Breast sagging, also called breast ptosis can affect the shape of the breasts, causing them to lose their youthful, perky appearance. The degree of sagging can vary from mild to severe and can impact the shape of the breasts differently depending on various factors such as genetics, age, and lifestyle.
In general, sagging breasts tend to have a flattened appearance, with the nipple pointing downwards instead of straight ahead. The lower part of the breast may also appear stretched and elongated, while the upper part may appear empty or deflated. In more severe cases, the breast tissue can hang over the breast crease, giving the breast a pendulous or droopy appearance.
Different breast shapes can also be affected differently by sagging. For example, women with pendulous breasts (breasts that are long and narrow) may experience more severe sagging and a greater loss of volume, while women with more rounded or teardrop-shaped breasts may experience less sagging but may still lose fullness in the upper portion of the breast.
Women who have sagging breasts and women whose breasts are too small or underdeveloped admit they sometimes feel “less like a woman.” Breasts are a fundamental part of the female figure, breast sagging is an experience faced by most ladies. Some no longer have confidence in their body because their breast could not win the fight against gravity. Sagging breasts can seriously weaken women’s self-esteem making them feel less attractive to the opposite sex.
Does Pressing Breast Cause Sagging?
No, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that pressing or touching the breasts during sexual activity causes them to sag. Breast sagging is a natural process that can occur due to various factors such as aging, gravity, pregnancy, breastfeeding, weight fluctuations, and genetics.
During sexual activity, breast stimulation can cause the breasts to temporarily enlarge or become engorged due to increased blood flow. This can also cause the nipples to become erect and sensitive. However, this temporary change in breast size or shape is not likely to cause permanent sagging.
It is important to note that excessive force or pressure on the breasts during sexual activity can cause discomfort or pain. It is also important to communicate with your partner about what feels comfortable and pleasurable for you during sexual activity.
What causes saggy breasts?
You need not wonder why such occur as here are some of the reasons why it happens.
Changes in weight and/or hormones: This includes fluctuations due to weight gain and loss due to dietary habits as well as pregnancy. The more pregnancies a woman has, the more likely her breasts are to shrink and lose their lift.
Aging: Because of the way that breasts are built, sagging is common and largely unavoidable. After all, breasts contain no muscles of their own to hold them up. Rather, breasts are made of fat, glands, milk ducts, and a type of connective tissue called the “Cooper’s ligaments,” which are thought to provide some structural support. As a woman gets older, these ligaments may get stretched and lose elasticity. Breasts may lose fullness and size as they lose their underlying support system of tissue and fat.
Running without proper support: When a woman runs, jogs, or engages in other vigorous exercise, her breasts move in three directions – vertically, horizontally, and in an overall figure-8 like motion. Without a properly fitted sports bra, breasts move too freely and may stretch the Cooper’s ligaments and lead to sagging.
Smoking: You knew that smoking could harm your lungs and your heart, but did you know that it could change the shape of your breasts? Smoking destroys elastin, the protein that gives skin its elasticity. With lower levels of elastin, the breasts droop and sag.
Breast cancer or respiratory conditions. Sagging can also be caused by breast cancer or respiratory conditions such as tuberculosis. In addition, this issue is aggravated by excessive consumption of nicotine, alcohol, and carbonated beverages. SEE: FDA Approves Novel Drug For Breast Cancer Treatment
One thing that doesn’t cause breasts to sag is breastfeeding. Research has shown that it is simply the size changes that a woman’s breasts undergo through pregnancy that make the difference – not whether she breast-feeds her child. Breast milk is still the best food for a growing infant, so do not let worries about sagging breasts deter you from breast-feeding.
Breast sagging may be reduced by wearing a properly-fitted, supportive brassiere, especially when working out. For women who have stretched skin and decreased breast volume, a breast lift may be an option. But women who are pregnant, breast-feeding, or planning to lose weight should not consider the procedure, as breast shape may change.
How to Prevent Sagging Breasts Naturally
Although it is a common belief that breastfeeding causes ptosis (medical term for drooping), a 2008 study published by the Aesthetic Surgery Journal stated that breastfeeding is not a risk factor. The root cause lies in pregnancy, because weight gain in pregnancy causes ligaments to stretch thus leading to drooping later. Maintaining a relatively healthy weight gain in pregnancy can help minimize this issue.
Various anti-sagging and breast-toning lotions and ointments are offered on the market. But, if you are more inclined to natural methods, try these simple home remedies.
Maintaining optimal weight
If you frequently struggle with weight gain and loss and fail to maintain constant optimal weight, it will subsequently have a negative impact on your breasts as your skin especially that covering your breasts, loses its suppleness when stretched. Furthermore, losing weight implies losing breast fat which happens at a faster rate compared to fat reduction on other parts of the body. After continual stretching, your skin sags in time.
Drinking a lot of water
The skin is made of cells that mostly contain water, according to experts from the University of Wisconsin Hospitals. If the body is deficient in water, i.e. if the skin doesn’t obtain the needed amount of water, it becomes dull, flaky, and dry. Lack of water leads to early aging of the breast skin as well, making it less firm and saggy. SEE: Breast Cancer NGOs In Nigeria and their Contacts
Nutrition & Exercise
A combination of healthy food and exercise is the ideal way to lose weight and at the same time maintain your skin supple. Radical weight loss in a short time inevitably impacts your breast firmness. Even inappropriate weight can cause breast sagging.
