcloth — deep into your naval’s crevices. You’re not digging for gold here!

2. Gently swab the inside of your belly button.

While doing this, Dr. Chacon says to avoid using “excessively hot water,” as it can irritate your skin. So can rubbing your belly button aggressively. “Scrubbing too hard on your belly button can cause microtears and blisters, which can become infected,” she says. “It's important to be gentle when cleaning this area.”

3. Rinse it.

It’s super important to make sure you wash all the soap residue off — since residue and debris are precisely the things that hurt belly button hygiene in the first place! If you’re cleaning your belly button outside of the shower, consider gently going back over the area with a second clean Q-tip and warm water.

4. Pat it dry.

Gently dry the inside of your navel with the tip of a dry washcloth or another clean, dry Q-tip. Getting your belly button back to a dry state after rinsing it is key, Dr. Chacon says, since “moisture can create a breeding ground for bacteria and fungi, potentially leading to infections” — which misses the whole point of cleaning your belly button entirely! But there’s no need to overdo it either. Simply pay it dry softly.

1. Soap up a washcloth or sponge.

Outie belly buttons can be easier to clean. There's no special trick to it — it's really just like cleaning any other part of your normal skin! That said, you’ll still want to be gentler cleaning an outie than you would be when, say, scrubbing smelly armpits. So, lather up your washcloth, or sponge and gently wash on and around your belly button. Note: If you’re mostly an outie but with some folds in and around the belly button, it may be easier to take a Q-tip to the whole area instead.

2. Rinse and check for residue.

When rinsing your belly button clean with warm water, as with innie belly buttons, you’ll want to pay attention and make sure no traces of soap or other debris are left behind. Outies can be a minefield for bacterial and fungal growth, too!

3. Dry off and lightly moisturize.

Pat the whole area dry and, depending on your skin type, follow up your belly button cleaning with a little lotion to keep the skin soft, supple, and smelling good. Dr. Chacon says: “If your skin tends to be dry, you can apply a mild, fragrance-free moisturizer to the area to keep it hydrated.” Note that this is not a step you should include if you have an innie belly button, since the lotion inside can produce too much moisture and become a breeding ground for bacteria — yuck!

Sporting any jewelry on your navel? Dr. Chacon says that cleaning your belly button “is even more important for people who have belly button piercings.”

This is partly because belly button piercings are among the most difficult to heal; in fact, some tenderness, redness, and crusting around the area is common for up to 18 months after getting pierced. These piercings can also be more likely than other types of body piercings to get infected because of the belly button’s bacteria-friendly shape, with serious infections like hepatitis and tetanus among the list of possible pitfalls. So it’s all the more important to keep a pierced belly button clean!

If you’re pierced, in addition to regularly cleansing and drying your belly button, you can add an extra step of washing your navel with salt water or an isotonic saline solution picked up for around $10 at your local drugstore. (This is especially important when the piercing is fresh!) You can also make a DIY saltwater solution by adding 1/4 a teaspoon of sea salt to one cup of clean, warm water. Stir the sea salt in until it’s fully dissolved, and you're good to go. Just make sure you use sea salt, as iodized table salt won't do the trick. Using a saline or saltwater soak like this is key to warding off infections caused by piercings.

And if you do wind up with a belly button infection — which is possible whether you have a piercing or not! — you'll recognize it by the appearance of an odor, tenderness, redness, itching, or any kind of pus or discharge. Don't panic. Talk to your dermatologist and they can prescribe an antibiotic to help you kick it quickly. Then, be sure to stick to your new belly button cleaning regimen to keep old infections from coming back or new ones from emerging. As delicate as these little suckers might be, you and your belly button have got this!