A couple of weeks ago, Femiluv had a post titled, Help! My Underwires Keep Breaking! And I thought we’d do an update of sorts to that and give you a little more information about underwires.  The bottom line is that there are really only 3 reasons your underwires are breaking which we will outline below.

Quality

Here is a fun fact for you: No matter where you buy your bra, there are only a couple of places in the world where you can get underwires from.  There are only 3 or 4 different qualities to underwires as well. Unfortunately, bras that have a much lower price point are almost guaranteed the cheapest underwires. More expensive bras tend to use more expensive materials.  Empreinte is a high-end brand that not only uses the most expensive underwires, but they further strengthen them by dipping them in silicone and baking them ten times! The result you can’t feel in the weight, but you surely can in the quality!

A cheaper metal is more likely to break, it’s as simple as that.

Wrong Size

Wearing the wrong size bra is an easy way to get your underwires to break. When you put stress on the wires and make them bend in ways they aren’t intended to, they break.  Of the 80% of women who are wearing the wrong size bra, a vast majority of them are wearing a band too big, and a cup size far too small for their body. When this happens, the wires aren’t sitting where they are supposed to be, but more importantly, they are being stressed because the intended capacity is over the limit. Getting fitted properly and making sure you are wearing a good-fitting bra will help prevent underwires from breaking.

Another fun fact: Many, many bra manufacturers use 4 different size wires for 10 bra sizes. This is another area where Empreinte can boast their quality as they utilize one wire for each size.  This essentially combines the problems of quality with the wrong size and thus makes your wires way more likely to break.

Cleaning Your Bras

Dryers are the death of bras.  Don’t ever, EVER put your bra in a dryer! The heat breaks down the metal and allows it to break more easily. The heat from the dryer will also break down the other materials of your bra as well. Heat is simply bad for bras. Don’t even wash them in hot water! While all bras should always be hand washed, if you put them in the washer then make sure they have the hooks fastened, are in a lingerie bag, and that you washer is on a cold water setting.

By making sure you have the right size, investing in quality, and by never using the dryer, you can help make sure your underwires are not breaking.  Following the washing/care advice and making sure you are wearing a bra that fits will also help extend the lifespan of your bra!