Belly Button Filler: Is It Right for You?

Are you unhappy with your belly button’s shape or appearance? Wish it had a rounder, flatter, cuter look?

A simple cosmetic procedure could make that wish come true. It’s belly button filler treatment, a minimally invasive, affordable option for patients who aren’t ready for a permanent surgical solution.

What Is Belly Button Filler?

Belly button filler can temporarily change the shape and appearance of the belly button and the surrounding skin. It adds volume and stimulates collagen production around the injection site. Depending on the formulation, dosing, and other factors, results can last anywhere from six months to more than two years.

Depending on your belly button anatomy and desired results, your provider may recommend Sculptra® injections (poly-L lactic acid, or PLLA) or hyaluronic acid (HA) filler injections. Sculptra results take several months to appear in full, but last up to three years. HA results appear sooner, typically within days, but may only last six to nine months.

In either case, belly button filler injections should be performed by a board-certified plastic surgeon or other licensed medical provider who has completed advanced filler training and has extensive experience with HA or PLLA collagen stimulators.

Why Get Belly Button Filler? Common Indications

The most common reasons patients seek belly button filler include:

• Repairing an Old Belly Button Piercing. Belly button filler can’t remove an old belly button piercing. That requires a minor surgical procedure. But it can increase volume around the piercing and make it less noticeable.

• Smoothing Indentations. Belly button filler smooths out the small dimples or indentations that sometimes appear above the belly button.

• Tightening the Skin After Weight Changes. Belly button filler helps tighten the skin around the belly button following rapid weight changes, such as weight gain and loss during and after pregnancy and weight loss after bariatric surgery. 

• Smoothing Minor Stretch Marks. Belly button filler flattens, smooths, and temporarily obscures minor stretch marks around the belly button. These often appear after significant weight changes.

• Treating Age-Related Collagen Loss. Belly button filler can temporarily replace some collagen lost to natural aging processes.

Alternatives to Belly Button Filler Procedures

Belly button filler isn’t the only solution for an unsightly belly button. To tighten loose skin around the belly button or subtly flatten your belly button, consider a thread lift procedure — another affordable, minimally invasive option with results that can last years.

There are some circumstances where minimally invasive solutions likely won’t achieve the results you desire:

• Flattening an umbilical hernia (“outie” belly button)
• Changing an outie to an “innie”
• Removing significant amounts of excess skin from the belly button (most often the belly button’s upper hood)
• Augmenting a wider area than just the belly button and immediate surrounding skin (which may be desired to repair stretch marks or excess skin after rapid weight loss)

In these situations, your provider may recommend more significant surgical procedures, such as fat grafting or a tummy tuck. 

These procedures permanently repair or tighten the skin of the tummy, so their results are more durable than fillers alone. But they’re more risky and expensive too. Talk to your provider to determine if you’re a good candidate and decide which option is best for you.