Ever since the beginning of time, breasts have been the most important factor in delineating the sexual attractiveness of a woman. Alas, the once frisky breasts of youth feature a tendency of sagging with growing age. Besides, for many women this is a matter of serious concern.
Many a times, sagging can be simply an issue of definition. However, one definition of sagging implies “hanging down (as from weakness or exhaustion).” Sagging is also thought of as being sinking or drooping from pressure or from weight as contrasted to the normal, i.e. how breasts should look like when they are beautiful. This article provides complete info about the underlying causes of sagging breasts, their underlying treatment, and some effective treatments. Hope you find it helpful!
Causes of Sagging Breasts
It is a fact that breast sagging, also referred as ptosis, is a condition experienced by all women sooner or later in their life (except those having small breasts). For many of us, it occurs quite early, even without pregnancy. Besides, there are numerous teens experiencing drooping breasts. But, overweight women contain extra fat tissue in their breasts thus making them heavier and sagging earlier than otherwise.
Most of the women are concerned about sagging for they feel it reduces their attractiveness. But, as a matter of surprise, it is not a turn-off to many men. Women are excessively anxious about something that is not virtually as much a matter of concern with the opposite sex as is thought to be.
Some of the most common causes of sagging breasts, however, include:
Age
The most common factor responsible for sagging breasts lies in growing age. With growing age, the skin tends to get lose because of inefficiency in producing sufficient amount of elastin and collagen thus leading the breasts to sag or droop down.
Genetics
The genes of a woman are also responsible for sagging breasts in a woman. This is because genes play an imperative role in determining the strength of your ligaments and elasticity of the skin.
Breast size and gravity
The size of the breast and gravity can pull down the skin and ligaments in heavy breasts. When gravity stretches the breast down depending on your ligaments and the elasticity of your skin, as specified by your diet and genes besides the normal aging process, the breasts tend to droop. Naturally, heavier breasts will droop more easily for they are being pulled down more by the gravity.
Weight reduction
Another common factor leading to sagging breasts is weight loss. When you reduce weight some amount of fat ebbs from the breasts. Generally, the skin and the ligaments contained by the breasts do not pull back accordingly thus leading to an empty looking breast which then droops.
Number of pregnancies
After the process of weaning, or even directly after pregnancy, the tissues of the breasts can shrink and lose their elasticity if breastfeeding is not done.
Smoking
Smoking is another factor responsible for sagging breasts. This is due to the reason that tobacco smoke carries free radicals responsible for damaging skin cells thus resulting in loss of elasticity. This can further result in facial wrinkles and drooping breasts.
Menopause
During menopause, the glands and ducts within the breasts shrink in size for they are not required any longer for milk production. This can make the breasts appear saggy.
Bra
It is a common misconception that wearing a bra prevents the breasts from sagging. As a matter of fact, the ligaments involved in holding the breasts up can get thinner and weaker if a bra is worn all the time.
Breast involution
Breast involution can be explained as process wherein the milk making system inside the breast shrinks as it is no longer required. This occurs either after weaning or immediately after pregnancy, if the woman does not breastfeed even a little, or even during menopause. The skin of the breast does not shrink with contraction of the tissues forming the breast thus making it look saggy and “empty.” After the process of weaning, the breast gets its fat deposited back within a few months thus helping the breast regain their pre-pregnancy size, but sagging generally remains.
Causes for Sagging breasts in teenagers
Maximum number of women, and even some teenage girls, are anxious about their breasts’ appearance. Sagging breasts is usually a condition occurring in adulthood, specifically during menopause. Although breast sagging is quite infrequent among teenagers, some teenage girls might experience more sagging. This is possible in case of those with heavy breasts or those who are involved in regular exercise. It is much easier to prevent the worsening of drooping breasts than treating it. Don’t panic if you see your breasts have started to sag too early for there are numerous options available for you.
