A nippie clip is nothing new or unusual, and it's one of the more popular BDSM tools so most people will at least be somewhat familiar with it. While simply learning how they work, or how to use them might be enough to convince some people to give it a try, others might need a little more convincing.
There are many different things you might worry about before you try clamps for the first time, and in some cases things that constantly worry you even after you know what to expect!
If you’ve found yourself getting excited about trying some nipple clamps, but have been plagued by questions like these, fear no more! We’re here to tell you everything you need to know about using nipple clamps safely and dispel any myths or rumours you’ve heard.
How Long Can You Leave Nipple Clamps On?
One of the most prominent questions about nipple clamps is usually how long you can leave them on for.
You’ll find a host of different advice for this with just a simple google search, but there tends to be a lot of conflicting answers. Some say no more than ten minutes at a time, others say you’ll be fine for a few hours. So which is it?
The key here is that nipple clamps are intended to reduce the circulation of blood in your nipples. This in turn makes them more sensitive, and more enjoyable to touch.
However, if you cut of circulation to any part of the body for an extended period of time, there’s risk of damage to the tissue, nerves, and if you go long enough, it’s possible for that area to completely die.
With the nipples, you’ll usually get some pretty clear signs of how much blood is circulating by looking at their colour. Of course your own skin colour can change this slightly, but in general, as long as some blood is circulating your nipples should remain mostly pink. If a small amount of blood is circulating they will turn slightly blue. Should you completely cut off the supply, they will eventually go white.
I know this all sounds a little scary, but we want to give you the whole picture not just a standard piece of advice.
Now everyone’s body is different, so the amount of time it takes for a nipple to start changing colour may vary. If you keep an eye on yours though, you should very clearly see when things start turning more blue than pink, and this is a good time to take them off.
Blood flow needs to be re-established regularly to prevent any permanent damage to the nipples.
You may even want to test this out on your own before you start using your clamps properly. If you’re just here for a quick and easy answer though, we normally advise that you keep them on for no more than ten to fifteen minutes.
Do Nipple Clamps Hurt?
An equally common concern is whether or not nipple clamps are going to hurt. This one is a little more difficult to answer.
If you’ve ever had your nipples twisted by someone else when you were young, I’m sure you’ll remember how painful the experience was. Wearing nipple clamps though isn’t quite the same, as you’re choosing to put them on and choosing how tight they are.
Having control over this means that you literally get to decide how painful they will be!
Now it’s completely possible to wear nipple clamps quite loosely, and never experience anything close to pain. If you do this though, you’re also much less likely to experience the pleasure that comes with having them on.
The key is finding the right amount of pain where it’s something interesting, but not overwhelming. That little bit of pain that provides heightened sensitivity in your nipples, and helps you enjoy stimulation that much more.
To complicate things even further, everyone has a different pain threshold. What one might consider a slight twinge, another person could find excruciatingly painful.
Ultimately the best way to figure out if they will hurt you is to buy a pair and try them out. You can test them on the earlobes first, to make sure that they aren’t too painful to use at all. Then simply put them on and try different levels of pressure until you find something that you enjoy!
So to answer the question, yes, nipple clamps do hurt. But only as much as you want them to!
Nipple Clamps and Piercings
Another concern you might have if you’ve been thinking about trying nipple clamps is if you’ve already got pierced nipples. This is much more common these days, so it’s a problem a lot more people have to face.
Before we go any further we have to state that you should not under any circumstances use nipple clamps shortly after having your nipples pierced. While healing, the nipples are incredibly sensitive, so you probably wouldn’t want to use clamps, but on the off chance you did, you shouldn’t.
Most of the time a nipple piercing will take at least six weeks to fully heal, and in some cases can take up to a year. Until they have completely healed, you should not use clamps.
To be extra safe, we recommend consulting the person who did your piercings, and only continuing to use nipple clamps once they have given you the all clear.
That being said though, you certainly can use nipple clamps while having pierced nipples. In fact, you can even buy clamps that were designed with piercings in mind! Many of these attach to your jewellery in specific ways, and will use it to pull and clamp in different ways.
If having something attached to your piercing doesn’t sound like your ideal night though, there are also clamps available that sit on your nipples behind the piercing.
You should also take extra care to make sure your clamps are kept as clean as possible, as a piercing is an ideal route for infections and bacteria to make their way into the body.
The most important thing is to take extra care that you don’t pull your piercing out, or cause damage while using clamps.
Can Nipple Clamps Cause Scarring?
Now we’re getting into some extreme scenarios. Scarring could be something that you worry about if you’re just getting into nipple play though.
So let’s get technical for a moment.
Scars are formed when a deeper layer of the skin (called the dermis) becomes damaged. As part of the healing process, the body creates a new substance which helps fill in the gap, and is what causes the scar. This isn’t quite the same as the rest of your skin, which is why scars look and feel different to undamaged parts of the body.
In order for the dermis to become damaged, you’ll need to use substantial force. We’re talking far more than you’re likely to experience in the bedroom.
In fact, the majority of commercially available nipple clamps are probably not even strong enough to cause damage to your nipples (unless you wear them for too long).
Even after several hours of research, we still can’t find a single example of someone having scarred nipples as a result of using clamps.
The only hypothetical situation we could come up with involves using a nipple clamp with sharp teeth on it, and pulling it off with such force that it tears the skin open. Once this is healed, yes it could scar.
But for the vast majority of people who will be using nipple clamps, it’s not something to really worry about.
Do Nipple Clamps Stretch Your Nipples?
It might seem like a no brainer that if you’re constantly putting extra stress on your nipples by squashing or pulling them, that eventually they’re going to stretch. This isn’t really something you should worry about too much though.
The human body is incredibly resilient, and many problems will just naturally heal up on their own. Even things we can’t really see, like small amounts of trauma or damage to our skin or nerves, normally only lasts a couple of days.
You’d need to keep your nipple clamps on for an incredibly long time to cause any permanent damage, that it’s much more likely that you’ll completely kill the tissue rather than just stretching it.
As long as you’re using them for a safe length of time, and giving the body ample time to recover, you should have no worries about stretching your nipple.
Are Nipple Clamps Safe?
We’ve left this question until the end on purpose. If you’ve read everything so far, then you’ve probably already figured out the answer yourself.
As long as you >wear your nipple clamps properly for a reasonable amount of time, aren’t applying too much force to them, and keeping them clean, there are no real dangers to nipple clamps.
We hope this puts your mind at rest, and encourage you to give clamps a try. They are truly one of the most enjoyable sex toys, and can really enhance nearly any sexual encounter you could think of!
