What is a Flexi Belly Bar?

• A Flexi bar is a type of flexible, medical grade plastic body jewelry that can be cut to fit the wearer. The balls on the end of the barbell simply pop onto the end, and come off easily in the event of accidental snagging. Because the piercing yields and bends, it's less likely to pull the skin and cause scarring or future rejection. Plastic jewelry is also sold under the trademark name BioFlex or BioPlast, or under the generic name PTFE. PTFE is the most flexible and giving of the bunch.
  
  

Use During Pregnancy

• JoBananas' Body Piercing Jewelery Blog highlights the use of Flexi jewelry during pregnancy. Since a piercing can flatten and become distended within the belly button during pregnancy, a Flexi post will bend and yield to the pressure. At a certain point, the fetus may prove to grow too big for the piercing to be comfortable at all, but a Flexi bar affords a fighting chance of saving the mother's body art. According to JoBananas, "PTFE is totally flexible and Bio is preformed into a curve and available in different colours. Both options are equally safe and comfortable."
  
  

Is Flexi Safe?

• Flexi, Bio plastic and PTFE are all safe materials. In fact, they're used in surgical tools. According to Danee of the Original Pregnancy Piercings, "This material is used in a variety of medical applications, is non-toxic, bio-compatible and autoclavable." These plastics can be removed, cleaned and replaced with little worry for infection or damage to tissue. Plastic jewelry is also great for eyebrows, surface piercings, genital piercings and any other area that is prone to snagging. It's probably best to use a plastic piercing after a hole is completely healed; after all, too much movement of the jewelry early on can lead to soreness, infection and rejection.