Nipple Piercing & Jewelry Guide

So, you're considering a nipple piercings. Here is all the information you need to know so that you are well-informed and feel confident when you finally pierce your nipples.

The most common jewelry used for a nipple piercing is a 14 gauge (14G) barbell, but you might get pierced with 16G (thinner than 14G) or even 12G (thicker than 14G) depending on your nipple size. You will most commonly be pierced with a straight barbell. A good piercer will choose only high quality metals like titanium, 14k gold, or 18k gold. In the past, CBRs (captive bead rings) were a popular choice as the initial jewelry for nipple piercings, but they have gone to the wayside due to the large diameter required to obtain a straight piercing as well as their tendency to get bumped and snagged. (Once your piercing has healed, however, you can switch to a CBR if that's your preferred style.)

The length of the barbell used will depend on the size of your nipples and your piercer’s preferences. It can be anywhere from 3/8-inch to 1/2-inch long. The initial jewelry will need to be long enough to accommodate swelling. If your nipples swell enough to push on the ends of the jewelry, you will need to be fit with a larger piece, otherwise you risk jewelry rejection or embedding.

Your Nipple Piercing Is Healed. Now What?

You followed all of the advice, and you’re completely healed. Now for the fun part: shopping for new gold nipple rings to adorn your sexy nipple piercing.

It’s important to know your size. If in doubt, you should check out our body jewelry sizes. Typically, you want to look for 14G or 16G nipple jewelry with a wearable length of at least 5/8-inch.

If you value your piercing, you'll always want to stick to high quality materials, such as nickel-free solid gold, when buying a new nipple ring. The reason for this is that these precious metals are more pure and tend to have fewer alloys that your nipple can react to. Find out more about nipple piercings here.