How to Firm Your Breasts

Last Updated: September 2, 2022 References Approved

It is not uncommon to want to have firm and perky breasts. Unfortunately, pregnancy, hormone fluctuations, and aging of the breast tissue and skin can easily cause your breasts to sag. While you can quickly achieve dramatic results by consulting a medical professional and possibly having surgery, this is not the only route to getting firmer breasts. Adjusting your lifestyle and posture habits will prevent any further sagging from occurring, and developing a normal exercise routine that targets the chest muscles will lift your breasts over time.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Preventing Sagging Breasts

1
Wear supportive sports bras while you exercise. Breasts bounce and stretch with each jump or step. Exercising is a healthy habit for you, but just make sure to wear a fitted sports bra before heading out for a jog. Having the right sports bra will reduce the stress and strain exerted on the breast tissue and chest muscles.^{[1]
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- Try and stay away from compression bras that flatten your breasts against your chest wall. Compression bras will help reduce the up and down bouncing, but not the side-to-side movements because the bra is treating your breasts as a single moving unit. Instead, opt for an encapsulation bra that has separate molded cups that will support your breasts’ movement individually.^{[2]
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- If you have large breasts, look for underwire sports bras with thick straps.^{[3]
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2
Replace your bras when the supportive bands stretch. If the innermost clasp on the bra no longer provides a tight, supportive fit, it is time to replace them. Breast size can change with hormones, weight fluctuations, and pregnancy, so get sized for a new bra if your current bra is uncomfortable or too loose.^{[4]
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- If you normally wear your bra by hooking the loosest clasp, slowly start using the tighter clasps as the bra stretches. As the bra wears over time, this will help you get the most use out of your bra.
- Maintain the life of your bras by clasping them before you wash them. If you can’t hand wash them, use the gentle cycle and place them in a mesh laundry bag to avoid stretching them.^{[5]
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3
Avoid exposing your chest to sunlight for long periods of time. Excess tanning without a top on, especially without the use of sunscreen, can dry out the tissue around your breasts and cause it to lose its elasticity. If you want to tan, try doing so sparingly and always wear sunscreen.^{[6]
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4
Practice good posture by keeping your back straight and your shoulders back. Having your back hunched and your shoulders rolled forward will relax your chest muscles and cause your breasts to droop. If this happens regularly, gravity will naturally begin to pull down on your breasts. By simply straightening your posture, you will keep the muscles around your chest toned and lift your breasts.^{[7]
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- Place a pillow behind your back if you find yourself slouching in a chair.^{[8]
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  Cleveland Clinic
  Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
  Go to source}
- If you are sitting on the floor, lean your back against a wall to keep you from hunching over.^{[9]
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  Trustworthy Source
  Cleveland Clinic
  Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
  Go to source}
5
Sleep on your back. If you favor one side while you sleep, you may find that the elevated breast sags and stretches more than the one against the mattress. By staying on your back, you can keep both breasts firmer longer.^{[10]
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- If you wear a bra to sleep, while you may experience the immediate rewards of perkier breasts in the morning, you can actually be doing long-term damage to your breasts. By wearing a bra at night, especially one with an underwire, you are steadily decreasing your breasts’ natural ability to self-lift.^{[11]
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6
Avoid weight fluctuations caused by yo-yo dieting. Going on and off your diet can lead to stretch marks and inelastic skin. When you gain weight, the skin around your breasts stretches. If you quickly lose that gained weight, your breasts may appear to sag more because the skin stretched. Over time, continuous weight fluctuation will cause your skin to lose its elasticity.^{[12]
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- Try and come up with a realistic exercise and portion control regime that you will stick to. This will help break the cycle of the yo-yo dieting.
- You can have weight fluctuations from causes other than yo-yo dieting, but those reasons like hormone influxes, stress, and illness, may not be within your control to fix. Something like avoiding yo-yo dieting is.
7
Quit smoking to minimize tissue stretching and collagen breakdown. Nicotine breaks down the elastin, which is the elastic connective tissue in the skin around your breasts, and the collagen, which is responsible for making your breasts firm. While quitting smoking might not reverse damage already done to the elastin and collagen, it may stop the sagging process from worsening.^{[13]
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- To get started, visit your general physician and discuss ways to begin safely quitting. Quitting smoking can be difficult and put stress on your body until it adjusts to being without nicotine. You want to speak to your doctor about any ongoing conditions or illnesses the stress of quitting might worsen.^{[14]
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  Trustworthy Source
  American Lung Association
  Nonprofit health organization dedicated to improving lung health through education, advocacy, and research
  Go to source}
8
Apply cold water on your chest. Cold water or even ice can help increase the elasticity of the skin around your breasts. After you have finished showering with hot water, rinse your breasts with cold water.^{[15]
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- Using cold water on your breasts works well in addition to a normal exercise routine. Since this method will only help the elasticity of the skin, it will not make your breasts firmer. Firming your breasts will require exercise. ^{[16]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Firming Your Chest Muscles

