5 Tips To Keep Your Bras Looking New For Longer
Once you’ve found your perfect bra and made it yours, it goes without saying that you want to keep it looking great for as long as possible. And whilst no bra lasts forever, even your everyday favourites should survive longer than just a few months before they begin looking shabby and worn.
If your bras seem to be looking old before their time, it could just be that they’re particularly low-quality ones. More likely though, it’s a sign that there are things you could do to improve the way you’re caring for them.
Here are 5 tips on wearing, washing, drying and storing your bras that will dramatically improve their lifespan:
Put your bra onto clean, dry skin
Deodorants, body creams, lotions, oils… all of these things can get clogged up in the fabric’s fibres, gradually discolouring it over time. And if you spray perfume on over your bra, you should know that it can not only affect the material’s colour but make it pill and wear thin more easily too.
So as far as your bra is concerned, it’s best to put it onto skin that’s completely clean. In the real world of course, you may not be prepared to give up using skincare products on your chest area altogether, but you can at least let the products soak in and dry fully before you put a bra on top.
Wash your bras regularly
Following on from the above, be sure to rotate your bras often and wash your bras frequently – it’s much easier to remove dirt before it’s had a chance to build up! Even if your skin is free from toiletry products, there will still be natural body oils, sweat and dead skin cells to contend with.
Exactly how often you should wash your bras is a hotly-debated topic. However, if you’ve been sweating excessively – enjoying a high-intensity workout in your sports bra for example – then that bra definitely needs to go straight in the wash. For other bras, unless they’re obviously dirty, then I would say washing them after every 2 to 4 wears is about right.
Related: How Often Should You Change Your Bra?
Wash your bras by hand
We all live busy lives. When you’re faced with a family-sized mountain of laundry to work through, throwing your bras in with a load can seem so much more simple and tempting than washing them separately by hand. I get it. However, if you’re really determined to keep your bras in tip-top condition, then I cannot emphasise enough how much of a different hand-washing makes.
If you absolutely must machine-wash your bras, be sure to do so on a gentle, low-heat, low-spin setting. Protect delicate bras inside a mesh washing bag too. Here’s a more in-depth guide on how to wash your bras by machine or by hand.
Allow bras to air dry
Just like hand-washing, air-drying bras makes a huge difference compared to tumble-drying. In fact, it’s even more crucial to keeping them in great condition because excessive heat can destroy a good bra in just one spin cycle.
All bras contain elastic fibres, and these don’t react well to heat. Once they’re damaged, your bra’s band and straps will lose their stretch, and that affects the fit. So dry your bras on a washing line instead – but hanging them from the band also risks stretching it out, so drape them at the centre between the cups. And no laying them out on a hot radiator either!
Store your bras carefully
You don’t want to go to all the effort of washing and drying your bras with care, only for them to get damaged sitting in your lingerie drawer. Before you put them away, fasten the hooks at the back f the band so that they can’t snag on any of the delicate lace and mesh fabrics they’ll be stored amongst.
Molded cups can also become crushed pretty easily, and like a sheet of crumpled paper, once they’re wrinkled and dented you’ll never quite get them perfectly smooth again. The easiest solution is to lay your molded bras one on top of the other, so that each pair of cups is held in shape by the ones below. Avoid just shoving your bras into a drawer and hoping for the best – you might be disappointed!
Related: How Long Should Bras Last?
We Highly Recommend
Whether you’re shopping for new everyday bras or lingerie for a special occasion, it’s always a good idea to seek out a second opinion. We know how hard it is to find bras that fit well and feel good, especially when you’re doing it on your own. If you’ve ever felt unsure about your bra size or you just don’t know where to go to find good bras, it’s time to let a bra fitter help.
Many specialty lingerie boutiques offer bra fittings. Their expert bra fitters will take the pain and frustration out of bra shopping and do all the work for you. Even better, their product knowledge can save you time and money. Plus, they know where all of the best bras are hiding.
If you’ve struggled with finding bras in the right size, it’s time to make a change. Visit our specialty store locator to find a store near you and schedule an appointment.
Happy bra shopping!
