Belly Button Therapy: What Navel Treatments Are and What We Know

Oil in the belly button, herbs over the navel, warmth on the center of the belly: navel treatments are trending, but some are thousands of years old. Here’s what they are, where they come from, what the research shows, and how to stay safe.

Belly button therapy means applying something to or over the navel, such as herbs, oil or gentle heat, for wellness. It has deep roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine, where the navel is an acupoint called Shenque, and in Ayurveda, where navel oiling is a traditional self-care practice. Today it’s popular online, often with big claims. The honest picture: the traditions are long, the research is small and mostly about period pain, and many online claims are unproven. Done simply and safely, it’s a low-risk practice.

The navel in Traditional Chinese Medicine

In TCM, the navel is the acupoint Shenque (CV8), often translated as “Spirit Gate.” It sits on the Ren channel, the midline channel TCM links with the reproductive system, and it was traditionally seen as a gathering point that connects to the whole body. Because acupuncture needles are never placed in the navel, it became a site for external methods instead:

• Herbal application (qi liao, navel therapy): powdered herbs, pastes or plasters placed over the navel.
• Moxibustion: gentle warmth from burning mugwort, often over a layer of salt or ginger.

External treatment grew into its own tradition. The Qing-dynasty physician Wu Shangxian wrote a whole classic on it, Li Yue Pian Wen (1864), with the famous principle that “the reasoning of external treatment is the same as the reasoning of internal treatment.” The same herbs and patterns guide both.

Navel oiling: the Pechoti method

Navel oiling is an Ayurvedic self-care practice: placing a few drops of navel oil in the belly button, usually at bedtime. Online it’s often called the Pechoti method, after the idea of a “Pechoti gland” behind the navel that absorbs oil and carries it through the body. There is no such gland in human anatomy, so that part of the explanation isn’t accurate, even though the practice itself is old.

How it’s done: clean and dry the navel, warm 2 to 3 drops of oil between your fingers, place them in the belly button, massage gently around it for a minute, and wipe off any excess.

Belly button oil chart: traditional uses

This chart shows how each oil is traditionally used in navel oiling. None of these uses has been tested in clinical trials.

Coconut oil in the belly button

Coconut oil is the gentlest common choice. Traditionally it’s used for dry skin and as a “cooling” oil, and it does soften dry skin around the navel. Claims that it improves digestion, hormones or skin elsewhere on the body haven’t been tested. Side effects are uncommon: coconut allergy is rare, but the oil can clog pores, so wipe off the excess. Stop if you notice redness, itching or small bumps.

Castor oil in the belly button

Castor oil is by far the most popular choice online, with claims for digestion, periods, sleep and skin. For an honest look at each claim and its risks, see Castor Oil in Belly Button: Benefits, Evidence and Risks.

Essential oils are sometimes used neat in the navel. Undiluted essential oils can irritate or burn the skin, so they should always be diluted in a carrier oil.

Other navel practices: chi nei tsang and navel pulling

Chi nei tsang is a Taoist abdominal massage, popularized in the West by teacher Mantak Chia. Practitioners work slowly and deeply around the navel and abdomen, aiming to ease tension, support digestion and release emotional stress. We found no clinical trials of chi nei tsang itself. Related research on abdominal massage is small: for example, in a 2005 Korean study, 85 working women with painful periods either massaged their abdomen for 5 minutes a day for 6 days around their period, or had no treatment. The massage group reported less cramping, but there was no placebo and no blinding, so the results are encouraging but not proof.

Navel pulling is a folk practice, common in South Asia, of massaging or “pulling” the navel back into place, sometimes now with castor oil. It’s based on the belief that the navel can shift, called navel displacement. There’s no anatomical evidence that the navel moves, so if you have ongoing belly pain or digestive symptoms, see a doctor rather than relying on navel pulling.

Why the navel?

Supporters point to the anatomy: the navel is where the umbilical cord once connected, and the skin there sits close to the deeper tissue with little fat beneath it. That’s a reason the navel may be a convenient spot for external application. It isn’t proof that substances absorb in useful amounts or reach specific organs. That still needs research.

What the research shows

Period pain is the best-studied use. A systematic review published in 2022 in the Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine pooled the randomized trials of navel therapy for primary period pain, meaning cramps without an underlying disease such as endometriosis.

• Who and how many: 24 randomized trials with 2,614 women.
• How it was used: treatment applied at Shenque (the navel) as herbal patches, moxibustion, or a combination of at least two methods.
• Compared with what: most trials compared navel therapy with conventional medicines for period pain. Only one small trial, with 90 women, compared it with a placebo, and in that trial navel therapy reduced overall menstrual symptoms more.
• What they measured: pain intensity on a standard pain scale, overall menstrual symptom scores at the end of treatment, and how many women’s symptoms had resolved three months later.

