8 Best Nipple Creams for a Smoother Breastfeeding and Pumping Journey
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If you’re planning on breastfeeding or pumping, you'll want to stock up on the best nipple creams. Before welcoming a tiny human in need of nourishment into your life, you probably didn’t spend much time thinking about the delicate skin on your breasts, but — take it from moms who have lived it — the act of creating (and supplying) breastmilk will very quickly keep your nipples top of mind.
Constant friction and exposure to moisture can cause irritation, dryness, and painful cracking if you don’t properly protect and treat the skin barrier. Enter your new best friend: the nipple balm. “Nipple skin is thin and sensitive, so you should think of it as you would your face and be cautious with the products you use,” says Nava Greenfield, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City. This is one skin-care scenario where you don’t want to reach for just anything. Nipple creams should be specially formulated to prevent friction, strengthen the skin barrier, and be safe for the baby to ingest — unless you want to wash your nipples 12 times a day before each feeding session (which you most definitely do not).
Like finding any skin-care product, it may take some trial and error to find the perfect combination of texture, effectiveness, and price point to make you truly fall in love. Since you don’t need to add one more thing to your new parent to-do list, we’ve researched for you. Here are the best nipple creams for breastfeeding and pumping, according to dermatologists and moms who've been through it all.
Motherlove
Motherlove Nipple Cream
Amazon
Babylist
Why It’s Worth It: At one point during Allure contributor Macaela Mackenzie's breastfeeding journey (she exclusively pumped for five months), she calculated that she was spending five hours (!!) a day pumping. "When I say I put a nipple balm to the test, trust I put it to the test," Mackenzie says. “I found Motherlove’s organic herbal nipple balm after a couple of months of pumping and immediately recognized it as the nipple cream to rule them all.” After she started using this Motherlove cream, the nipple irritation ceased. Mackenzie adds that texture is key to a nipple balm's performance and Motherlove's is nonsticky, not overly greasy, and doesn't cause buildup.
Perhaps more importantly, it supports the skin barrier at every level. Olive oil and shea butter, both emollients packed with fatty acids and antioxidants, moisturize while “beeswax is used for its protective properties. It is an occlusive ingredient that prevents moisture loss on the skin,” explains Claire Chang, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at UnionDerm in NYC. To further reduce irritation, Motherlove’s balm also includes calendula flower, an extract with “soothing and anti-inflammatory benefits for the skin,” says Dr. Chang.
Editor Tip: Unlike other balms containing shea butter — a scent many including Mackenzie find slightly cloying — Motherlove’s silky balm has a subtle herbal scent that’s vaguely spa-like. The nonsticky formula doubles as an excellent lip balm and cuticle oil, to boot.
Key Ingredients: Extra virgin olive oil, beeswax, shea butter, marshmallow root, calendula flower
Swehl
Swehl The Nips Duo
Amazon
Babylist
Why It’s Worth It: Irritation is inevitable whether you’re pumping or breastfeeding. When irritated nipples become cracked nipples, you want to heal them ASAP. “Cracked nipples can cause several risks for both the mother and her baby,” says Dr. Chang. In addition to being painful and, in some cases, impacting your ability to breastfeed comfortably, cracked nipples also open you up to the risk of infection. Cracked nipples “can lead to cellulitis, a skin infection, and mastitis, which is inflammation of the breast tissue,” says Dr. Chang.
Thicker nipple balms like Swehl’s Balm de Nips which have anti-inflammatory properties, like shea butter and olive oil here, can help speed up healing. Balm de Nips also contains coconut oil, “a natural moisturizer that may have antimicrobial properties,” says Dr. Chang. The balm works well and isn’t overly sticky; the texture is akin to an overnight lip mask, thick and substantial but not annoyingly so. As a bonus for cracked nipples, Swehl’s nipple duo also comes conveniently packaged with a saline spray, which helps heal cracks, soothes soreness, and is also totally safe for babies.
Editor Tip: Swehl has an entire line of products designed to support breastfeeding parents while also feeling, dare we say, chic. Having Swehl products in her bag when she was pumping or feeding on the go made Mackenzie "feel like less of a milk machine and more of a cool mom."
Key Ingredients: Sunflower seed oil, olive oil, shea butter, coconut oil, jojoba seed oil
REN Clean Skincare
Ren Clean Skincare Evercalm Barrier Support Body Balm
Amazon
Dermstore
Why It’s Worth It: While not technically a nipple cream, Dr. Greenfield likes Ren Clean Skincare’s Evercalm Barrier Support Body Balm for breastfeeding parents. “It’s made for sensitive skin with pregnancy and babies in mind, contains a combination of natural oils without preservatives, and is designed to balance skin pH,” Dr. Greenfield explains. The nongreasy cream is especially good for pumping because, as Dr. Greenfield attests, “you want less greasy products [for pumping] because the ointment may interfere with the pump parts and reduce the suction of the device.”
