30 Spectacular Nipple Tattoos Designs & Meanings – For Men and Women (2019)

Although the art of tattooing has been around for ages, nipple tattooing is a relatively new concept. People get tattoos for almost every part of the body with the nipple included, but this tattoo became popular in 2013. Unlike other tattoos, this one originated from one of the least expected places.

The modern nipple tattoo was first used in breast reconstruction procedures after a mastectomy. However, soon after people started getting more creative with these tattoos by giving them an artistic touch.

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Meaning of the tattoos

Just like any other tattoo type this tattoos will have different meanings depending on the type of the tattoo, the person with the tattoo and the reason they have it.

For the group of people that get this tattoo during a breast reconstruction procedure this tattoo probably means a lot to them than those who have one for fun.

A nipple tattoo inked after a mastectomy is a sign of resilience and survival. This symbol shows that one had breast cancer, and they conquered it against all odds and after going through the painful experience.

This group of people normally have a simple 3D tattoo inked on them to portray the nipple that they lost during the procedure. Every time they look at themselves in the mirror they get a sense of normalcy as they can see their whole body again.

Some women are also not willing to go through another surgery to reconstruct their nipple, or maybe they underwent one, but it did not work, and so a tattoo is an alternative.

For people who have not had to go through the painful experience of mastectomy this tattoos normally mean different things. While some people get silly ones, that will always give them a reason to smile every time they look in the mirror others use them to remember someone dear to them.

A woman can tattoo the name of his husband or boyfriend or draw his face on the breast with the nipple making one of the eyes. Every time they look at the breast they will always be reminded of the person they love.

These tattoos are also often used for awareness and to show support for people who have breast cancer. If you have a close friend or relative who is fighting breast cancer, then this tattoo might be one way to offer support to them. Some people will also use this tattoo to remind themselves of a loved one lost to a type of breast cancer.

Types of Nipple Tattoos

With the creativity out there and the immense popularity of these tattoos globally, it would be impossible and inaccurate to classify these tattoos into a few distinct types.

These tattoos vary from one person to another and besides from the simple 3D tattoos for nipple reconstruction almost all the others are unique to the people who have them.

However, based on the theme of the tattoos the following are some of the famous ones.

• Nipple Areola Tattoo

This is perhaps the simplest of these types of tattoos. One can get this tattoo during a cosmetic procedure or from a professional tattoo artist. There is nothing fancy with this tattoo as it is only meant to give one an ordinary looking nipple.

In case one of your nipples is damaged or missing after a mastectomy this tattoo will help give your breast its original appearance.

• Faces

Creativity in tattooing has no borders and the faces nipple tattoos help to ascertain this. People draw different faces on their breasts with nipple forming one part of the face. With a skilled tattoo artist, this tattoo can look incredible.

Depending on personal preferences and tastes, one can have a human face or a cartoon character inked on them. The size of the face also varies with the person as some might prefer huge faces covering the entire breast, and others prefer a smaller one covering only the areola region.

• Flower Tattoos

Flower tattoos are also another very popular type of these tattoos, and the options are unlimited. Here you can get different types of flower on your breast with the nipple forming the flowers bud or any other flower part you may wish. If you use good colors, this tattoos will look fantastic on you.

Although you can use any color you like, bright colors seem to work well for this tattoos.

• Heart Shaped Tattoo

This is perhaps one of the most popular if not the most popular of this type of tattoos. In this tattoo, the areola is reshaped into a heart using a color that matches its original appearance. This tattoo looks great especially if you get it for both breasts.

You can use different colors, but a color that matches your skin color will look not only amazing but also natural.

• Worded Tattoo

With this tattoo you do not have to get any image because a few characters or words will do just fine. Depending on your preferences and the reason you are getting the tattoo you can write anything for example “I Survived” or maybe “I Love You” just above the nipple or bellow it.

This tattoo can also be combined with the flower tattoo or a face tattoo.

• Bull tattoo

A bull tattoo looks fantastic no matter where you draw it. Although anybody can have, this tattoo men prefer it more as some people consider it a symbol of masculinity. To make this tattoo look better, you can add a ring on it by piercing your nipple.

In this case, the nipple should form the bulls nose and so the ring will be a nose ring for the bull.

• Pulling the pin

This type of tattoo is not very popular, but it looks incredible. This tattoo is made up of a grenade and a nipple ring. The tattoo is drawn in such a way that makes the ring look like a grenade pin. You can add a few words like “Do Not Pull The Pin” to enhance its appearance.

• Breast Cancer ribbon

This tattoo is more popular with breast cancer survivors and with people who have lost a person to this cancer. Instead of drawing the traditional ribbon as it is an artist can come up with a few alterations to the ribbon or draw it together with another tattoo to make it look beautiful on your nipple.