Continuing on our recent theme for women about bras and sizes, this post is a little more about what goes in the bra than the bra itself. Some of our younger readers might not have experienced this yet, but as you age your breasts start to change. Many women only notice the shift in cup size (usually up!) but there are many other, subtler changes that happen too.
We wanted to make a mention here of an issue we are seeing a lot of recently, and that’s the record-breaking 700,000 girls between the ages of 10-15 who have said they are not happy with the way they look and feel they will be stuck that way forever. A lot of the reasons for feeling this way have their roots in the way the fashion industry idolizes the ‘perfect’ figure, and how everything these girls see reinforces that if they aren’t skinny with perfect hair and skin, they’re not beautiful. We have 2 things to say about this. The first is a message to all of those girls – you are perfect the way you are. Everyone has imperfections and its part of what makes them beautiful. The second is that your body will change, and keep changing throughout your entire life. So this month, we wanted to take a look at how our breasts change as we age.
Your 20’s – Tons Of Changes
Your 20’s is the second most dramatic time of physical change in your life (the first being when you hit puberty!) Your body is reshaping itself into your adult form, so a lot of things will suddenly be different. For your breasts, this means fluctuating in size and shape as your metabolism slows and you settle into your adult weight. In your 20’s you may also notice odd lumps or bumps appearing. These can be caused by changes to your menstrual cycle, common conditions like Fibrocystic change (characterized by lumps and bumps made of either scar tissue or cysts). It’s important you get these lumps and bumps checked out and treated if you feel them.
Your 30’s – Stretching Out
In your 30’s, you will notice various kinds of ‘stretching’. Many women have had one or more children by their 30’s, and the changes in breast size during and after pregnancy cause stretch marks across your breasts, which is very common. But you may also notice some ptosis, which is a drooping of the breast often caused by significant weight fluctuations. This can happen even if you haven’t had kids, but have simply changed weight a lot over the years.
Your 40’s – A Little Bit Softer Now
In your 40’s the lead-up and break of menopause will lead to a lot of changes in your breasts as your body starts to produce less estrogen. This is when your breasts go through what’s called ‘involution’, which is when the breast tissue is replaced by fat, which is why they suddenly feel softer. Involution doesn’t happen uniformly, so you may find one part of your breast gets soft or one stays firm while one goes soft. You will often find soft lumps in your breasts at this time, and that’s nothing to be worried about. But if you feel lumps of harder tissue (around the hardness of the bridge of your nose) you should get checked out. You are also more likely to experience ptosis at this stage in life.
These changes as you get older are completely normal and as your breasts change you should also consider changing your bra. Not just size, but style as well to accommodate the differences in support you need to be comfortable in your clothes. At Elle Courbee, we believe you shouldn’t have to choose between comfort and fashion. That’s why our collections are designed to bring you stylish, beautiful bras and shapewear that are so comfortable you’ll forget you’re wearing them. To find your perfect shapewear, just take a look through our shapewear collection.