By Kara Nesvig
By Aliza Kelly
By Patricia Tortolani
Editor Tip: This is a great moisturizer to use on your entire breast while breastfeeding. The blend of omega-rich fatty acids and ceramides supports your skin barrier as it stretches during your lactating journey.
Key Ingredients: Sunflower seed oil, sweet almond oil, jojoba esters, ceramide NP
Hatch
Hatch Nipple + Lip Rescue Balm
Amazon
Bluemercury
Credo Beauty
Why It’s Worth It: Hatch’s antioxidant-rich Nipple + Lip Rescue Butter Balm is a multipurpose hydrator that looks chic and subtle enough to whip out during a meeting but is also gentle enough to be used on sensitive nipples. The pump bottle, unique among the nipple creams featured here, makes for easy, mess-free application — particularly appreciated when pumping or feeding on the go. Pomegranate and açai, superfruits with antioxidant properties that can fight damage at the cellular level, help reduce inflammation (and smell nice) while a combo of mango butter, argan oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, and shea butter hydrate delicate skin on both your lips and nips.
Editor Tip: Hatch recommends gently wiping the nipple to remove excess product before feeding, so you may find it’s easiest to use this balm after pumping or breastfeeding.
Key Ingredients: Mango butter, pomegranate, acai, argan oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, shea butter
Silverette
Silverette Nursing Cups
Amazon
Walmart
Why It’s Worth It: For highly sensitive nipples these futuristic-looking real silver nipple shields serve two important functions. Firstly, they create a pleasantly cooling barrier between your skin and the fabric of your nursing bra, which can cause chafing and irritation that feels torturous when your skin is raw. Secondly, silver is a naturally antimicrobial and antifungal metal that can help reduce the risk of skin infections. It’s hypoallergenic and, since you remove them before nursing, totally safe for baby.
Editor Tip: While this isn’t a traditional balm or cream, Allure shopping director Shanna Shipin swears by Silverette cups for particularly chapped nipples. “As someone with chronic contact dermatitis and sensitive skin, my nipples were in a perpetually cracked and raw state during breastfeeding,” she notes. Shipin reached out to friends and family for help and multiple moms came back to her with a recommendation to shield her nipples from additional abrasion with these cups. “They worked like a charm and healed me after a few days. If I didn't use the Silverette cups, I absolutely would've had to stop breastfeeding earlier than I intended,” she says.
Earth Mama Organics
Earth Mama Vegan Nipple Butter
Amazon
Babylist
Why It’s Worth It: When not using the Silverette cups, Shipin slathered her nips with Earth Mama's Vegan Nipple Butter, which is another dermatologist and mom favorite. Cocoa butter, shea butter, and calendula extract reduce inflammation and strengthen the skin barrier while also providing buttery lubrication that can make feeding more comfortable. Earth Mama’s vegan nipple balm is also notable for what it doesn’t contain; namely lanolin, beeswax, or artificial fragrance. (Note: Earth Mama also offers a non-vegan Nipple Butter that contains beeswax.)
By Kara Nesvig
By Aliza Kelly
By Patricia Tortolani
Ultimately, it just gets the job done, says Dr. Chang, and ticks three key nipple butter boxes: soothe, moisturize, and repair. Safe for baby, it can be applied to nipples before feeding or applied directly to flanges before a pumping session.
Editor Tip: Texture-wise, Earth Mama’s nipple butter closely resembles the texture of cocoa butter — it starts as a solid and melts when it comes into contact with your skin. Rub it between your fingers for a few seconds to make it easier to apply to sensitive nipples.
Key Ingredients: Olive oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, mango seed butter, calendula flower extract
Lansinoh
Lansinoh Lanolin Nipple Cream
Amazon
Walmart
Why It’s Worth It: Lanolin is a natural moisturizer derived from sheep’s wool — a unique ingredient that has both occlusive and emollient properties. Similar to petroleum jelly, lanolin works as an occlusive by forming a thick barrier on skin to seal moisture in and prevent moisture loss. “It also has excellent emollient properties to repair and heal cracked nipples,” says Dr. Chang. For these reasons, lanolin is the OG nipple cream that’s baby-safe and hypoallergenic, says Dr. Chang, who personally used Lansinoh's Lanolin Nipple Cream. It's also naturally fragrance-fr
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9 of May 2024
