20 Bra Myths Debunked That Are Nothing But Balderdash

Bras! Improving and magnifying women’s beauty and postures at one time and irritating and tiring the fuss out of them the other time. Every woman will agree that they have happy-sad relation with their bras. We love them one moment and hate them another.

There are enough bra related problems already regarding the size and type. Furthermore, there are misinformation about bras that is floating from generation to generation, do and don’ts about bra and your breasts and health.

We, women have known these small piece of garments from early age and have heard so many myths and facts about them bras. Here, we will bust all those bra myths that you should stop listening to and believing.

1. Sleeping with bra on will prevent breasts sagging.

A big NO. Your breasts just don’t care if you wear a bra or not while you sleep. They will be whatever they want to be, saggy or perky. You wearing a bra to bed doesn’t really have any effect on your breasts. It will only be uncomfortable. Deborah Axelrod M.D., a breast surgeon and associate professor at the NYU Langone Medical Center says, ‘Unfortunately, there’s no real proof that your breasts look better if you wear a bra at night.’ It doesn’t matter if you wear a bra or not while you sleep. But if you feel more comfortable sleeping in your bra then it’s your choice.

Also Read: Most Common Questions Women Ask About Bras

2. Sleeping with your bra on ruins your boobs.

In no way, bra can do that to your boobs. It is just that some of us feel comfortable to sleep without bra and some of us the opposite. Dr. Carlos Burnett, a plastic surgeon in New Jersey says, ‘Sleeping in a bra will not harm your breasts in nay way.’ However, we have been hearing that we should not sleep with our bra on, as it is bad for our breasts and how they should at least be free at night. However, Dr. Amber Guth, associate professor of surgery and director of the Breast Cancer Surgery Multidisciplinary Fellowship at NYU Langone Medical Center states, ‘There is certainly no evidence that sleeping in bras is either helpful or harmful.’

3. Not wearing a bra ruins your boobs.

Lie. Most women think that not wearing a bra makes their boobs saggy but that is not true. It is just that when you don’t wear a bra, your breasts take their original shape. Dr. Guth also says, ‘Sagging or changes in the breast are due to a number of factors: pregnancy and breastfeeding being the most common causes, along with time and gravity.’ Not wearing a bra is not a reason for your saggy breasts.

Also Read: 16 Interesting Facts About Breasts that You Didn’t Know

4. Your bra size is consistent for life.

If you think your bra size is consistent for life, then my dear, you have never been so wrong in your life. Change is course of life and your breasts follow that course too. Jene Luciani, author of The Bra Book says, ‘Unfortunately, there is no consistency at all.’ There are various factors that cause change in your breasts size leading to the change of your bra size, such as pregnancy, weight loss, weight gain, etc.

5. Training bras boost your breasts’ growth.

Please, stop expecting much from a training bra. Training bras do not have any thing to do with the growth of your bra. The trainer bras are designed for young girls who have just begun to develop breasts. The one thing that training bras do is support the developing breasts and that’s it. They are there for support and comfort, not enlarging your breasts.

6. You should clasp the tightest hook.

No, you should never do that. If you do so, you will just be stretching out the band of your bra faster. “A bra is going to stretch about three inches in its lifetime,” bra fitting extraordinaire Bobbie Smith told Huffington Post, and when it does, “that’s when you go to the next set of hooks.” Always fasten your new bra in the outermost hook. This way you can move to the inner hooks and tighten when the bands start stretching as bra ages. Also, your bra will last longer.

7. Underwire gives you cancer.

Scientific American explains this myth was spread in 90s when a couple of medical anthropologists who claimed, “By inhibiting lymphatic drainage, bras trapped toxins in the breast tissue, which caused cancer.” But there is no such evidence to back up this theory. Underwire might be uncomfortable and poke you if it breaks through the lining of your bra but it does not cause you cancer.

8. Band size is least important.

This is one of the reasons why more than 80% of women are wearing wrong size bra. Band size of your bra is equally important as the cup size. Bands are supposed to provide 80% of the total support to your breasts. But if your band is loose, the weight of your bra pull down the straps looking for more support which causes your straps to dig. That is why it is important to make sure that your band is snug and fit.

