Your Ultimate Guide to Breast Tattoos

More and more women are getting breast tattoos, and it’s not difficult to see why! You can get a wide range of different breast tattoo designs that can look super unique, like flowers placed on the sternum, or significantly larger tattoos that will accentuate the breasts.

They are incredibly feminine and look amazing.

You can even get a tattoo that will go as far as the top of the chest, past the collarbone and around the areola and nipple. There are so many options to choose from.

Of course, if you are going to get a tattoo on the chest, then it’s a really good idea to make a few considerations first and get informed.

You will need to know what to expect from the tattoo process so that you can make a choice that you will be happy with.

Tattoos Under the Breast and On The Sternum

So why are these kinds of tattoos becoming so commonplace? Well, the obvious answer is that a lot of celebrities like Rihanna rock them and they look great!

In addition to that though, they are a great choice if you want to get a tattoo that you can hide easily.

All you have to do to hide a tattoo on the sternum is put a shirt on. There’s no way of even knowing if you have a tattoo, since people aren’t going to take your shirt off to look – not unless you give them permission!

It’s ideal if you don’t want your boss or your family to see your tattoo. There are some things that you need to think about before you get the tattoo.

Accuracy and Pain Management

So how do you know how painful a tattoo is going to be? Easy. How much skin is in the area? If there’s a lot of flesh in the location of the prospective tattoo or if there’s a lot of fat in the area, then it will be a lot harder for the tattoo needle to get to the bone underneath.

This is important since it will make the tattoo process a lot less painful.

When you’re getting a tattoo for the very first time, a tattoo artist will usually suggest that you get a tattoo on the forearm first. There’s a lot more flesh and skin on this part of the body, so it isn’t as painful to get a tattoo there.

It’s a good choice if you’re a bit nervous about getting your first tattoo because of the pain potential. You can then get something that may be a bit more painful when you are more used to the tattoo procedure.

There are some areas on your body that are going to be a lot more painful when you get a tattoo there – this includes the collar bone, spine, ribs, ribs and of course the sternum.

This is because there isn’t a lot of flesh and skin in this location so the needle is more likely to go through to the bone.

This is incredibly painful for some people, so that’s something that you may need to be aware of. 

As it turns out, a lot of people will actually tell you that sternum tattoos are some of the most painful ones to get.

It can usually take a lot longer for tattoo artists to do work in areas that are particularly sensitive too, since they need to have a lot of accuracy in what  they do.

If you are concerned about the pain levels when getting a sternum tattoo, it may be a good idea to get a design that’s a little bit smaller to reduce the time spent getting the tattoo.

There’s nothing wrong with getting something small to begin with and then expanding on it later on when you feel a little more confident about getting a tattoo in this area.

Now, pain is something that is very subjective. Something that may be painful for someone else may not be super painful for you since we all have our own pain thresholds. It’s worth keeping that in mind before you go for your tattoo.

Tattoos on the Top of the Chest

If you are looking to get a particularly large tattoo then it’s a good idea to get one on the top of the chest. There’s plenty of space for a tattoo to go here, and this is very convenient for a tattoo artist.

Unfortunately though, there’s one big problem with getting a tattoo here. Since it’s higher up on your body, you may have a slightly harder time covering it up when you need to do so.

It’s a lot harder to cover a top of chest tattoo than it is to cover a sternum tattoo or a tattoo under the breast. You’re going to have to wear clothing with a higher neckline in order to cover the tattoo. 

The skin over your ribs is present on this part of the body. As such, it may still be pretty painful to get a tattoo here because the skin is close to bone.

This is especially true if you are going to be getting a tattoo that goes quite high and gets to the collar bone.

Like with sternum tattoos, there are a lot of different options available for upper chest tattoos. You don’t even have to get anything overly large if you don’t want to.

You can get miniature tattoos that will look fantastic on this part of the body. You could get tattoos in the design of a constellation, the moon, and various other things. You can get really creative with it! 

It is important to note though that it’s good to think ahead when getting a tattoo in this area. If you want to get tattoos later down the line then you may want to think about whether you can add to a small tattoo later on.

If there’s any chance that you may want to expand on the tattoo later on, then you will want to make sure that the design is suitable for adding extra details later down the line.

Tattoos on the Areola

These tattoos can look wonderful, and are often selected by people who have survived breast cancer. When they have finished having surgery, breast cancer survivors will usually get tattoos in this area to remind themselves of their agency to regain control of their bodies.

It allows the person to reconstruct the appearance of the nipple, adding suitable color.

This isn’t the only reason that people have tattoos on the areola though. This type of tattooing involves a lot of techniques and details.

It can often be used by people that want to feel a little more confident in their naked bodies but they want to avoid invasive surgeries such as getting nipple reconstruction surgery.

Sometimes non binary and trans clients will opt for tattoos on the areola after they have had reconstruction and top surgery.

These tattoos are also a popular choice for people that have any kind of scarring, burns or skin grafts on their chest.

