Why Does My Bra Band Roll?

Why Does My Bra Band Roll?

Ahh, the rolling bra band. That would make a great touring band name, don’t you think? 

Ladies, some of our bra bands may tend to roll up on us in the back. I’m not talking about the band shifting. I am specifically talking about the bottom elastic portion rolling up on us. Sure we can attribute it to the way certain fabrics and bra components wear. Or the style. Or in what position on our body we choose to wear our bras. In reality, it's usually because of a combination of our body composition and body shape.  I’m here to tell you both lean and curvy ladies alike experience this. 

“My band should not roll if my bra fits properly.”

Not true! While having your band roll can be frustrating, it is completely normal. The band rolls, not due to the size being too small, but due to a combination of our shape and build. This means that it happens to women of all shapes and sizes because a woman’s body typically has a “softer” area around her rib cage and when we move, the body can push against areas of the bra, causing it to “roll”.

“My band is too snug because it leaves marks.”

Have you ever worn hair elastics around your wrist for a few hours? When you take it off, there is a mark left behind, right? When you wear that elastic in your hair to make a ponytail for the day, there is a dent in your hair after you remove it, no?

This image helps to emphasize that the band of our bra is made of elastic and a firm one. It needs to be firm in order to keep the band down on your back, therefore supporting the lift in the front. Think of it like breaking in a pair of shoes. Within a few wears, it will become more comfortable and feel like a second skin, but in the beginning, a few marks are normal.

Having said that, it is important to note that there is a difference between a comfortably firm band and a constrictive one. Constrictive is not the goal and should be avoided no matter what. 

“Back fat and body softness.”

85 to 90% of a bra support comes from the firmness in your band, so it really does need to be firm and that can often create some of our excess skin to come out over the bra, thus creating the thing we struggle with the most: back fat!

This is totally normal and it happens to women of all ages, shapes and sizes.

The goal is to find a bra that minimizes the look of back fat but still delivers support. Women will often opt for a larger band size to avoid having any visible back fat. The problem with wearing a 36 band when you should be wearing a 34 is that it can lead to tightening your straps too much trying to lift your breasts, but that results in pressure and stress on your shoulders, neck and back. It will also comprise the lift and shape of your breasts.

“There is gaping in my bra so it must be too big.”

There are some key components that go into a well-fitted bra. The gore (center wires) should lay flat against your sternum and the wires should come just behind the breast tissue under the arms. This ensures that both breasts are being individually supported. Bras must be fit to the fullest part of the larger breast (that’s right ladies; we ALL have one that is bigger than the other). This can sometimes mean that there is some wrinkling or gaping in the fabric on the smaller side. Typically, if this is happening, but the bra is perfect on the fuller side, than it may just not be the right bra for your body.

source: thebraroom.ca

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