Treatment for Sagging Breasts
The condition of sagging and drooping breasts can be made better with the use of a good quality, uplifting bra and exercises as well. As per some studies carried out by professionals and experts, sagging breasts can be treated through breast implantation. Moreover, one might require further surgery in case the breast is extremely loose. It is, however, important to consider all options before making a choice with cosmetic surgery. Although surgery can help you with getting rid of the ugly looking sag in the breasts, it is noteworthy that these surgeries can leave scars.
However, there are certain tips that can be of great help. Some important ones are mentioned ahead for your acquaintance.
Tips on Sagging Breasts
There are certain tips and ways which can help in avoiding or slowing the process of breast sagging without requiring you to go under knife. These include:
Supportive Bras
In your days of being young, your breasts might have delineated gravity, staying frisky even while moving around bra-less. It’s time to give a break to your breasts from all the heavy lifting through a supportive bra. Go for selecting a bra that fits you properly and keeps your breasts in place all day. The main consideration while selecting the perfect bra is that the nipple should rest between the shoulder and the elbow. If the breasts droop lower, get re-fitted with a better supportive bra. The breasts will hold their shape without bra for a longer time if they are kept supported and uplifted for a higher time.
Breast feeding
According to researches and studies, the possibilities of sagging breasts increase after weaning process. This is because the milk contained in breasts stretches the skin, and moreover, the baby also stretches the tissues as he/she pulls on the breast. As a preventive measure, it is advisable to rework on the feeding position. The right position is bracing on a chair or couch so that the baby can sit higher in your arms. Support your breast in a way that the baby can suck from the side rather than sucking from below.
Massage
Regular massage on breasts helps increase the circulation in breast tissues. This increased circulation budges fresh oxygen through the muscles and tissues thus allowing the body to heal itself. For your breasts, this implies that your body contains fresh oxygen to encourage the growth of collagen thus increasing the elasticity.
Replacing old bras
Even the best bras available have a life as long as 6-9 months. The cups and the band size of the bra get stretched with time and the weight of the breast. Moreover, the bra material is also weakened through washing thus making the bras more stretched over passing time. It is recommended to hand-wash bras in cold water and avoid drying out in a heated drier.
Moisturizing
Dry and dehydrated skin is weaker and more at risk of getting stretched. Slather on body butters or moisturizing lotions every day. It is advisable to look for products containing collagen-boosting ingredients, like holy basil or Echinacea.
Solutions for Breast Sagging
Growing age, smoking, weight fluctuations, pregnancy, along with breastfeeding are some of the factors that contribute to drooping breasts. Although your breasts may eventually give in to the gravity forces, there are certain measures which can provide you with at least short-term uplift for drooping breasts. These solution probabilities may vitiate drastic measures demanding a large cash payout and considerable time for recovery to selecting just the correct foundation garment.
Some effective solutions for sagging breasts include:
Breast Augmentation Surgery
The only way of directly lifting drooping breasts is through the means of surgery. Breast augmentation surgery can be performed by surgeons either by way of or without the use of breast implants. Briny breast implants contain lesser risk allied with cracking, but breast implants made from silicone may look and provide the feeling of being somewhat more innate.
Breast-lift surgery is taken as a major surgery, involving similar risks allied with any method requiring general anesthesia. Moreover, breast-lift surgery may lead to reduction in nipple sensation, blemishes, as well as infection at incision site.
Pectoral Exercises
The tissues in the breast are made up primarily from fat. However, it also carries milk ducts, connective tissues, blood vessels, and lymph nodes. The female breast does not contain any muscle tissue. Therefore, exercise is not directly helpful in lifting the breast. To make the condition worse, weight loss normally leads to loss of breast tissue.
However, regularly exercising the pectoral muscles, which are involved in supporting the chest, can be of great help in breast upliftment. This lift can improve the appearance of breasts besides shaping the upper body. Also, weight training, pushups, and yoga can be helpful in strengthening of pectoral muscles thus providing life for drooping breasts.
