What Bras To Avoid After Breast Augmentation?

Twinberry is a brand committed to helping women love and feel amazing in their bodies. We have blogged about what bras to wear after breast augmentation, but we have not discussed what bras to avoid after breast augmentation. Women have great intentions and try to do the best thing for their breasts postoperatively, but may not realize that certain bras could be detrimental to their recovery and results. During the immediate postoperative recovery period, creating the optimal healing environment externally so that your breasts can heal internally is incredibly important and often overlooked. There are many bras out there that one should avoid for the first 3-6 months after a breast surgery:

• Bras that are too small
• Sports bras
• Underwire bras
• Bralettes and bandeaus
• Strapless bras
• Push-up bras
• Pasties

We discuss each of these, our reasoning, and offer some pro tips on your breast recovery journey.

Too-Small Bras

To begin, bras that are too small are troublesome. In the face of surgery, do not forget to account for swelling and inflammation that can expand the soft tissue around the chest. Some of the swelling typically also travels to the abdominal wall and takes four to five weeks to resolve. The swelling around the chest wall takes longer and begins to settle down around four months postoperatively. Wearing bras that are too small can cause blisters, abrasions, hyperpigmentation, and pain on the skin. It is advised to wear bras that are one or two sizes larger than the circumference of the chest to account for this increased volume. For example, if a woman typically wears a size 36, she should purchase a size 38 or 40 for the immediate postoperative period. Getting sized for new bras should be delayed until after the 8th week of recovery to allow for a majority of the swelling to improve.

Sports Bras

Sports bras are commonly worn by women in their everyday lives. Originally, they are designed to provide compression for medium and high impact physical activities. However, any soft bra has been erroneously classified as a sports bra even though they do not meet the requirements of one. In the immediate postoperative stages, true sports bras should be avoided for several reasons. Severely tight compression is not desirable as the blood supply to the areolas and incisions can be threatened. Pullover sports bras are very damaging to surgical results as the act of stretching the arms overhead is not recommended. In breast augmentation surgery, implants are typically placed under the pectoralis major muscle. Having to struggle and do pseudo-contortionist movements to get into a pullover sports bra is difficult. We have all attempted to get on a sports bra after a shower and the skin moisture makes it seemingly impossible to unroll the back of the curled up sports bra without help. Some sports bras come with a back clasp, which is also not recommended for the same reasons. Soft post-surgical front open bras with eye-hook closures are much easier and desirable.

Underwire Bras

Underwire bras are popular types of brassieres that are designed to lift, shape, and separate women’s breasts. A thin, curved strip of rigid metal or plastic is sewn into the fabric of the bottom of the bra. Underwire bras are notoriously known to be uncomfortable, causing skin irritation or pain from the hard material “digging into” the skin or breasts. Certainly, these bras are not recommended to patients until at least 3 months after surgery. From personal experience, most women tolerate underwire bras after 6 months of surgery as the breasts and scars are less sensitive at this time point. Placing some form of protection such as a sanitary pad to cushion the base of the breasts can help “train” the skin and tissue of the breasts to adjust to underwire bras again.

Bralettes

Soft, barely there, bralettes, and bandeau-type bras that act like a second skin are very trendy right now. While these can be comfortable once in a while, they are not recommended for post-operative breasts. Breasts that have implants or are healing from a recent surgery require more support for the best, long-lasting results. In addition, the thin material of these bras offers no shaping or separation of the breasts. Typically, the elastic band at the base of the breasts is also not designed to be supportive to the breasts; instead, its purpose is to keep the bralette in place and from riding up on the chest.

Strapless Bras

Strapless bras tend to be very molded and most contain an underwire component. The support from these bras is anchored around the circumference of the torso. After breast surgery, a majority of the edema (ie. Swelling) is situated right at this part of the chest. Wearing strapless bras can be extremely uncomfortable and even painful. Many of these strapless bras have a no-slip grip adhesive that can cause friction-type burns on the skin, thereby causing unsightly hyperpigmentation. Strapless bras should be reserved for special occasions and tops at least 3 months postoperatively.

Push Up Bras

In the postoperative period, too much of a good thing is possible. A perfect example is the push-up bra. Padded cups with extra padding in the lower parts of the cup help push the breast tissue up. The resulting lifting creates visible cleavage. Many of these bras come with underwired cups for additional support and to allow even more lift. In addition, push-up bras tend to push breasts together, creating a deeper cleavage. While these seem to be very appealing and favorable features, newly operated breasts are not ready for dramatic lifting and pushing until approximately 3 months postoperative. Even when patients are finally ready to wear a push-up bra for their first time after surgery, they find that they cannot be comfortably worn for long periods of time. Tolerance for these bras takes time and eventually improves.

Pasties

Ah, the famous pasties. Although these are not technically categorized as “bras,” women commonly ask about if and when they can wear pasties. These nipple covers typically have a layer of adhesive that is designed to stick to the skin and conceal the contour of the nipples. Women who want to avoid wearing bras and avoid showing their nipples when wearing tight or sheer clothing turn to pasties as a solution. Pasties should be avoided for the first 3 months of recovery. Following this period, pasties can be worn intermittently for the purposes of fashion only.

It is important to not forget about the importance of maintaining surgical results with a nighttime sleeping bra. The Lovoire sleeping bra by Twinberry is the best postoperative bra for sleep. The Lovoire has an adjustable band, wide padded straps, patent-pending vectors for optimal side support, and is made with breathable, soft Outlast fabric. There is no support from below because we do not stand when we sleep; therefore, this is not necessary and can feel constrictive. The Lovoire was designed specifically for sleep and anti-aging purposes. By 3 months postoperative, there is enough healing and maturation of external and internal scar tissue where patients are finally ready for such an effective sleeping bra.

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