Nipple piercings have increased in popularity over time. They’ve been one of our most popular piercings for the the last couple of years!
For initial healing, we start nipple piercings with straight bars. Rings tend to move too much and can put pressure on the piercings, leading to bumps or scar tissue, longer healing, or greater chance of migration. We have all sorts of barbell options available, from basic ball ends to gems and precious metals.
For some, rings can be an option once the piercings are healed, but the necessary diameter to prevent damage to the piercings can be larger than expected.
“Standard” placement is horizontal, but any angle can be pierced, including vertical and 45º angles. For placements other than horizontal, rings don’t work very well.
Nipple & Navel Piercings
Nipple Piercings
Healing time for these piercings is typically 6 to 9 months but may take longer for some individuals.
Nipples are almost always “pierce-able.” It is important to give sufficient healing time after any surgery in the area for complete healing and for circulation to return to normal in the area. After more invasive surgery, such as augmentation or reduction surgery, we recommend at least 6-12 months of recovery time before piercing.
Inverted nipples can also pose a challenge. Most commonly, folks will have a “level 1” inversion, where the nipple is inverted when relaxed, but will easily pop out. This level doesn’t seem to make much difference for nipple piercings. “Level 2” inversions are a little more intense, but are still able to be returned to “normal”. They may retract again once pressure is removed. The tissue is a little tighter than with Level 1 inversions, which seems to cause a bit more swelling and longer healing times. This may mean jewelry will need to be upsized and downsized a few times during the healing process. Occasionally, the inversion may be strong enough that healing times are greatly lengthened. If this is the case, it’s often beneficial to remove the piercings and pierce again at a later date. The second set of piercings generally heal much easier. Nipple piercings can help reverse inversions, sometimes without full healing of the piercings.
For “Level 3” inversions, where the nipple will not pop out at all, nipple piercings are not recommended.
AVERAGE HEALING TIME: 6-9 MONTHS OR LONGER
(12 months or longer is possible, especially for larger nipples/breasts)
Nipple piercing, single
Male or female nipple piercing service, one side, horizontal/vertical/45o/etc.
Nipple piercings, pair
Male or female nipple piercing service, both sides.
Nipple piercings, simultaneous
Male or female nipple piercing service, both sides. Two piercers will pierce simultaneously for a faster, easier experience. **LIMITED AVAILABILITY**
Navel Piercings
Healing time for this piercing is typically 6 to 9 months but may take longer for some individuals
"Standard" Navel Piercings
An “ideal” navel will have a pronounced “shelf,” a deep enough opening to comfortably accommodate your jewelry, and won’t collapse when you sit down. With a navel this shape, initial jewelry will be a curved barbell, with or without gems. We estimate that only about 30-40% of folks have a navel with this shape.
Floating Navel Piercings
For navels that aren’t quite “ideal” but still have enough of a shelf to support a healthy piercing, a “floating navel” piercing may be an option. Navels like these often close shut when you sit down. The main difference is that the jewelry will have a small disk or ball on the bottom, with the decoration at the top. This smaller bottom helps take pressure off the piercing for easier healing. Dangles can be added to the top of healed piercings for extra bling. For some, a j-curve may be a viable option for bottom decoration once healed.
For others, it may be best to pierce the bottom instead. Some folks have a more pronounced rim on the bottom, rather than the top.Pair text with an image to focus on your chosen product, collection, or blog post. Add details on availability, style, or even provide a review.
Not Ideal Anatomy for Navel Piercings
If the navel is so deep the actual structural part of the navel isn’t visible when you’re standing, this can also cause rejection and scarring. Putting a piercing in the actual navel with this anatomy causes it to have pressure on it all the time, as it’s in the folds of the tissue. Some piercers mistakenly try to do a shallower piercing to make the jewelry more visible and keep the piercing out of the folds. However, this just results in a surface piercing of the stomach with a curved bar, which is pretty much doomed from the start.
Surgical Scarring
Another factor in the “pierce-ability” of a navel is surgical scarring. First, your body needs to recover from surgery so that there isn’t extra strain on your immune system, and circulation needs to return to normal in the area. For more extensive surgeries like tummy tucks, it can be difficult if not impossible to successfully heal a navel piercing afterwards. Surgeons often leave very little tissue to support a piercing and rarely shape a pronounced lip. The circulation in the tissue can be negatively affected for months, if not years, after the procedure. Scar tissue can be very tough and not elastic like normal skin, making rejection more likely. For these reasons, we do NOT recommend navel piercings after tummy tucks.
Consultations
Because this piercing is so dependent on anatomy and our availability is so limited right now, we strongly recommend a video consult with our piercers prior to booking an appointment for the piercing. We can do an anatomy consult during your appointment, however, if you do not get a piercing service of any kind during your appointment, there will be a $60 cancellation fee. Please consider a backup piercing!
Anatomy Consultation
Book this service for a video consultation with on of our piercers to see if you are a good candidate for a navel piercing. We’ll also be able to show you what jewelry options would be available for your anatomy
Navel piercing, double
Double navel/belly button piercing service: top/bottom or paired sides. **ANATOMY THAT WILL ACCOMMODATE 2 PIERCINGS IS VERY RARE**