Tattoo or prosthetic
Prosthetic nipples or a nipple tattoo?
Both can give you a nipple and areola again, in different ways. A nipple tattoo adds colour to the skin and lasts around three to five years before it may need touching up. A prosthetic nipple adds shape and projection as well as colour, and you put it on or take it off whenever you choose.
How a nipple tattoo works
A nipple and areola tattoo puts pigment into the skin to recreate the colour of a nipple. Skilled artists use shading to suggest depth, often called a 3D nipple tattoo, but the skin itself stays flat. A tattoo is always there, which many people value, and it fades over time, usually lasting around three to five years before it may need touching up.
Skin needs to have settled and healed before it is tattooed, so a tattoo can mean a wait. The North East Nipple Project offers funded 3D areola tattooing across the North East of England, and Bloom gives 10% of every sale to it.
How prosthetic nipples work
A prosthetic nipple is a thin, realistic piece, usually silicone, shaped and coloured like a nipple and areola, that you wear on the skin. Because it has form, it gives you projection as well as colour, which a tattoo cannot. You can take it off at the end of the day, choose not to wear it, or change your mind entirely.
You can have one ready-made from a range of shades, made to your own brief, or mirrored from a mould of a side that is still yours. There is no needle and nothing permanent, and you can wear one while you wait for a tattoo, if you choose to have a tattoo at all.
| Nipple tattoo | Prosthetic nipple | |
|---|---|---|
| What it gives you | Colour on flat skin | Colour, shape and projection |
| Permanent? | Yes, until it fades | No, it comes off whenever you like |
| How long it lasts | Around three to five years before a touch up | Replaced when you choose |
| Waiting | Until your skin has settled and healed | Whenever you choose, on healed skin |
| Changing your mind | Hard to undo | Simply stop wearing it |
| Cost | Varies, with funded places through the North East Nipple Project | At Bloom, from £160 |
Using both
This does not have to be a choice between one and the other. Some people wear a prosthetic nipple while they wait for tattooing, some choose one instead of a tattoo, and some use both at different times: a tattoo for everyday colour and a prosthetic for the days they want shape.
Questions to ask yourself
- Do you want projection, or is colour enough?
- Would you rather have something permanent, or something you can take off?
- How do you feel about waiting, and about touch ups later?
- Would you like to decide day by day?
There is no right answer, only the one that suits you. If you are leaning towards a prosthetic, Bloom Signature is the simplest start and Mould and Mirror is moulded and colour matched to you in person. For every price, see what a Bloom costs, and for the full picture, the guide to Bloom prosthetic nipples.
Questions
Tattoo or prosthetic, answered
How long do nipple tattoos last?
A nipple tattoo usually lasts around three to five years before it may need touching up. How quickly it fades depends on your skin and the tattoo itself.
How long do I have to wait for a nipple tattoo?
It depends on your skin, which needs to have settled and healed before it is tattooed. Your tattoo artist will tell you when it is ready.
Can I wear prosthetic nipples while I wait for a tattoo?
Yes. Many people wear a prosthetic nipple while they wait for a tattoo. Only wear anything on skin that has fully healed.
Do prosthetic nipples look better than a nipple tattoo?
Neither is better for everyone. A tattoo gives colour on flat skin, while a prosthetic nipple gives colour and shape, including projection, and comes off when you want. What looks right is what feels right to you.
Tattoo, prosthetic, or both
Whatever you choose, it is yours to choose. If a prosthetic feels right, now or while you wait, the range is here.
More guides
Keep reading
- Prosthetic nipples: the UK guideWhat Bloom prosthetic nipples are, who they are for, ready made or mirrored from a mould, what they cost and how to choose your shade. The UK guide from Bloom.
- How much do Bloom prosthetic nipples cost?Every Bloom price in one place: Bloom Signature, Mould and Mirror, moulds, fittings and gift vouchers, what changes the price, and how to spread the cost.