Silverettes are small cups made from 925 sterling silver that sit over your nipples between breastfeeding sessions to help heal soreness, cracks, and irritation. Using them is straightforward: express a few drops of breast milk into each cup, place them over your nipples, and secure them with your nursing bra. The details below will help you get the most out of them.
Step-by-Step Placement
Before placing your Silverettes, express a couple of drops of breast milk into each cup. The milk acts as a natural moisturizer and, combined with the silver surface, creates a healing environment against your skin. Place each cup directly over the nipple so the silver sits flush against the skin, then put on your nursing bra to hold them in place. A snug bra keeps the cups from shifting around.
When it’s time to feed, remove the cups and clean your nipples with warm water or a water wipe before latching your baby. After the feeding is done, rinse the cups with warm water, pat them dry, add fresh drops of breast milk, and put them back on. This cycle repeats between every feeding session.
Choosing the Right Size
Silverettes come in two sizes. The Original (Small) fits a C cup or smaller bra size, with an areola measurement under 4.5 cm. The Medium (formerly called XL) fits a D cup or larger, or an areola measurement of 4.5 cm or more. If you’re between sizes, go with the larger option. A cup that’s too small won’t fully cover the nipple and surrounding skin, which limits contact with the silver surface.
How Long to Wear Them Each Day
It might seem logical to wear Silverettes around the clock for faster healing, but that can backfire. Keeping any cover on your nipples for too long traps moisture against the skin, a condition called maceration, which softens tissue to the point of causing additional damage rather than repair.
A practical approach is to limit total wear to about eight hours per day, broken into smaller blocks. For example, wear them for four hours, take them off for four hours and let your nipples air dry (or use a different remedy like a lanolin-based product during the break), then put them back on for another four hours. This rotation gives your skin enough exposure to the silver while also allowing it to breathe.
Why Silver Helps With Healing
Silver has well-documented antimicrobial properties. When silver comes into contact with moisture on your skin, it releases ions that disrupt bacterial cell membranes and prevent bacteria from multiplying. This is the same principle behind silver-based wound dressings used in hospitals for burns and other open wounds. For cracked or raw nipples, this means the cups create a cleaner healing environment while also preventing the skin from sticking to bra fabric or nursing pads, which can reopen wounds every time you undress.
The breast milk you add to the cup contributes its own healing compounds, so the combination of milk and silver contact works together on the damaged skin.
Cleaning and Maintenance
Silverettes require very little upkeep. Rinsing with warm water after each feed is enough for everyday hygiene. If you want a deeper clean, a mild hand soap works fine. Avoid harsh detergents, bleach, sterilizing tablets, or abrasive scrubbing pads, all of which can damage the silver surface.
Over time, sterling silver naturally tarnishes. This doesn’t affect how the cups work, but if you want to restore their shine, mix one teaspoon of baking soda with a few drops of water to make a paste. Rub it gently over the cups, rinse, and pat dry.
One important thing to avoid: don’t use nipple creams, lotions, or ointments underneath the cups. These products create a barrier between your skin and the silver, which reduces the antimicrobial benefit. If you want to use a cream, apply it during your off periods when the cups aren’t on.
Managing Leaking
Silverettes don’t absorb milk, so if you tend to leak between feedings, milk can pool in the cups and spill out. The simplest fix is to place a disposable or reusable nursing pad over each cup inside your bra. This catches any overflow without interfering with the silver’s contact against your nipple. A well-fitted nursing bra also helps keep everything in place and minimizes shifting that can cause spills.
Material and Allergy Considerations
Silverettes are made from 925 sterling silver, which is 92.5% pure silver with a small percentage of other metals for durability. If you have a known nickel allergy, it’s worth noting that some sterling silver alloys contain trace amounts of nickel, though 925 silver is generally well tolerated by most people. If you’ve ever reacted to sterling silver jewelry, test the cups on a small area of skin before committing to extended wear on sensitive nipple tissue.