The results: compared with the conventional medicines, navel therapy scored better on pain intensity at the end of treatment (3 trials, 262 women), on overall symptom scores (12 trials, 990 women) and on symptom relief at three months (13 trials, 1,527 women). When the reviewers split the trials into subgroups, navel therapy did either better than or about as well as the medicines. No major side effects were reported.

The important caution: the reviewers rated the methodological quality of the trials as poor overall. They concluded that navel therapy appears more effective, but that the findings must be confirmed in larger, well-designed trials. So this is encouraging early evidence, not proof.

Navel oiling has not been tested in clinical trials. Online claims about eyesight, fertility, weight loss or “detox” through the belly button have no good evidence.

Is belly button therapy safe?

Simple methods are low-risk for most adults. Take these precautions:

• Keep the navel clean and dry. It’s a natural fold where moisture and bacteria collect.
• Don’t apply anything over broken, irritated or infected skin, a rash, a lump, a recent surgical scar or a navel piercing.
• Stop if you notice redness, itching, burning or blistering.
• Never use undiluted essential oils, and test any oil or herb on a small patch of skin first.
• Heat therapy such as moxibustion can burn. It’s best done by a trained practitioner.
• Deep abdominal massage isn’t suitable in pregnancy, after recent abdominal surgery, or with a hernia or unexplained belly pain.
• Pregnancy, breastfeeding, medical treatment or ongoing conditions: check with your clinician before using herbal navel products, since external use doesn’t establish safety.
• Babies: never apply anything to a newborn’s umbilical cord or healing navel unless a doctor advises it.

See a doctor for a navel that’s painful, swollen, bleeding, discharging or bulging, which can be signs of infection or a hernia.

The Five Essences herbal pouch: a modern navel method

In 2015, Dr. Qingcai Wang, an MD and PhD with more than 20 years in biomedical and cancer research, developed the external herbal pouch: dried herbal powder sealed inside a stitched fabric pouch, worn over the navel and held by a reusable belt. It keeps the Shenque tradition but removes the mess and some of the risks:

• Sealed and dry. No oil, paste or loose powder touches the skin directly.
• No heat or flame.
• Worn 20 to 24 hours a day, replaced every five days.
• Formulas based on the classics, including the Shang Han Lun, Jin Gui Yao Lue and Shennong Ben Cao Jing, with different pouches for different patterns, such as CycleBalance for irregular period timing.

The pouch was not one of the methods tested in the review above, and its formulas are different from the herbal patches used in those trials, so those results don’t apply to it. Its evidence is honest and limited: practice records, not controlled trials of the current formulas. The pouches are complementary wellness products, not treatments for any disease, and they work alongside medical care, not instead of it. See Dong Quai Benefits for Women for an example of a classical herb used this way.

How the herbal pouch works →

Quick answers

What is navel oil?
Any oil placed in the belly button for navel oiling. Common choices are castor, coconut, sesame and almond oil. Some products sold as “navel oil” are blends, so check the ingredients for allergens.

What are the benefits of navel oiling?
Traditionally, it’s used for digestion, skin and relaxation. It may soften dry skin around the navel, but the other benefits haven’t been tested.

What are navel oiling benefits for women?
Women are often told it eases period cramps, balances hormones or helps fertility. None of these has been tested. Warmth and gentle belly massage may ease cramps for some women, but any new or severe period pain should be checked.

Which oil is best for the belly button?
There’s no evidence that one oil works better. Choose a gentle oil you’re not allergic to, such as coconut or sesame, and patch-test first. See the belly button oil chart above.

What is the navel called in Chinese medicine?
Shenque (CV8), an acupoint used for external methods such as herbal application and moxibustion.

Reviewed October 2026. Author: Qingcai Wang, MD, PhD, developer of the Five Essences external herbal-pouch formulations, with a commercial interest in their sale. General education only; continue your medical care.

Sources: Yan LJ et al. Effectiveness and safety of Chinese medicine at Shenque (CV 8) for primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine (2022); The effects of abdominal meridian massage on menstrual cramps and dysmenorrhea in full-time employed women. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing (2005); Acupoint herbal plaster for primary dysmenorrhea: trial protocol. Trials (2018).

Explore the herbal pouches

Every Five Essences pouch is worn over the navel, nothing swallowed, with a fresh pouch every five days. Each first course is covered by the 90-Day First-Course Satisfaction Guarantee.

→ Shop the pouches

Wellness support, not medical care.

This article is part of our Women’s Core Health guide — cycle, fertility and postpartum, in one place.