Ditching a bra could make your breasts perkier, experts have claimed.
Women’s health specialists and plastic surgeons have suggested that the tight pressure from a bra can weaken tissues around the breasts over time, causing them to droop.
The uplifted look is also said to be due to the gradual strengthening of back muscles that happens when you’re unsupported, improving posture.
Women have been wearing supportive structures around their chests since the early 1900s, when American publisher Mary Phelps Jacob created the first-ever brassiere using two handkerchiefs.
But, experts have long debated whether or not they serve any benefit to breast health.
Content creator Kaylee revealed that stopping wearing bras made her boobs ‘more perky’
The discussion ramped up last week when content creator Kaylee told her 182,000 TikTok followers that she hadn’t worn a bra in five years – and going without had made her boobs ‘more perky.’
The US-based software engineer and photographer said: ‘I think they have stayed pretty perky.’
Other women, she added, are ‘better off’ setting their breasts ‘free.’
‘Your muscles will become strong and they will support themselves.’
Kaylee is a US-based software engineer and photographer who flaunts her figure online to her more than 182,000 TikTok followers.
She said she hadn’t worn a bra for five years, adding: ‘I think they have stayed pretty perky.’
Kaylee said women are ‘better off’ setting their breasts ‘free.’
She added: ‘Your muscles will become strong and they will support themselves.’
Bizarrely, some experts seem to agree.
Dr Lucky Sekhon, a board-certified OB/GYN and reproductive endocrinologist, told Well+Good that people have long believed the opposite – that not wearing a bra causes drooping.
This, she says, is a common misconception.
Women who have gone long periods without wearing a bra often report that this leads their breasts to being firmer, rounder, and perkier over time.’
Dr Sekhon said that while people with bigger breasts may feel more back strain initially, they will build up the strength in their chest and back muscles for their breasts to become well-supported without a bra.
Meanwhile, Dr Foued Hamza, an internationally renowned cosmetic surgeon with more than 20 years’ experience, said: ‘Wearing a bra can even aggravate the saggy effect as its wire support works against gravity, weakening the breast’s natural ability to self-lift.’
A 1990 study of eleven young women published found that three months of wearing a ‘well-fitted’ bra caused a significant drooping in the breasts.
A 15-year study conducted by Dr Jean-Denis Rouillon, a sports science expert from the University of Besançon, France, revealed that bras did more harm than good when it came to perkiness.
In the study, he examined changes in the breasts of hundreds of women over many years.
He concluded that women who didn’t wear bras had nipples that were seven milliliters higher than those who did.
Dr Rouillon said in a radio interview: ‘Medically, physiologically, anatomically—breasts gain no benefit from being denied gravity. On the contrary, they get saggier with a bra.’
However, the study was heavily criticized because it only looked at a small sample of women, and over a short amount of time. It did not take into account if women had breastfed or been pregnant.
Some experts say there is simply not enough research to make a conclusion either way.
Dr Sekhon also said that not wearing a bra can improve circulation and make the skin on the breasts healthier.
Experts say the idea that going without a bra can cause the breasts to sag and droop is a myth – in fact, the opposite is true
This is because wearing a bra can get in the way of the blood flow to the muscles in the back and chest wall, which can lead to an aching back.
Plus, bras trap sweat, dirt and moisture against your breasts, which can lead to clogged pore, irritation and spots, particularly after working out.
Not wearing a bra gives the breasts room to breathe.
Studies show that, on average, women’s breasts will start to sag in their 30s and 40s.
Experts add that bras may be helpful at this point to help keep the breasts in place.
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