Inside: 11 sternum piercings you’ll love! Also known at the chest piercing, breast bone piercing, cleavage piercing… whatever you want to call it.

If you’re looking for a bold move, I have the piercing for you. I think this is so cool, and though I was skeptical at first, I fell in love after I started seeing more photos! Sternum piercings almost sound a little mythical, like, how does that even work?

But once you learn how it works and it processes that you’re not piercing straight into bone (like it looks!) you’re probably going to fall in love with it like I did.

Body piercings can always be a little more intimidating when you’re looking at the different options, but they simply have a different process that is just as easy going as a standard ear or nose piercing.

Unless you’re not a fan of needles, then none of them are too easy going.

Sternum piercings on three women

You undoubtedly have several questions about sternum piercings, so let’s get into it!

How Much Does It Cost

There are mixed reviews about how much a piercing shop will charge you for a sternum piercing, but I would gauge it to be more on the higher price side.

It’s a dermal, meaning it’s a surface piercing anchored into your skin. These procedures are a little more of a detailed and meticulous process, so it’s going to cost a bit more than a quick needle gun type of piercing.

I would say be ready to spend around $150 on this process. Even if you find a cheaper option, you should be ready to invest in someone you trust and someone who is experienced in this type of piercing.

Piercings aren’t something we cheap out on! Don’t make sacrifices in quality just to save a few extra bucks.

This price estimate does not include the price of the jewelry. Procedure and jewels are separate charges, so you’ll want to budget in an extra $20 or so for the jewelry.

How Much Does It Hurt

Like most piercings, there’s not a definite answer as to how much it hurts. Everyone’s pain levels are vastly different when gauging something like a piercing pain.

Also like most piercings, the general consensus is that this one just feels like a big pinch to your sternum. No biggie!

You will likely feel tender and sore, as it’s going to be sitting deep in your skin, but once it starts to heal up, it will be smooth sailing.

How To Heal And Not Get Infected

Healing the sternum is pretty simple since there’s only one surface to keep clean! You’ll want to be mindful of the clothing and garments you’re wearing so as not to bump it with an underwire or snag it on a knit sweater.

Keeping piercings safe helps the wounds and can ultimately help it heal faster. If the open wounds aren’t being messed with too much, they can heal up quicker.

Use a cotton swab soaked in saline (from any store or your piercer) to clean the surface. If you can possibly wiggle it enough, use the Q-Tip to clear any crust that’s built up since the last cleaning. You might feel some discomfort, but it needs to be done! A good cleaning is more comfortable than an infection.

I would recommend this cleaning twice a day with saline. I don’t believe it’s a great idea that you engage in intense workouts, but if you do, clean the piercing after sweating as well. Anything that might be a danger to the cleanliness of your piercing, go ahead and give it another clean.

What Does The Scar Look Like

Piercings anywhere off of the nose and ear are pretty much guaranteed to scar up. Our bodies are programmed to activate scar tissue when it senses a wound like that, so it’s only natural.

Body piercings tend to leave an indentation in the skin, so it’s not going to look like a scar from a cut or anything more attention grabbing. While you will technically experience scarring, you will hardly notice it when the time comes to remove it!

Scarring can ease up over time if you ask your dermatologist about scar creams. It may not go away completely but it will help remove it some.

Working to protect your piercing will help keep it from scarring as well. The future scar will only get worse if the piercing is tugged, snagged, and stretched, so anything you can do to protect it from being bothered will help speed up the healing process and help it heal better.

Infections can leave scars as well if it damages any of the tissue or scar tissue. So keeping to the proper cleaning process will be beneficial to the scarring situation too.

Turquoise sternum piercing jewelry and girl with a rhinestone

Sternum Piercing Ideas

Getting your sternum pierced is a big move! That’s a piercing that you do not see too often, so figuring out how it’s going to look on you can be a little tricky!

I love some of these examples I found and I know you will too. If you’ve had a little bit of a hard time visualizing it, hopefully these will help! Here are some stunning sternum piercing ideas.

1. Little Dazzle
2. Dark Metal Studs
3. Turquoise
4. Dual

Two different styles of jewelry studs

Dermal Jewelry

Ultimately, most dermal jewelry is the same, since it’s an anchor sitting under the surface of the skin. There aren’t too many different styles! But with Etsy and so many only body jewelry stores, there are several styles of the stud themselves that you might like!

So if you haven’t seen one you like in the photos of sternum piercing ideas, that doesn’t mean they don’t exist! Here are some that are used for some other dermal piercings.

5. Sparkle
6. Stars
7. Opal
8. Tear Drop

Girl taking photo in a mirror with dermal piercings

Sternum Piercing Dermal Ideas

Dermals can be intimidating but they are so cool!

There’s a reason they’re not for the faint of heart, but it’s not because they’re a horrible procedure or that they’re hard to heal. You just don’t change them out often. You CAN, but you don’t take out the jewelry until you’re ready for it to be out out: you just change the tops.

Here are some fun sternum piercing dermal ideas!

9. Rhinestones
10. With Jewelry
11. Silver

Sternum piercings are some of the coolest body piercings. They’re subtle, you don’t see them often, but when you do it’s like another piece of minimalist jewelry that adds a little flair to the look. If you’re interested in body piercings but don’t want something too bold, this is a great option!

I love this piercing because it’s close enough to the face and ears to feel like a part of the rest of the collection if you will, and I think it’s super fun. They’re hot, they’re edgy, and they can be so cute. I’m obsessed! This is definitely going on my list of potential next piercings.

Something simple and similar is the collarbone piercings. I’ve written up a whole guide for you like this one in case you want to accompany the sternum with some coordinating collarbone piercings!