Many people are confused about the permanence of 3D Nipple Tattoos. You may be wondering Do Nipple Tattoos fade?

Do Nipple Tattoos fade? A Permanent Nipple Tattoo created by a specialist Nipple Tattooist using the correct ink, equipment and techniques should not fade away. It is made using the same ink as a body art tattoo and will last a lifetime if cared for properly.

However, many Nipple Tattoos are created by Cosmetic Tattooists using semi-permanent ink, equipment and techniques designed for cosmetic effects. These Nipple Tattoos will fade away somewhere between 6 months to a few years.

It is of crucial importance to understand the difference and to research the experience, background and techniques of your Nipple Tattooist before booking to ensure your Nipple Tattoos don’t fade away. 

Making sure you get a Nipple Tattoo that won’t fade away and disappear.

It can be very confusing when you are starting to look into getting a Nipple Tattoo. It’s so important you understand why some Nipple Tattoos will disappear before 6 months are up and why some are permanent. 

Many Cosmetic Tattooists offer areola tattooing as an addition to their other cosmetic related skills. They create Nipple Tattoos using the same equipment and pigments designed for eyebrows, lip liner etc. The equipment and pigments are perfect for the soft effects needed for eyebrows. It’s important that the pigments fade in this application as eyebrows change and age over time and need to be adjusted. This is the perfect application for these pigments and some skilled cosmetic tattooists are creating beautiful eyebrow work.

However, Nipples do not need to be adjusted with age and need to be permanent for the mental well being of the client. Nipples which fade away and constantly need retouching can be upsetting, never allowing the client to put Breast Cancer behind them. Fading cosmetic pigments should not be used for this application. 

The cosmetic tattoo industry operates on a model of repeat business where clients keep returning for top-ups on an ongoing basis. This is generally around yearly for Nipple Tattoos. Many Cosmetic Tattooists charge around 3/4 of the initial fee for a colour top-up.

Bearing in mind that this may need to be repeated approximately 1-2 yearly and indefinitely this can mean a significant lifetime financial outlay if you want to keep your Nipple Tattoos looking realistic without fading.

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Do Nipple Tattoos Fade? How to get a PERMANENT Nipple Tattoo after Breast Cancer that WONT fade away…

The differences between Specialist Permanent Nipple Tattooists and Cosmetic Tattooists

Why do Nipple Tattoos fade if done by the NHS?

Firstly I need to say that the NHS and Breast Care Nurses, in particular, do a wonderful job. However, the truth is that they are trained as nurses, not specialist artistic tattooists. 

They do the best they can with the pigments and equipment they are provided with and the techniques they are taught but it’s difficult for them to achieve a quality result that won’t fade.

The NHS sends nurses on a two-day training course as it obviously can’t put them through an intensive two-year tattoo apprenticeship with all that entails. However, the 2-day course does little to prepare them for the challenging work they are then asked to carry out.

The difficulties they come up against are…

• Limited pigment range.
  They are provided with semi-permanent pigments which have a limited range of colours. The available colours are softer and so are not very good at creating the highlights and details for the Nipples to look realistic or to match an existing nipple. Of course, they are semi-permanent so will fade quickly.
• Needle limitations.
  There is often a limit set on the number of needles they are allowed to use. They are often only allowed one or two different needles types to work with. A detailed Permanent Nipple Tattoo may need 4 or 5 different needle types to achieve realism. Scar tissue may require a variety of different needles to achieve a result with good retention.
• Limited Experience.
  Sadly a 2-day course just doesn’t prepare anyone for the kind of delicate, radiation-damaged and scarred skin they are likely to encounter after breast cancer surgery. It’s not the kind of specialist tattoo work you want to be attempting after a 2-day training course and needs experience..
• Time limitations.
  Hospitals understandably have to run to budgets and see a certain number of patients a day. Nurses may be required to complete one nipple tattoo patient in an hour. This leaves little time for colour matching, getting the right placement and positioning and detailed work.
• Technique limitations.
  On the training course that they undergo, nurses are given a “one size fits all” standard technique to use. This may not work on certain types of skin or scarring. Poor technique results in poor pigment retention as the ink is not inserted into the correct skin layer and will fade quickly.
• Artistic Limitations.
  Nurses are generally not artistically trained and so don’t have the art skills needed to create a realistic nipple or a copy of an existing nipple.

I love the NHS and the Breast Care Nurses especially are absolute stars. Whilst most nurses do the absolute best they can, the training and equipment they are given make it frustratingly impossible for them to create a nipple that won’t quickly fade away. 

Tattooing is a skill which looks deceptively simple to the observer leading people to think it is easily picked up from scratch on a short course. However, it takes years of experience to create a high-quality permanent outcome without causing further damage, especially on difficult scarring.

Checklist for finding a Nipple Tattooist who can create non-fading Nipples

Case Study

Failed, faded NHS Nipple Tattoo done three times and Rescue Permanent Nipple Tattoo

This lady came to me after 3 failed attempts at Nipple Tattooing in Hospital. She was initially tattooed by her surgeon under full theatre conditions. She was shocked and worried at how much this had potentially cost the NHS. 

The pink shiny disc of the areola area in the photo is thin translucent scar tissue which has been caused by overworking of the skin.

Overworking can happen when the equipment used is underpowered and/or the technique of the operative isn’t correct causing difficulty implanting the pigment. Someone who isn’t experienced working with scar tissue will then go over and over the area in an attempt to get some colour in which seems to have happened here. This damages the skin and causes a shiny delicate type of scar tissue which is very difficult to subsequently fix as it won’t take ink easily.

The surgeon in this case also used the wrong type of skin marker to mark the areola on. The ink from the blue marker was subsequently tattooed into the deeper layers of tissue. This can be seen as the discoloured semicircle around the lower edge of the areola.

The lady reported this initial Nipple Tattoo took a long time to heal and then faded quickly.

She then returned to the hospital twice for Nipple Tattooing by her Breast Care Nurses. Whilst they did as good a job as they could with the equipment provided, they could not get ink to take in the Nipple and each attempt faded within weeks. This was because the area was so scarred and delicate and now would not take ink, especially from low powered cosmetic equipment. Any further attempts with low powered equipment risks further damage to this fragile scarred area.

I was able to use advanced techniques to build up the pigment gently into the scarring. This will be the only way to get the scarring to accept pigment now after the damage caused and it may take several sessions to get the retention needed as we build up the ink gently without causing further damage to this fragile area.

The photo shows the result after the first rescue session. She will probably need another one or two sessions. Once finished, this Nipple Tattoo will be permanent.

Free consultation

I really hope this post has given you the information needed to understand why some Nipple Tattoos fade away and how to make sure you get a Nipple Tattoo that is permanent.

If you have any further questions I offer a FREE no-obligation consultation where you can chat through your questions. This can be done either in person or over the phone or email. Just get in touch using the contact details below.