1
Take a few laps in a local swimming pool to firm your bustline. Despite the fluidity of swimming, it takes a considerable amount of strength to do steadily. If you have access to a swimming pool, this can be an easy way to firm your breasts and get a great workout.^{[17]
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- Practice doing freestyle strokes, breast strokes, and butterfly strokes to engage your core and chest muscles.^{[18]
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2
Do traditional push-ups to engage your chest and upper body muscles. While these may seem difficult to do at first, doing push-ups is an easy way to increase your muscle endurance without needing any extra equipment. As you increase your reps overtime, the muscles in your chest and core will strengthen and firm, lifting your breasts.^{[19]
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- Your back should be straight the entire time when you are doing the push-ups. If your back bows, you will not effectively work your chest muscles.
- To help build up your muscles, you can start by doing push-ups on your knees, and then gradually work up to being able to do a traditional push-up.
3
Do weighted bench presses to tighten up your chest muscles. The weights will provide resistance to your chest and shoulder muscles, and will overtime lift your breasts. You can either use dumbbell weights or bar weights, whichever you are most comfortable with using.^{[20]
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- Begin by lying flat on your back on an exercise bench and hold the weights with both hands. Keeping your back flat, push the weights away from your shoulders and into the air. Inhale as you bring the weights back down to your chest, and repeat the process 10 more times.^{[21]
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- Bench presses can be dangerous since you are lifting the weights directly over your head. Make sure to have a spotter with you in case of an emergency.^{[22]
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4
Transform your weighted bench press into an advanced dumbbell-fly exercise. Once you build up your muscles from the bench presses, you can transition the same technique into a dumbbell-fly exercise. This is an easy way to target extra muscles, and you can even do this exercise standing.^{[23]
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- When you push the weights upwards for the bench press, exhale, and spread out your arms like wings until the weights are level with your shoulders. Keeping your arms straight, lift the weights up, and then bring the weights back down to your chest.
- Do not start doing this exercise with heavy weights as you can easily bend or twist your wrists.^{[24]
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5
Perform a high-low ball squeeze with a small exercise ball. This is a simple exercise that can be done at home, or between commercial breaks when watching television. To get started, you only need a small exercise ball, or a small playground ball.^{[25]
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- Press the ball between your palms. The ball should fit comfortably between your palms, and have a little weight to it when you lift it up.
- Take a wide stance like you are mid-squat. Your knees should be bent at 90-degree angles, and your toes should be slightly pointed outward.
- Bend your elbows and bring the ball to your chest. Then extend your arms over your head, squeezing the ball tightly, while simultaneously extending your knees halfway out of the wide stance.
- Bring your legs back to the original squatting position. Then quickly pulse your legs upwards as you bring the ball back to your chest. The movement should be fluid, almost like a small bounce, before settling into your starting position.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Finding Medical or Surgical Solutions

1
Visit a dermatologist if your breast skin is sagging. The doctor may be able to suggest chemical peels and laser treatments to firm up sagging skin. You also should ask about less invasive treatments like anti-aging creams, or other skin remedies that would improve the collagen in your skin.
2
Ask your general physician for their surgeon recommendations.^{[26]
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Expert Source