In order to avoid saggy breasts, it’s vital to consume food that is nutritionally rich i.e. abundant in protein (protein deficiency leads to breast muscles losing their firmness and suppleness!), vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and essential fats. Nutritional insufficiencies generally cause drooping of breasts as breast growth is dependent on nutrients. Foods that should be on your daily diet list are tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cabbages, onions, garlic, etc.
Pomegranate
An excellent anti-aging fruit, pomegranate is efficient in the prevention of breast sagging. Pomegranate seed oil is rich in phytonutrients that maintain breast suppleness.
Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera, an incredible plant abounding in antioxidants, prevents the negative influences of free radicals and stimulates breast firmness. With its inherent skin-tightening characteristics, aloe vera is an excellent tool to fight sagging breasts.
Apply some aloe vera gel to your breasts and massage it gently in circular motion for 10 minutes. Let it stay on your skin for another 10 minutes, then rinse it with cold water. Do this 4-5 times per week for the desired effect.
Home Remedies for Firm Breasts
Breast exercise
As breasts are made of fat, there is no breast muscle to tone or tighten. Chest exercises enhance the appearance of your pectoral area by strengthening surrounding ligaments, which makes your breasts look perkier.
Push-ups are the easiest and most beneficial exercise for breast firmness because they strengthen the pectoral muscles below the breasts. Generally, they help shape your breasts and reduce the fat deposits surrounding the chest.
Pectoral muscles can also be tightened by lifting weights, curls, chest presses, dumbbell flys or any other type of exercise that has an effect on your muscles.
Breast masks
Breast masks act in the same way as face masks – they help tighten the skin. Using breast masks at least once a week can lead to desired results.
Vitamin E oil & Egg breast mask
Make a mixture of:
- 1 tbsp. of plain Yogurt
- 1 tbsp. vitamin E oil
- 1 egg
Instructions:
Apply the mixture on your breast and rub it in gently.
Leave it on for about 30 minutes.
Wash it off with cold water.
Massage
Use coconut or olive oil for breast massage 2-3 times a week in order to stimulate firmness and boost skin suppleness, but also to enhance skin tone and texture. Massage increases blood flow by drawing blood to the skin surface and activates muscle boost and cell renewal at the same time, thus reducing the appearance and severity of saggy breasts.
Ice massage
Breast firmness can be obtained by practicing ice massages as ice helps tone the skin surrounding your breasts. Rub a couple of ice cubes on your breasts in wide circular motions. You can also massage your breasts, in the same way, using crushed ice in a zip lock bag wrapped in a cloth, but no longer than a minute so that you avoid breast numbness.
Plant oils
You can also tone your breast skin and tissues by having breast massages with vegetable oils like coconut, olive, or grapeseed oil. All of these, including almond oil, are highly beneficial for nourishing breast skin and maintaining its firmness. To get the desired effect, mix the vegetable oil with two drops of any essential oil before applying it to your breasts.
Essential oils
Essential oils are known for their effect on skin cell rejuvenation. Skin suppleness and firmness can easily be recovered by using essential oils like fennel seed oil, spearmint oil, carrot oil, lemongrass oil and cypress oil. In order to tone the skin surrounding your breasts, massage them with any of these oils at regular daily intervals. Be careful to use only small amounts of these oils, two drops will suffice, as they can burn the skin.
Avoid these sagging triggers:
There are a number of triggers potentially causing sagging breasts that need to be dodged. They are:
Smoking & over-tanning
A 2008 study reveals the negative impacts of smoking on breast firmness. This is also true of tanning, poor nutrition, a high-fat diet, or any other bad lifestyle habit that causes skin collagen deterioration.
Wrong sized or poorly-fitting bras
Poorly fitting bras are as unfavorable for breast firmness as wearing no bra at all. What prevents sagging is choosing bras with special support holders or pads at the bottom of the cup.
Is going braless beneficial for your breasts?
According to the findings of a recent study of 15 years conducted in France (the study, however, does not imply breast size), bras not only lack benefits for women, but may also be harmful in the long run. Jean-Denis Rouillon, a professor at the University of Franche-Comté in Besançon, claims that “Medically, physiologically, anatomically, the breast does not benefit from being deprived of gravity.”
What professor Rouillon did was measure and examine the breasts of over 300 women, aged 18 and 35, concentrating on the long-term body effects that additional support provided by bras has. In the end, he concluded that women who did not wear bras developed more muscle tissue which provided natural breast support, thus benefiting in the long run. The professor also observed that the nipples of braless women took a higher position in relation to their shoulders. Finally, the study indicated that the restrictive materials of bras inhibit the muscle tissue of breasts from growing, which actually advances breast sagging.
Rouillon, however, warned of the danger to advise all women to dispose of their bras because the study is not comprehensive. The professor added that women who have worn bras for decades are less likely to benefit from the above-mentioned recommendations. ALSO READ: Breast Enlargement Pills and Cream Side Effects
