Nipple(s)

As the name suggests, a nipple piercing involves perforating the nipple.

This piercing should run not only through the areola, but directly at the junction between the nipple and the areola.

With women this is easily done, whereas with men the piercer will have to cheat a little and take in some of the areola as well.

The piercer will of course explain the entire procedure in detail before performing it.

Generally women will get both nipples pierced, simply because it looks so good. Men, on the other hand, tend to get only one done.

The fact that a man wears a nipple ring says nothing about his sexual orientation. Whether one is heterosexual or not, one can have one’s nipple pierced without it being a sign of homosexuality.

Origins:

Nipple piercing was already widespread among the men of the Karankawa tribes around the Gulf of Mexico or among the Kabyle women of Morocco.

The earliest accounts of nipples being pierced for the wearing of jewelry date from the middle of the 14th century. At that time noble women also wore very deep decolletés which exposed the breast and sometimes even the nipples. Princess Isabeau set a trend in which the exposed breast was adorned with diamond rings or gold chains. Some centuries later, in 1890 of the Victorian Age, Paris and London saw the advent of a new fashion known as Anneax De Sein (Breast Rings), in which the breast was pierced and adorned with jewelry. This was generally an expensive practice and was therefore reserved for the upper class. In the 1970s piercings became widespread thanks to the Gauntlet in Los Angeles, a studio and social meeting place, and the magazine PFIQ, but initially only on the piercing scene.

Healing and care:

A nipple piercing can take between 2 ½ and 6 months to heal completely, rarely longer. Like other external piercings, in the first three weeks it should be cleaned with ProntoLind spray twice a day, and then coated with ProntoLind gel. It is important to wash your hands before touching the pierced area and the jewelry itself. By caring for the piercing in the correct manner and with the proper materials, you will rarely have to deal with cases of proud flesh.

Disinfectant solutions containing alcohol or chlorine should be avoided.

Jewelry:

This piercing requires a straight rod of 1.6mm, but rings can be used just as well.

Women generally use jewelry ranging between 1.6mm-2.0mm, whereas men will stretch the nipple up to 4.0mm or more.

Breastfeeding

Although many women fear that a nipple piercing will stop them from breastfeeding, in fact there are rarely complications in this respect. While breastfeeding, the mother should of course remove the jewelry to make suckling easier for the baby, and because there is always a risk that the infant could swallow it and suffocate.