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February 3, 2006 11:18 AM

Piercing Filter: no pictures, but those under 18 should respectfully get lost.

Considering a nipple piercing. I don't want this to be obvious when I am clothed. What sort of jewelry is least likely to show through a shirt? Any experiences/advice you are willing to share are appreciated!

posted by anonymous to grab bag (13 comments total)

Wish you'd said if you were male or female.

The only friends I have ever had who managed to keep their nipple piercings non-visible were women who wore a padded bra. Any other support garment and they had the clear 2 (captive bead) or 3 (barbell) nipple look.

If you want to conceal it on occassion you can take a tip from a more chaste age and put a band-aid over it. If you want to conceal it most of the time... you may be out of luck. Nobody wants to suck on your adhesive & rubber flavored nip.
posted by phearlez at 11:28 AM on February 3, 2006

I've found that CBRs are the least noticeable.
posted by Bucket o' Heads at 11:34 AM on February 3, 2006

Both captive bead rings and barbells are somewhat visible - as phearlez says, the beads show. CBRs may be less visible - but only just. If you wear baggy clothing, you'll be fine, but if you wear tight clothing, you'll need something underneath [padded bra, largish band-aids, ace bandage, another shirt with heavier cloth, whatever works.]

For the initial jewelry, you may want to consider barbells - they get knocked around less than CBRs, which might help with healing. Since rejection is a not-infrequent problem with these piercings, anything that eases the healing process is worth trying. You can switch later, of course.
posted by ubersturm at 11:58 AM on February 3, 2006

A ring without a captive bead is a bit less visible (and, in my opinion, more attractive while being less trendy).
posted by majick at 12:05 PM on February 3, 2006

Get both pierced, it's sexier. Wearing an undershirt seems to work fine for concealment for several friends of mine with small rings (without captive balls).
posted by OmieWise at 12:09 PM on February 3, 2006

background: i am a dude who once had both nipples pierced. I had small hoops (whatever the standard is) with the little ball thingies (why, yes, I am an expert on the jargon) back in the day, when I generally wore t-shirts. Sometimes people would notice, particularly when I wore tighter shirts, but generally no one appeared to picked up on it. I took them out a few years ago, but I can't imagine them being apparent through my current wardrobe of undershirts and dress shirts.
posted by subgenius at 12:10 PM on February 3, 2006

Friend of mine has a nipple piercing (male friend) and I seriously never notice. Hell, I didn't really know until he posted about it on his blog. CBR, I believe.
posted by Medieval Maven at 12:41 PM on February 3, 2006

I'm a man and I've got a ring through my left nipple. Nobody's ever noticed as far as I know.

Actually, that's not true. I did a magnetism demo to a class once and asked them if they though a magnet would stick to my head. They said no. It didn't. Then I asked them if they thought it would stick to my chest ...

Seriously though, it's great, go for it.
posted by alby at 1:20 PM on February 3, 2006

I've got a captive bead ring. It's noticeable when I wear tight t-shirts, but when I'm wearing oxford style shirts at work, it's not that noticable, if at all. No one's noticed it at work that I can tell. I would also think that folks who aren't experienced with them previously aren't going to pick up on extra bumps unless they're staring right at your chest.
posted by ursus_comiter at 1:50 PM on February 3, 2006

I have a small non-bead ring, just like a regular small hoop earring. Once the initial piercing heals, you can pretty much put whatever you want in there. If you have a really small gauge ring, you can put it in there and it's pretty unnoticable. If you're a woman, any sort of bra will cover it up, undershirt if you're a dude.

As for experiences, I've had mine for two decades. Some people think its hot, some people think it's ooky, and most people are pretty in-between about it. Having a piercing that you CAN show off sometimes with a tight shirt is nice to be able to do.
posted by jessamyn at 2:13 PM on February 3, 2006

I have a CBR through my left nipple, it's an 8 gauge, which is somewhat larger than is common in men. I've had it for about 13 years, and went from 12g to 8g about 5 years ago. I love it.

If I wear a Tshirt or button-down with a pocket, or wear an undershirt under anything else, the ring and its bead are completely invisible.

When I wear a tight(er) shirt, I have the classic "two bumps, one over the other". The only people who know what they're looking at are those who are familiar with piercings.

The type of people (that you believe) will look at you negatively for your piercing will never know you're pierced unless you tell them. They may be able to see it through your shirt sometimes, but they'll never realize what they're looking at -- it's off the radar.

Incidentally, it's significantly easier to clean a ring than a barbell, so initially, you should probably get a ring. Once you've had it a few months, feel free to change to a style that fits your personal taste.
posted by toxic at 2:39 PM on February 3, 2006

I'll agree with toxic that an undershirt will hide it about 99% of the time and then it is only noticed by those that are looking. I've also got 8g in both. Since it hasn't been mentioned check out bmezine for inspiration and tips on aftercare.

I agree with OmieWise, get both. Better symmetry and you can get through all of the aftercare/healing at once.
posted by geekyguy at 9:10 PM on February 3, 2006

toxic, you're right about ease of cleaning, but rings put more stress on the nipple. Some people can heal them fine [and maybe anonymous will be one of them] but after two failed attempts on my part to heal them with CBRs, my [very reputable] piercer suggested that I try barbells. This time things've been going a lot better. If anonymous has experience with piercings and is good with aftercare, barbells might minimize the possibility of rejection, and they're still quite cleanable.

And yeah, do both at once.
posted by ubersturm at 10:40 PM on February 3, 2006