It’s often done for people that don’t feel confident with the way that their nipples naturally look and want them reshaped or re-pigmented.

You can get realistic areola tattoos or you can get ones with slightly more decorative designs. Whatever the case, they can look absolutely fantastic on a wide variety of people. 

How It’s Done

These tattoos involve a different procedure than what you would expect with your average kind of tattoo. It’s a little similar to microblading on the eyebrows in many respects.

The tattoo will need to be done by a professional tattoo artist that has plenty of experience. It’s done similarly to microblading, as you will add the color pigment implant right underneath the top layer of the skin.

It’s done with machines and involves a number of tiny needles that have been well sterilized and will be thrown away after use. Areola tattoos are designed to last significantly longer than microblading procedures, however.

As established already, this is a procedure that requires a lot of skill and expertise. As such, you should only get one of these tattoos from someone that has plenty of experience with doing them for other clients. This can give you the peace of mind that things will be done correctly.

Have a look for the artist’s before and after pictures in order to see what they have done in the past. There are also specific websites that specialize in providing more information on restorative areola tattoos, so it’s worth looking into that.

The Correct Care After Your Areola Tattoo

If you have had an areola tattoo, it’s important that you look after the tattoo after it has been done in the correct manner. This will enable the tattoo to heal a lot better. Your tattoo artist will usually give you aftercare instructions, but if not, here’s what you need to remember.

First of all, you will need to ensure that you clean the tattoo. For this you will simply need to wash it regularly using warm water and some fragrance free soap.

Use your hands for it too – you should not be putting any abrasive items like sponges near the tattoo since the ink can get damaged this way.

You can also use a diaper care ointment in order to help with healing the tattoo.

Using an aftercare cream, cover the tattoo. Make sure that you massage the cream into the tattooed area, keeping your hands clean before you do so. Most of these creams are rather thick so it’s a good idea to hold the tube in your hands for a while to warm it up.

This usually helps with even distribution of the product. Applying this cream is a good idea because the tattoo is kept moist and it isn’t as likely to scab over. It also helps to protect the skin and the tattoo from any external damage. 

During the healing process, it’s imperative that you stay away from the bathtub and you don’t go swimming.

This is because the healing scabs can end up falling off before the time is right, and this can mean that the ink also comes off too.

When you’re swimming, the pool is likely to have chlorine in it or other bacteria, and this can end up getting into the tattoo which can result in an infection. 

Getting the Tattoo

If you’re getting a tattoo or an upper rib tattoo, there’s no need to be shy. The people doing these kinds of tattoos see the female anatomy all the time!

For most of the appointment you are going to need to be without your shirt, so you should be aware of that. The tattoo artist won’t be able to do the tattoo if you are clothed, since they need to be able to see the breasts.

This isn’t the case for all tattoos though, such as for the chest by the collarbone. You will absolutely need to be topless for areola and sternum tattoos in most cases though.

As such, it’s really important that you get a tattoo artist that’s trustworthy that has no qualms with tattooing women who are topless.

It’s a good idea to see examples of their previous work too – check if they’ve done tattoos on the breast and the sternum.

You will then be a little more comfortable with each other, since you have fully communicated before the appointment.

During the research process into the tattoo artist, it’s a good idea to speak to them to check if there are any private rooms where you can get the procedure done. This will help to ensure that you don’t need to be topless around more people than necessary if this is something that makes you uncomfortable. 

Aftercare for Breast Tattoos

Now you’re got your tattoo – yay! The next thing to do is to follow the tattoo artist’s instructions for proper aftercare when you get home.

This will help with ensuring that your tattoo heals correctly after you have had the procedure done.

One thing that you will need to do is allow the tattoo to have access to the open air. As such, you need to avoid wearing really tight clothing over the tattoo while it’s in the process of healing.

This can be a bit troublesome if you wear a bra. During the two weeks following your appointment it’s a good idea to find something else to wear instead of a tattoo so there’s no friction on the tattoo.

Things like pasties will be fine if you have a smaller chest, but if your breasts are larger there are ‘sticky bras’ that you can use instead of a traditional bra.

If you are getting a breast tattoo it may also be a good idea to have it in the winter months, since baggy clothing is much more acceptable at this time.

Breast Feeding and Tattoos

If you are breastfeeding, you may be wondering how your tattoo will affect things. You don’t want your baby to be getting poor quality nutrition, after all.

You will want to know that it’s still safe to breastfeed when you have a breast tattoo.

Thankfully you don’t need to worry about your baby if you have breast tattoos. There is not a risk to your baby if you are breastfeeding and you have a tattoo, regardless of where that tattoo is. The ink doesn’t get into your supply of milk.

With that being said, it may not be a good idea to get a tattoo soon after giving birth. Giving birth and breastfeeding alike can be pretty traumatic on the body, and your immune system function is already quite low.

Tattoos can also reduce the function of your immune system, and this can have some poor consequences for you as a whole.

As such, it may be better to wait a while before you get your tattoo after you have given birth. This will help you to avoid things like infections and excessive amounts of pain.