There are many advertised secrets and tricks to keeping breasts looking youthful and perky. However, no cream, potion or lotion can change the way aging affects the human body, and for the breast, aging means a loss of elasticity and droopy breasts. Breast surgery involving a surgical lift, called mastopexy, is the only way to significantly treat saggy breasts and return them to the perky breasts of youth.
That said, there is a lot of wisdom in maintaining good habits that slow and delay the rigors of age. Like every other part of your body, perky breasts are hurt by the aging process. There are some best practices you can adopt to help maintain perkier breasts, and here are the best points to keep in mind.
Creams, preparations, and supplements
Don’t believe it when someone selling a “miracle cure” in the form of a cream, lotion, or even a natural supplement comes along. None of those things can change the drop of the breasts lower on the chest wall. Breasts lose perkiness as age breaks down collagen and other skin tissues, and gravity puts more pressure on those same tissues. The Cooper’s ligaments and the tissues surrounding them also lose their strength and integrity over time. This is the constellation of factors that cause your formerly perky breasts to lose a bit of shape and firmness, and no cream or supplement can stop this.
On the other hand, do watch what goes into your body and maintain great nutrition so your skin and tissues can rebuild themselves at maximum capacity. In addition, wear high-quality sunscreen and moisturizer, and don’t forget your breasts. A common place for a sunburn is on the chest, and that’s damaging to the tissues that your breasts need to stay perky.
Bras
Avoid bras that lift your breasts too much, because you don’t want the muscles that support your breasts to get too weak. Do wear bras that really fit you—and consider seeing a professional fitter. Comfortable support is always a good move.
Exercise
Many women believe that they should avoid rigorous exercise because it makes their breasts bounce. This just isn’t true! In fact, research shows that there simply is no connection between bouncing and breasts sagging. However, there is definitely a proven connection between fitness and weight maintenance and overall body health. There is also a connection between weight fluctuations and a loss in breast tissue elasticity—and that causes sagging. If you want to keep your breasts perky, avoid these yo-yo situations and stay active.
You might also have heard that the right kinds of muscular exercise, especially to the muscles beneath and around your breasts, can help prevent sagging. Most exercises that people talk about have no connection to keeping breasts perky; the research does not bear the relationship out. However, chest exercises like bench presses and other exercises that work your pectoral area can also strengthen the surrounding ligaments. The surrounding ligaments include the Cooper’s ligaments, so you may experience some limited benefit there.
Smoking
Smoking is bad for you all around, and it has been shown to break down collagen. If you’ve ever looked at a lifelong smoker and thought they looked older than they were, that’s exactly why. This can also make your breasts sag, so avoid smoking.
Breastfeeding
This is the big question, isn’t it? Some research actually seems to indicate that excessive weight gain during pregnancy is a bigger factor in breasts that lose their perkiness than breastfeeding. However, it’s true that breastfeeding can in some cases change the shape or appearance of your breasts or nipples in particular. A surgical breast lift can not only return the breasts to a position higher on the chest but can also reduce the diameter of the areola. Nipple reduction can be performed at the same time if so desired.
The bottom line
You can’t escape all sagging; breasts have weight, the Earth has gravity, and skin and tissue breaks down over time. However, if it bothers you enough and you are determined to keep your breasts perky, there are plastic surgery options for you. Breast augmentation can offer improvement for some patients, however, inserting implants in breasts with aging skin and poor quality elasticity, implants just add more stress on the tissues and sagging is likely as time goes by. The ideal solution is to surgically reposition the breasts with mastopexy (breast lift). Combining these two procedures is a popular way to regain perkiness and achieve new size and shape.
For a detailed look at the facts within the context of your situation, reach out to the professionals at Changes Plastic Surgery & Spa today. We’d love to help you understand how to keep your breasts perky, and show you how we can help. Contact us for a professional consultation today.
