Some days it just feels like you can’t rip that bra off fast enough as soon as you get home! From painful indents on the shoulders, to headaches, to even back and nerve damage, us ladies have dealt with it all.
You’re not alone, and here at Hourglass Lingerie our goal is to help you avoid all of this and love your bra again! Continue reading to find out how to alleviate the awful pain of the straps digging into your shoulders.
The first thing to try (that many women forget!) is to simply loosen the straps of the bra. Straps that fit properly should be able to have 2 fingers slide between the skin and the strap for a snug fit.
Don’t forget that most women have asymmetrical breasts, so the straps should also be adjusted to different lengths to provide the proper support. However, your bra straps should not be doing all of the heavy lifting. The majority of the support should come from the band and not the straps, so don’t tighten them more hoping it will provide better support.
If you’ve tried adjusting the straps and have had no success, the cause is likely a larger fitting issue. The biggest cause of straps digging can be attributed to a poorly fitting band!
The band provides 80% of the support in the bra, so when it doesn’t fit right, the straps are adjusted to overcompensate which causes way more pain in the long run.
If the band is too small, the straps are going to naturally fit too tight to your body. If the band is too large, then the straps have to do way more supporting of the breasts than they should be doing.
A properly fitting band should fit snugly, allowing the breasts to sit in the cup where they belong and creating a straight line across your back.
Another fit issue that causes the straps to dig in is the fit of the cups. Usually if it’s not the band causing the issue, then the cups are too small.
When the cups are too small, most women will overtighten the straps to compensate for the excess cup on the breast. This in turn leads to, you guessed it, the straps digging in!
Going up in cup size will usually solve this issue instantly.
A properly fitting cup should hold the entire breast, lay flat in the center between the breasts, and not dig in or protrude on the outer edges.
Sometimes the issue is completely separate from a fitting problem. Every women is made perfectly unique, which means not every bra style will work for you. This is completely ok! We want to help you find the styles that look and feel best on you.
Thin bra straps are not for everyone, especially if you have a larger bust. Bras with thicker straps, such as Hourglass Lingerie’s favorite, the Elomi Smooth EL4301 Sahara UW Moulded T-Shirt Bra will do a wonderful job protecting your shoulders by distributing weight more evenly.
Women with naturally sloping shoulders should try a racerback bra, which keeps the straps more centrally distributed. Our favorite racerback bras here at Hourglass Lingerie are the Parfait Dalis P5641 Navy Wirefree Seamed Bralette , Elomi Matilda EL8900 Cafe Au Lait Underwire Plunge Bra, and the Parfait P5482 Adriana Sapphire Lace Bralette.
Remember that if you choose to just adjust the band or cup size, the other must be adjusted accordingly.
If you increase band size, then cup size decreases and vice versa. For example, an increase in band size would look like going from a 34D to a 36C. This ensures that you have the same cup volume. The same goes for changing cup size.
Sizing your own can be tiring, expensive, and difficult! Check out our Size Guide for all of our hidden bra fitting secrets. You can also call to schedule a personalized, one-on-one bra fitting at Hourglass Lingerie to ensure the perfect fit the first time!
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