Extreme New Trend in Plastic Surgery: What is a Designer Nipple?

Have you heard about the latest cosmetic surgery trend to come out of New York City?

Plastic surgeon Norman Rowe is helping to bring the concept of “designer nipples” into the plastic surgery spotlight. A recent feature on Dr. Rowe, who practices at Rowe Plastic Surgery on Park Avenue, in the New York Post, reported that the demand for designer nipples is growing among female patients across the country.

Why do Women Want “Designer Nipples”?

Even though the trend is coming out of New York City, the desire for designer nipples has reached all the way to California. According to Dr. Douglas Hendricks, a plastic surgeon from Newport Beach, there are three common reasons that women desire designer nipples.

1. “One reason a person may desire more protruding nipples is because there has been the loss of some of the attractive features of their nipples following pregnancy or breastfeeding. This treatment represents a simple way to restore that part of the breast without surgical intervention.”
2. “The designer nipple is becoming popular because it is fresh, new and different. For most women in the United States, it would be rare to see the outline of the nipple through clothing. However, in places like Europe and France, it is much more common for women to go without a bra or to wear attire that subtly outlines the nipple that protrudes beneath clothing.”
3. “It may be a way of non-verbal signaling as well as acting a bit more free, open and even sensual. It is something both men and women notice, would be difficult to ignore and might garner additional attention in the same way that a skimpy bathing suit or revealing clothing may garner more attention. However in the case of having designer nipples, a skimpy swimsuit is not required.

A Desire to Look like Kendall

In the profile of Dr. Rowe, one of his patients pointed to Kendall Jenner as a female celebrity with ideal nipples. When asked about the qualities of Jenner’s nipples, the unnamed patient remarked that she really loved the “pointiness” of Jenner’s nipples, She added that her nipples look “sexy and feminine” through her shirt at all times.

In order to achieve the desired look with the nipples, Dr. Rowe injects fillers into the areola area. The results of the injections are nipples that are perkier and more prominent to others even when viewed through a shirt. The results of the designer nipples injections can last up to two years. Patients also seek out fillers because they will give long lasting results as opposed to more traditional filler methods like Botox which only last for three or four months.

Compared to a Traditional Breast Lift

In the past, women often addressed the issue of sagging breasts and nipples by having a breast lift. A breast lift, also known as mastopexy, is a breast enhancement procedure that is performed in order to reconstruct a breast that is no longer in an aesthetic shape or direction that is pleasing to the patient. A breast lift is done to restore the youthful appearance of the breast. 

In addition, many mastopexy procedures involve adding more volume to the breast through the use of fat grafting or an implant.

Aging and Medical Issues

A breast that is youthful in appearance is generally one where the nipple-areola complex is centered on the breast mound and there is no skin overhang. However, outside factors such as the aging process, can affect the breasts. According to Dr. Hendricks, “Aging, pregnancy, breast feeding, and even natural variations in the size and length of the nipple leave it flat and without any protrusion, even in sheer attire, without some help. Plastic surgeons have been constructing nipples for women as one of the stages in reconstructing a breast after mastectomy for cancer. Surgical nipple reduction where the nipple is too long or too large in diameter is commonly done in plastic surgery offices. As part of a breast reduction, or even a breast lift, the enlarged diameter of the areola is reduced to a more normal dimension at the same time that the breast is being reduced in overall size. As you can see, nipple surgery for abnormalities of size and shape are not uncommon in most plastic surgery offices already.

Not a New Idea

It should be noted the idea behind “designer nipples” is not a new one. When speaking with the Daily Mail newspaper in 2017, Dr. Rowe said that the requests for his services in New York City were on the rise. In late 2017, the Huffington Post website reported on a plastic surgery firm in the Midwest that reported the amount of requests for the surgery at their practice had grown by as much as 30\\% over previous years.

When it comes to celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Dr. Rowe did admit that celebrity figures are often the driving force behind a trend like “designer nipples”. This is especially true of celebrities that like to wear thin or sheer tops that serve to highlight their bodies. He remarked that women come to his office with photos of the type of nipples they want to have on a regular basis. He adds they want to have perky nipples all the time because of the desire to wear “see through” dresses on a regular basis. This clothing goal makes them take a closer look at the state of their nipples. In addition, one patient told Dr. Rowe that having “designer nipples” would “constantly make her feel like a woman”.

MA