9. 34B is the average bra size.

Well, there is no such thing as average when it comes to the bra size. This is because there is wide range of bra styles and sizes differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. Above all, most of the women are wearing the wrong size. The American average bra size has increased from 34B to 34DD. But again, that is just for Americans and the average size is different for UK and other countries.

10. 32B and 36B have the same cup size.

Most women think that cup sizes are the same if they are labeled with same alphabet but that is not true. The cup size increases with the increment in the band size. Hence, 32B and 36B are not the same cup size. The cup volume of 36B is greater than that of 32B. However, 36AA has same cup as 32B and 32D has the same cup as 36B.

11. Bra sizes are universal.

The bra sizes vary depending on the manufacturers and bra types. Since there is not anything like International standard for the bra size, the labeling of the sizes vary from country to country, manufacturer to manufacturer. Pechter, in his study ‘A New Method for Determining Bra Size and Predicting Postaugmentation Breast Size’, found that bra label size was consistently different from the measured size even within the same country.

Also Read: Bra Size Calculator

12. Bras make your breasts saggy.

We have already discussed about how bra does not play any role whatsoever in your breasts being saggy or perky. There are women who think that breasts become saggy if bras are not worn, however there are some who think that wearing one makes your breasts saggy. 15 years study shows that bras are useless and women just become dependent on their bras as supporting muscle tissue withers.

13. Loose fitting bra is the comfortable bra.

Wrong. A comfortable bra is never loose fitting. A perfectly fit bra is the comfortable one, which is not loose at any point. The band of a comfortable bra is snug and not riding up your back. Straps should be snugly resting on your shoulders without falling or digging. And the breasts should be well fitted into the cups.

Also Read: How to take care of your bra in a proper way?

14. Tightening the straps makes your bra fit.

Tightening the straps does not make your bra fit better. I repeat. Tightening the straps does not make your bra fit better. Too tightened straps result digging straps causing redness and soreness and more problems. It’s not the straps that support your boobs; it’s the band of your bra doing more than 80% of the hard work. Make sure your band is snug and fit.

15. White bra is invisible bra.

This is the biggest lie ever. It is funny how most of us thought that white bra is invisible and no one will notice your bra through your clothes, especially when you are wearing white tops. If you want to hide your bra while wearing white and light colored tops, wear nude colored bras or beige color.

Also Read: Types of Bra

16. There is just one right way to put on a bra.

There are various ways to put on your bra. Whether you slip on your arm one by one and clasp it at the back or first clasp in the front and spin around and slip your hands through the straps, it is just your choice. However, you will be amazed with the result if you try the technique called Swoop and Scoop.

17. You should wash your bra just once a week.

This is not necessary routine. The body’s natural oils and sweat can break down the fabric if worn regularly without a regular wash. “The dirt and oil in our skin can break down the elasticity of the bra,” explains Luciani. “So it’s best to wash as often as possible.” Just make sure to gentle wash after 2-3 wears and air dry.

18. Machine-washing destroys your bra.

When it comes to washing your bras, hand washing is always preferred over machine washing. But that doesn’t mean machine will destroy your bra. Just make sure to use a lingerie bag while machine-washing your bras and never put your bras in dryer. If you do it the right way, machine wash won’t destroy your bra.

19. You can wear same bra two days in a row.

Well, you can wear same bra two days in a row but that will obviously reduce the life of your bra. It is recommended that women should rotate their bras regularly. However, if you don’t sweat a lot and wear bra for just couple hours a day then you can wear a bra for 2-3 days before being washed. But, a bra needs a 24 hours gap between 2 years, that way it keeps elastic from stretching too much.

20. If you take good care, your bra will last a year.

Unfortunately, this is not true. Most of us want our bras to last more than a year. No matter how much you take care of your bra, it won’t last you more than 9 months. Most bra-fitting experts agree that bras have a relatively short shelf life, somewhere around 6 to 9 months. However, gentle hand washing your bras with an alcohol free detergent is recommended to ensure long-life of your bras.