A scoop and a swoop and your silhouette is saved (Picture: Getty)
Among the trials and tribulations of wearing a bra, from strap marks to uncomfortable underwires, back bulges are up there with the most annoying.
It’s a situation many of us have found ourselves in: you take the time to find the perfect outfit, choose seamless underwear to avoid VPL, then realise your bra completely ruins the silhouette by creating unsightly rolls under your arms and shoulders.
While this issue may be down to a poorly-fitting or unsupportive bra, it could also be down to how you put your bra on – and it’s easily solved with a simple method called the scoop and swoop.
Bra fitters around the world recommend the scoop and swoop for how it helps ensure all your breast tissue is inside the cup. It can also help you determine whether you’re wearing the right size (which the vast majority aren’t).
Your breast tissue may be sitting outside the cup of your bra (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Here’s how to do it:
Start by putting your bra on and fastening the clasps.
Bend forward slightly, before reaching a hand into the opposite bra cup and ‘scooping’ the breast tissue forwards from your underarm to the front.
Repeat on the other side.
For the ‘swoop’ part, stand up straight and let your breasts settle back into your bra cups.
Run your hand under your bust to ensure there is no breast tissue spilling out from the bottom of the bra.
Despite only taking a few seconds each morning, you’ll notice a big difference to how comfortable and supportive your bra feels after scooping and swooping.
Bravissimo Customer Services Manager, Laura Franklin, tells Metro.co.uk: ‘You will feel like the sides of your boobs are settled nicely into the bra, and if it’s a good fit then you won’t have any bulging or wrinkling in the cups.’
Because the sensitive breast tissue – which often stretches to the underarms, collarbones, sides and back of your torso – is correctly held, you should find that your underwire digs in less. Plus, over time you may see a reduction in bulges even when your bra is off.
Get scooping and swooping for the perfect fit (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
That said, the technique can reveal you’re wearing the wrong size bra, necessitating an expensive yet worthwhile overhaul of your underwear drawer.
According to Laura, ‘bulging over the middle of the cups after doing the scoop and swoop’ means you ‘probably need a bigger cup size.’
Conversely, gaping or wrinkling likely means you need to size down in the cup.
Alongside regular bra fittings, Laura has a few recommendations for finding a bra that fits. She says:
‘Your back band should be firm (but comfortable). It should be horizontal around your body without riding up or digging in. We recommend fastening a new bra on its loosest hooks so that you can tighten it if it stretches over time as you wash and wear it.
The underwires in your bra should sit flat on your ribcage (not your boob!) all the way round to your armpits. The wires between your boobs should lie flat against your chest without digging in, rubbing or poking out.
When your bra cups fit well, your boobs should be fully enclosed in the cups – there should be a smooth line, with no ridge or bulging, where the top and the side of the cups end. If you’re bulging out of your bra or bra cups are wrinkling, it’s likely you need a different cup size.’
On top of the benefits of a bra that keeps everything in place and looks great under your clothes, the scoop and swoop can help you to get to know your body better too.
Monthly self-examinations are a vital tool in catching breast cancer early, and familiarity with what ‘normal’ is for you – be that size fluctuations during your cycle, nipple positioning or bumps in the skin – helps you spot anything new or unusual.
How’s that for a scoop?
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MORE : How regular bra fittings can help you check for breast cancer
Say goodbye to uncomfortable underwire digging into your ribcage.