The Right Choice for Bra
As a matter of surprise, almost 8 on 10 women chose the wrong sized bra. Besides, the breast size of a woman changes many times during the life span due to fluctuations in weight. A specialized fitter would first measure the body circumference just below your breast to measure the band size. Then the fitter measures the breast by casing a measure tape around the body as well as the nipples. Deducting the size of the band from the size over the breast determines the cup size as follows:
– A cup
– B cup
– C cup
– D cup
– DD cup
– DDD cup
Posture
It is possible to get an instant breast lift by correct posture, like standing up straight. Correct posture benefits in numerous ways besides lifting the breasts. These include helping in back pain, have better digestion,
Avoid smoking
Eliminating the habit of smoking can be beneficial for sagging breasts. This is due to the reason that use of nicotine fastens the aging process of the skin thus producing damaging effects on the elasticity.
Exercises to lift and firm drooping breasts
If you do not find exercise to be the right choice for you, you can always go for certain exercises to get help with sagging breasts. These exercises are helpful in building the muscles rather than increasing the size of breast. This goal can be achieved by effective utilization of the body weight and some quality workout equipment pieces.
Some effective and really helpful exercises include:
Push-ups
Push-ups mainly work the chest starting with a horizontal pose on the ground. All that is required includes your body weight to perform these. After positioning your hands apart at a distance equivalent to your shoulder-width and feet joined behind you, the body is pushed up till the time the arms are completely extended and lower your body back in a slow manner. These basic push-ups aim at the middle part of your chest. Targeting the upper part of the chest requires you to roost the feet up and about on a chair or bench. On the other hand, targeting lower portion of your chest requires you to position the hands on a chair or bench. During all these variations, it is highly important to keep the back aptly straight and the core tight to help sagging breasts.
Yoga
Yoga includes gentle exercises which can be integrated into the regular strength and aerobic regimen. It aims at improving posture and targets all the important muscle groups. General toning and better posture are helpful in lifting sagging breasts naturally.
Bench presses
Just like push-ups, there exist three different variations for bench presses designed to target the lower, middle, and upper chest area. Incline presses refer to those carried out lying on a slant bench and are targeted at the upper chest area, flat bench at the center part, and decline bench presses at the lower portion of the chest area. However, all these exercises should be performed with dumbbells or a barbell.
Very importantly, if dumbbells are used, they should be lowered down to slightly touch the chest and shove it in a straight line up in a sturdy motion. And if dumbbells are being used, they should be held an inch at a distance above the chest and then lowered to the sides through bending of elbows. Further, stop when the upper arms get parallel to the floor, shove them back upside and repeat the procedure.
Cable crossovers
The cable machines feature two stacks of weight which are placed almost 10ft away accompanied with downhill pulley attachments featuring more than one handles available to make use of. Cable crossovers refer to regular chest exercises that are performed through the use of a cable machine. Performing cable crossovers involves attaching lone handles to elevated settings, stand in middle of the weights heaps and cling to a handle clutched in apiece hand with arms up in either sides. Push these handles downward in obverse direction of the body, lift them back upside and repeat the process. An alteration in the position of handles, different chest muscles will be affected in different ways.
Upward facing dog
The upward facing dog refers to a yoga exercise that targets the chest and arms. It begins with a face down position on the floor with hands beneath the shoulders and tops of the feet flat on the floor. Slowly, push the chest off the floor and extend your arms completely. On doing this, the thighs are raised off the floor so that hands and feet are the only points of contact. The back and butt are kept relaxed and the position is held on to until you feel tired.
Inner chest exercises
Cable flies and dumbbell flies are the exercises that work on the inner portion of your chest. Dumbbell flies are performed from the similar commencing position like chest presses. However, it is important to twist the palms in a manner of these facing each other. Subsequent to bending the elbows slightly, hold the bend besides lowering the arms to sides. After the upper arms get parallel to the floor, shove back upside and repeat. While using cable machine, make sure to place the handles at a position leveling your chest height, stand in between the weight heaps and hold the handles. Budge the arms en route for each other accompanied by a little bend in elbows and push them back outward.
Wrapping up, in addition to the aforesaid tips and treatments, keeping your skin healthy can also be beneficial in sagging breasts. It is advisable to eat foods that are rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and B-complex for they encourage elasticity and reduce wrinkles thus helping in tightening the skin around the breast and thus lift sagging breasts.
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