Daniel Barrett, MD
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Expert Interview. 23 July 2020.} Cosmetic or plastic surgery can involve a number of risks or take a toll on your current health. You want to make sure that you do not have any underlying condition that would prevent you from getting plastic surgery. Once your doctor has cleared you, ask your doctor about reputable plastic surgeons and see if any are covered under your medical insurance.^{[27]
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Trustworthy Source
US Food and Drug Administration
U.S. government agency responsible for promoting public health
Go to source}
- Make sure to go over the benefits and risks with your selected surgeon. Explain your expectations, and have the surgeon go over in detail about the different surgical options, the costs, and recovery times.
3
Get a surgical lift to make your breasts look younger.^{[28]
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Expert Source

Daniel Barrett, MD
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Expert Interview. 23 July 2020.} A mastopexy lifts the skin, ligaments, and breast tissue to make your breasts firmer. If you believe you are done having children, a surgical breast lift can make your entire chest look younger and firmer.^{[29]
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- A mastopexy will only firm your breasts, and not change the size of your breasts. The recovery time can take up to 6 weeks for the numbing and soreness to recede, and a couple of months until your breast are fully healed.^{[30]
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  Trustworthy Source
  Mayo Clinic
  Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
  Go to source}
4
Have nano fat grafting done to firm your breasts. During this procedure, a surgeon removes fat from other areas of your body and injects it into the breast area to make your chest fuller and firmer.^{[31]
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Expert Source

Daniel Barrett, MD
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Expert Interview. 23 July 2020.} This option will provide a more natural look than getting breast implants, but it can also take 4 to 6 sessions to achieve the results that you desire.^{[32]
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- Your breasts will need several weeks to completely heal from the nano fat grafting, and once settled, you may even need another session if you are not pleased with the results.^{[33]
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  BreastCancer.org
  Patient-focused nonprofit organization providing resources for those affected by breast cancer
  Go to source}
5
Get implants to change the size of your breasts.^{[34]
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Expert Source

Daniel Barrett, MD
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Expert Interview. 23 July 2020.} This is the quickest way to drastically increase the size of your breasts. You can either get silicone implants or saline implants, depending on your age and preferences.^{[35]
X
Trustworthy Source
Mayo Clinic
Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
Go to source}
- The silicone implants are pre-filled, and then placed under the breast tissue. The feel is similar to that of human fat. These are available for breast reconstruction, and to anyone over the age of 22.^{[36]
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  Trustworthy Source
  Mayo Clinic
  Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
  Go to source}
- The saline implants are placed under the breast tissue, and then filled with sterile salt water. These are available for breast reconstruction, and to anyone over the 18.
- Keep in mind that the recovery process for getting implants can take up to 6 weeks. Within that 6 weeks, you will have regular visits with your surgeon and will have to gradually ease back into your exercise routine.^{[37]
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Sample Exercises

Strength Training Exercises to Firm Breasts

Bodyweight Exercises to Firm Breasts

Cardio Routine to Firm Breasts

Expert Q&A

Question

What should I consider before breast surgery?

Daniel Barrett, MD
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Dr. Daniel Barrett is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon and the owner of Barrett Plastic Surgery based in Beverly Hills, California. With over six years of plastic surgery experience, Dr. Barrett specializes in aesthetic and reconstructive surgery of the face, nose and body. He has developed detailed scar management protocols and closure techniques to reduce the appearance of scars for his patients. Dr. Barrett obtained a BS from James Madison University and an MD along with an MS in Physiology and and an MHA (Masters of Health Administration) from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond.

Daniel Barrett, MD

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

Expert Answer

The most important step that a person should take when they're considering breast enlargement surgery is to do the research, find the right plastic surgeon to get the results that you want. In addition to that, you want to make sure that they're licensed to practice medicine and that they are board-certified to perform the surgery you are interested in. The next step is to evaluate the work that the surgeon performs on the before and afters and check out their reviews online.
Question

How can I make my breast size equal if my breasts are unequal?

Community Answer

You can't, except with surgery. Most people's breasts are not exactly the same size.
Question

I am a teenager and my breasts are sagging, is it normal?

Community Answer

Yes, it's very common and completely normal. Larger breasts especially tend to sag. It's just gravity.

Warnings

Having any surgery done involves a risk of getting an infection or requiring more treatments done in the future. Surgical and medical solutions should only be considered when non-invasive options do not work.

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