Have Underarm Bulge? Then You Need to Read This.

Is underarm bulge really just more boob in disguise?

This is one of those “The More You Know” posts that I feel like I need to write as my public service for the week. 

Have you ever put on your bra in the morning (or like me, just roll outta bed with it already on?) and get dressed only to see bulges of fat under your arms/sides of your boobs?

Many women believe that their bodies are just flabby and lumpy. And sometimes that is totally the case. When we gain weight, there’s no telling where it may go on our bodies and our genetics sometimes predetermine where it’s all going to land without us having any say in it. 

But did you know that one of the biggest causes of underarm “fat” is actually your bra?

Wearing a bra that doesn’t properly contain your breasts, for years and years, is one of the reasons why some of us get more underarm bulging than others. 

We already know that most women are wearing the wrong size bras. I also personally can tell you that the most common mis-fit out there is women wearing bras that are way too big in the band and way too small in the cup. 

That’s because in the US, we’ve been living in a society where for the greater part of the last 30 years, a mall lingerie store who will not be named, has controlled more than 50% of the bra market. 

And they totally suck at bra-sizing. 

Never once have I been “fitted” in one of their stores even close to what my band/cup size is. And that’s because they don’t sell my band/cup size so they have always shoe-horned me into something terrible instead. It’s also because they cannot understand how to properly fit a woman for a bra.

So all of these ill-fitting bras are out there, ruining women’s back and shoulders and such. 

They’re also HUGE causes underarm bulging that may become permanent. 

That’s because a bra that doesn’t pull your boobs into the center of your chest, and fit tightly around the band, can cause breast tissue to migrate. 

Said another way, unless your bra is covering your entire outside of your breast and gently pulling it forward, it’s not working properly and you’re going to perpetuate boob-fat migrating. 

What many women’s bras are doing today is what I call a “smash and spill”. They are smashing the breasts down flat, causing pancaking and spillage out the sides. That’s because they don’t fit properly. All of this pressure eventually causes the breast tissue to “migrate” back. Under your arms and even a bit to your back. 

What is to be done about this?

Short of losing so much weight that you have single digit body fat around 2% (please don’t do that, it’s not usually natural or healthy), you can get into a better fitting bra. 

See my previous posts about getting your band right please. Band is +80% of your support and you need one that fits to ensure that your cups can have a shot of staying in place. 

Obviously you need to get your cups right as well. Stop worrying about what letter you want to be, and start worrying about what letter will actually fit you best.

Look at brands like mine for DD+ cups or UK brands that have been doing the whole cup-sizing-above-D- is-totally-normal thing for years. 

Measure yourself (I’m coming out with a video series on this soon so stay tuned) and do the math. Check out online resources, like our Sizing Guide, for easy-to-do bra sizing.

The average cup size in the US right now is +DD, and I think it’s actually closer to an F quite frankly. 

If you’re in this group, get yourself a better bra that fits. 

Get one that covers your side boob and pulls it in. Stop allowing your bra to push your breast tissue all over the place. It’s delicate. It doesn’t want to be smashed on your chest.

You may not be able to fight genetics, or get to your perfect ideal weight, but you absolutely can do something about the boob-fat migration, that is happening as I write this, and stop it in its tracks. 

We owe it to ourselves to get educated on how we can take control of our bodies. And we owe it to other women to share our knowledge so that we all can get to a better place.

NOW GO AND GET A BRA THAT FITS PLEASE!!!