Are you giving your breasts the tender loving care they deserve? While breasts are almost every woman’s favorite feature, most of us take them for granted. We cage them in tight bras, workout with nothing to support them and cover them in hot wax to keep them hairless. If you want your breasts to be healthy perky and happy, you do need to give them some extra attention. Here are eight things no woman should ever do to their breasts.
1. Wearing The Wrong Size Bra
Statistically, one in four women aren’t wearing the right bra size. Do your breasts feel suffocated when you’re wearing a bra? Or do they sag and feel painful when you walk? If either of the two happens to you, then you’re probably not wearing the right bra size. To get yourself measured correctly, go to a trained bra salesperson who can do it accurately for you. When you wear the right size bra, you won’t even notice it most of the time because it fits so comfortably. Wearing a bra that fits you right also prevents your breasts from developing scar tissue, which could lead to breast cancer.
2. Sticking Duct Tape On Them
Using duct tape on your breasts is a genius hack to prevent wardrobe malfunctions. But if you do it too often, you could be setting yourself up for a nasty infection. The adhesive used on most duct tapes irritates the skin, especially the skin around the nipples which is very sensitive. If you’re prone to patches of eczema, using duct tape on your breasts could exacerbate it. So unless you want to be subtly scratching your breasts all night, leave duct tape to your craft projects.
3. Running Without The Right Bra
One study found that breasts can bounce up to 8 inches while you’re running. When your breasts move this much, it can be very painful for you. It also interferes with your morning run because you’re too preoccupied with your painful breasts to focus on running long distances. The extreme movement running without a proper bra involves can also damage the connective tissue which holds your breasts in place. This means your breasts might start sagging much faster. Wear sports bras that are specially designed for running to provide you with more support and greater comfort.
4. Getting Your Nipples Pierced
Nipple piercings are quickly becoming a fad with many celebrities hopping onto the bandwagon too. But if you get your nipples pierced, you might be in for more than you bargained for. Your nipples are a very delicate area. When you get them pierced, they can easily get infected and form large pus-filled abscesses, which is probably not the look you’re going for. Many women are also allergic to the kind of metal used in nipple piercings and can develop contact dermatitis because of it.
5. Waxing Your Nipple Hairs
Clearly your nipples shouldn’t be messed around with. If you have a little fuzz on your nipples, you might resort to waxing it off to look sleek and hairless. However, waxing your nipple hair can have some unintended consequences. Nipple hair is more prone to developing in-growths and the wax can cause skin allergies. But even worse, hot wax can cause burns on your nipples. The skin around your nipples is more sensitive than many other areas of your body. Imagine slathering hot wax over your lips. Sound painful? That’s pretty much what it would feel like over your nipples. Unless you want to awkwardly explain how you got your nipples burnt, it’s safest to stick to a pair of tweezers.
6. Injecting Botulinum Toxin
A little sag is inevitable as we age, we can’t expect our breasts to be as perky as they were when we were 20. Botulinum toxin treatments for your breasts involve injecting it into your connective tissue. The theory behind this is that once these muscles are paralyzed, your back muscles will begin to support your breasts and make them look more perky. If this sounds pretty strange, that’s because it is! Many experts have completely denounced breast botulinum toxin use as ridiculous and unscientific. Investing in a good support bra is a lot more effective and about a fraction of the cost of botulinum toxin.
7. Not Keeping Them Moisturized
Your doing your breasts a serious disservice if you always forget to moisturize them. Your breasts have no oil glands of their own, so they need to be hydrated with a good lotion. If you aren’t moisturizing them, they can become dry, itchy and flakey. It’s also important that you don’t forget to slather sunscreen over your chest. The damaging UV rays of the sun can harm the sensitive skin around your breasts and cause them to discolor and age faster.
8. Not Quitting Smoking
Smoking is terrible for every single part of your body including your breasts. When you smoke, your arteries constrict and restrict blood flow. This can cause the connective tissue in your breasts to weaken and start to sag. Smoking also results in something more dangerous than saggy breasts.It can also put you at a much higher risk for developing breast cancer. So if you want the best for your breasts, it’s time to quit smoking.
