Embarrassed by your burgeoning middle-aged bust? A £50 cream can shrink it!
It sounds hokum — but we’ve done a scientific test
FOR as long as I can remember, I’ve had one distinguishing feature: my red hair. From being nicknamed ‘ the ginge’ as a child to my husband (then still my boyfriend) telling me it’s what he first noticed about me, it’s how I’ve been defined.
But no more. Recently, during a conversation with a colleague at work, I realised all his responses were being addressed to my cleavage. I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or wave my arms in the air, shouting: ‘Oi, I’m up here!’
Since then, if I want to be taken seriously, I’ve made sure to disguise my chest with looping scarves and loose-fitting tops. Big boobs are, quite frankly, embarrassing.
These two seem to have crept up on me through my 40s, though my weight and dress size (10st and a size ten) have remained static. even throughout my four pregnancies, I rarely went above a C cup. Now, I’m a 32e.
So what’s going on? Consultant breast surgeon Lester Barr, from Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester, explains that it’s because I’m getting older.
‘Breasts can get larger as women get older, even if their weight remains steady, because changes in hormone levels as they approach menopause can affect breast tissue,’ he says.
‘Dropping oestrogen levels make breast tissue less dense and more fatty, making breasts less perky and heavier. They are also more sensitive to weight gain as we get older, as dormant milk ducts make way for more fat storage.’
Oestrogen is the female sex hormone and is responsible for changes to our body shape during puberty. The more that we are exposed to fluctuating levels, the more it may change our cup size.
Meanwhile, all evidence points to the fact that we have become bigger bosomed as a nation. In the Fifties, the average cup size was a B; today it is a DD — possibly because we’re all eating more.
There is a foolproof way to address the problem: breast reduction surgery (mammoplasty), which involves removing fat and glandular tissue. More than 4,000 women a year undergo this surgery, but unless you can convince the NHS of an urgent medical need, a private operation will set you back £5,000.
But there is another option: breast reduction creams. They’ve been on the market for a few years and claim to reduce your cup size by improving tissue tone.
THE question is: do they work? As someone who blanches at the thought of the surgeon’s knife, I decided to give them a try.
I used two different creams, one on each breast, for a month, and had my breasts professionally measured before and after.
That way, any hormonal fluctuations owing to my menstrual cycle could be accounted for.
I also weighed myself, to make sure that any changes were not due to weight gain or loss.
Penny english, who runs the See Saw lingerie shop in Hale, Cheshire, and who has been measuring busts for 24 years, took two measurements f or each breast: the first from the side, where the seam of your bra sits, to the centre of my breast bone.
The second measurement is taken vertically, from the highest point of the breast to the lowest, running across the nipple.
Having seen all shapes and sizes of boobs over the years, Penny is more than a little sceptical about the breast reduction creams — as am I. But would we be proved wrong? Could they get me back to the perky C cup of my youth?
LEFT BREAST
naturalis breast reduction treatment cream, £101 for 80g (one month’s worth); naturalisproducts.com INGREDIENTS: A combination of herbs, including sage, caraway, cumin and bayleaf, which are ‘known for their ability to balance female hormones and reduce breast size and firmness’.
However, studies on the effectiveness of these ingredients are rather slender.
Cumin, for example, has been found in one study to help reduce fat, possibly because it contains plant chemicals that prevent cholesterol being absorbed in our bodies.
Scientists also suggest that like other hot spices, cumin may increase our metabolic rate.
Other ingredients include egg, almond, grapeseed and lavender oils, and juniper berry. According to Naturalis, the herbs target and reduce the fatty deposits and glandular tissue of t he breast and surrounding skin.
It also claims to reduce the size of t he ar e ol a ( t he darker skin around the nipple) while lifting the breast, ‘giving a firmer and smaller appearance’. APPLICATION: Using a circular movement, massage in the cream around entire breast area, morning and evening. A rich, velvety, softly scented cream, it glided on and left little residue. MEASUREMENTS: Horizontal: Before, 26 cm; after, 25 cm. Vertical: Before, 23 cm; after, 23 cm.
RIGHT BREAST
Alexaderm breast reduction and contouring cream, £51 for 85ml (one month’s worth); alexaderm.com INGREDIENTS: Includes vitamin A (retinol), which is often used in anti-ageing preparations as a way to combat sagging skin, and aloe vera, which is supposed to boost the rate at which fatty tissue is burnt (though the data on this is very small).
It also contains ginkgo biloba, which i s said to help restore collagen to the breast.
According to Alexaderm, this breast reduction and contouring cream is ‘ the most powerful natural solution for women who want to improve the overall appearance and feel of their breasts’. APPLICATION: Again, this should be massaged into the entire breast area morning and evening. It is an incredibly runny gel, however, with a sharp, tangy smell and it feels cold.
It rushes out of the tube, too, so unless you’re quick, it goes everywhere. Also, it’ s horribly sticky.
MEASUREMENTS: Horizontal: Before, 26 cm; after, 21.3 cm. Vertical: Before, 23 cm; after, 21 cm.
DID THEY WORK?
AFTeR a month of applying the reduction creams, both of my breasts feel smoother and firmer to the touch.
However, I had not noticed any difference in my bust size, so when I was measured I was astonished to discover I had lost centimetres on both sides.
For me, the Alexaderm Cream is clearly more effective, proving that money does not always buy you results.
It’s not clear why it worked: the ingredients in both creams make similar claims, in that they are said to help break down excess breast tissue.
One theory could be that the oilier consistency of Alexaderm made it easier to massage in and so helped improve the tone of the breasts. Penny is bemused and a little surprised. ‘I can’t believe this has happened in just four weeks,’ she says.
‘I didn’t think it would have any effect.’
When I try on the Chantelle bra and Hanro microfibre vest top I’d worn to be measured in at the beginning of the experiment, I can see a distinct wrinkling in the fabric around my right armpit and a slight fold in the bra.
No, it’s not eye-popping, but it’s a start.
Interestingly, in terms of cup size, I remain a 32e. It’s not clear if I have lost a little flesh or simply firmed up.
Breast surgeon Mr Barr admits to being surprised by the results.
‘I can’t really see why this has happened, but I am pleasantly surprised,’ he says.
As for me, I am feeling empowered. If I can achieve this after four weeks, perhaps there is more to come. That is why I’m investing in another tube of Alexaderm.
If I can get back to a C cup, perhaps people will start noticing my red hair again.