Pink nipples, red nipples, brown nipples, light nipples, dark nipples… Our nipples come in all sorts of colors, shapes, and sizes.
In addition, they’re all beautiful, especially since they have all been color-coordinated to match our natural skin tone, so those with paler skin have lighter pink-colored nipples, while those with darker skin have darker brown-colored nipples.
Regardless of the color, be thankful that you have those red and brown pigments in your nipples. It’s what makes your nipples stand out against your body’s more muted tones.
But as beautiful as all nipple colors are, you may sometimes notice unusual, and quite often unwanted, changes in your nipple color. Usually, these are temporary and may be caused by changes in your body, such as pregnancy, breastfeeding, or aging. But sometimes, the darkening of the nipples sets in, and you start wishing that you could turn back the hands of time to restore the color of your nipples.
And of course, there are also some women who simply desire a different nipple shade altogether and are looking for a way to lighten their nipples in a safe, effective way.
Here’s everything you need to know about how to lighten nipples for whatever reason you have, whether you’re experiencing a darkening of your nipples and you want to nip it in the bud or you’d like to transition to a lighter nipple shade.
The 3 Most Important Nipple Lightening Tips
When it comes to getting lighter nipples, it’s not as simple as rubbing some nipple-lightening cream on and calling it a day. There are a few things you should understand about what makes a nipple-lightening treatment effective and how to combine various ingredients for the best results.
Lightening your nipples primarily consists of three key components:
- Hydration. Did you know that your nipples can darken even when you experience only minor chafing and friction? Constricting sports bras and scratchy bras can irritate and itch sensitive nipple skin. Therefore, your nipples need to be moisturized as well. Make sure they get plenty of hydration as often as possible.
- Exfoliation. Yes, you can and should exfoliate your nipples as well. It is especially important if you want to hasten the process of nipple lightening. The exfoliation process removes dead skin cells, resulting in deeper penetration of the nipple lightening cream’s ingredients. Even exfoliation alone may be sufficient to lighten the nipples and even out their color. Of course, we don’t mean to scrub your nipples with a pumice stone or a harsh scrub when we say “exfoliation”. Because nipple skin is so sensitive, only use chemical exfoliants that are gentle or very fine natural exfoliants.
- Nipple-lightening ingredients. The darker color of your nipples’ skin is caused by melanin, just like the rest of your body. This means that the list of melanin-inhibiting ingredients that work to lighten your skin will work beautifully on your nipple skin as well.
All three of the ingredients listed above are crucial. So, if you plan to use a nipple lightening cream, for the best results, look for one that contains ingredients that meet all three criteria.
Natural Nipple Lightening Cream vs. Hydroquinone
One of the most common questions you’ll have about nipple-lightening creams is, “What are the best ingredients to use?” Should you lighten your nipples with natural ingredients or hydroquinone?
You must make your own final decision, as there is no one answer. But before you make a decision, you should know a few things:
- Sensitivity. Nipple bleaching poses certain challenges because this is highly sensitive, intimate skin. In fact, there is a supply of special nerves in the skin surrounding the nipples, some of which are so sensitive that they can cause orgasms by themselves. All in all, this is delicate skin that can be especially sensitive to harsh chemicals and bleaching agents, so it makes sense to be wary of using skin-lightening creams that may be fine to use on, for example, your elbows and knees but not on your nipples.
- Natural nipple lighteners work. There are many natural melanin-blocking ingredients available, such as Mulberry Extract, Alpha Arbutin, Kojic Acid, Licorice Extract, and even Vitamin C. These natural lightening ingredients not only work but also do so without causing irritation or harmful side effects. Despite having the disadvantage of taking longer to work and producing less drastic results than hydroquinone, the fact that they are gentle and cause no irritation can be worth the extra effort and time.
- Hydroquinone is effective. While hydroquinone may be controversial, it is still used for nipple bleaching due to the fact that it is extremely effective. Combining hydroquinone and retinoids has been found to be one of the most effective nipple-lightening treatments so far. But, because hydroquinone is known to be carcinogenic, many countries have banned it. However, it is still used in the United States (albeit in reduced quantities).
Both have their benefits and downsides, as you can see. In addition to being a quick and effective way to lighten nipples, hydroquinone can also be too harsh, especially for those with sensitive skin around the nipple. On the other hand, natural skin-lightening ingredients are gentle and effective, but they may take a bit longer to show results.
It’s up to you to decide what’s more important and make the right decision. Keep in mind that these two options are not mutually exclusive—you can even opt for a hydroquinone cream to lighten your nipples quickly, then switch to a natural skin-lightening cream once you have the color you want and maintain the results.
Whatever option you choose, it’s really awesome that you have so many choices when it comes to lightening nipples.
What is the Best Nipple Lightening Cream?
A wealth of choices does not just apply to ingredients, but also to creams. There are a lot of intimate lightening creams on the market, but not every nipple lightening cream is worth your time and money, so here are the best ones and what you can expect from them.
Amaira Intimate Lightening Serum
Amaira Natural Lightening Serum is the best natural nipple lightening cream right now because it is gentle and has the most effective mix of natural skin lightening ingredients, such as Mulberry Leaf Extract, Kojic Acid, Licorice Extract, Asian Orchid Extract, and Bearberry Extract. All of these ingredients inhibit the activity of tyrosinase, which makes the skin lighter, by blocking tyrosinase.
Furthermore, the product contains a powerful chemical exfoliant combination like Lactic Acid and Glycolic Acid, which smooths rough, chafed skin and evens out blotchy or uneven nipple tone. While the combination is quite potent, it can be a bit harsh at first, so it is recommended to start out small and use it moderately until your nipple skin gets used to it.
Epibright Intimate Lightening Cream
The Epibright Intimate Lightening Cream lightens your privates in a gentle but effective way. It is great for sensitive areas like the nipples because it’s gentle and contains a great mix of nourishing, hydrating ingredients like Melissa officinalis balm and licorice extracts to nourish sensitive nipple skin, which is crucial when exfoliating and using skin-lightening ingredients.
Epibright Intimate Lightening Cream has alpha-arbutin in it, which is a popular natural ingredient used to lighten the skin in a way that is similar to hydroquinone but doesn’t have any harmful side effects.
How to Lighten Nipple Color: Quick Tips
- To clarify, nipple bleaching does not actually involve bleaching. Basically, it’s a term for lightening the color of a nipple.
- If you’re going to use home remedies, be careful since they aren’t always safe. One such method is to apply undiluted lemon juice straight to your nipples. While lemon juice isn’t powerful enough to bleach dark nipple skin, it is acidic enough to cause irritation.
- Remember that it took some time for your nipples to become darker. During puberty, hormones caused them to darken, and they changed throughout adulthood. It will also take some time to lighten them. So be patient and consistent in your efforts.
- If you have darker nipple skin due to irritation, such as constant chafing, dryness, or scratching, it may be possible to fade the discoloration without resorting to an aggressive lightening regimen. The simplest method to restore the natural color of your sensitive nipple skin is to rub natural oils on them every night and use moisturizer regularly.
- Do you enjoy sunbathing without being topless? If so, keep in mind that nipple skin is just as susceptible to sun damage as the rest of your skin. Use Vaseline or bandaids to prevent the nipples from darkening before being exposed to the sun.
- Lastly, do not use any nipple lightening cream, even natural ones, while pregnant or breastfeeding.