TG Breast Forms, Which Is Best For You!
What Shape Of Breast Form Should I Purchase?
By, Denae Doyle of http://www.femimage.com
What shape of breast form should I purchase? I am commonly ask this question, by a new CD. There are three issues:
shape, size, and quality.
There are 5 basic shapes
Triangles This shape is the most desirable when thickness and protrusion are important to your look. This is especially important to smaller framed females and many Crossdressers who demand firmness and protrusion. It’s the most popular for TGs
Raindrops: These are simple half domes without any extra material around the form. They look most like a natural female breast but may not have the projection many tgs want. They are also made by only a few companies.
PALS: I am including the non-destructable Pals. They also come in Round!
Push-Ups These are smaller and more oblong to allow for an even “push-up” effect. This style is often used for the lifting of your bust in your bras and swimsuits. These are often adhesive (Nubra and generic versions). Unless you have significant breast tissue of your own, these are not useful for most tgs.
Teardrops These forms add extra fleshy “full-ness” to your underarm area as the “tear” portion of the breast form is meant to be tucked into the band of your bra. This is especially important to Mastectomy patients and many Crossdressers when trying to achieve a very natural look. The tear portion is not really intended to stick out of the top of your bra although many tgs do so.
The size of the breast form should generally follow the rest of your measurements. Tgs should resist the impulse to have especially large forms. It’s helpful to remember that the average bra size is a 34B. Now, most tgs do not have a 34 band, but stay with a B if you are thin, but probably for wider shoulders…the C cup, especially if passing is important. We will talk about bra sizing next. In picking a breast form it’s helpful to follow standard clothing chart sizing, so your clothes will fit better. It’s helpful to start with the measurement that can’t change (usually waist) and then adjust bust and hip sizes to match the size chart. That is, if your waist is 34″, you will fit into size 14 clothes. You should pick breast forms that will yield about a 41-42″ bust (measured around the fullest part of your breast and which is not your bra size). . Hip padding, which we will talk about shortly, should yield about a 42″ around the fullest part.
In terms of quality, there is a wide range available. You can spend anywhere from $15 to $300 per breast form ($30 to $600 for two). The price is often artificially high for Mastectomy patients since insurance will often be paying for it. There is often little difference in quality between a $50 and $150 breast form, especially if it’s for casual use. What does matter though is the softness and pliability of the form. Some forms are very soft and pliable while others may be very rigid and unnatural. Sometimes, but not always, less expensive forms may be firmer. PALS is a very inexpensive breast form, under $50.00 a pair, and you can purchase more then one size! And, they will not rip or tear!
What about self-adhesive forms, for that braless look?
Most breast form vendors offer at least one model that can be worn without a bra. Some involve an adhesive support that attaches to the chest wall and then hooks to the form via Velcro. This works well but the patches are expensive and can only be used once. Make sure the chest hairs are gone before attaching the patch or they will come off afterwards - with a lot more pain!!).
Increasingly forms are appearing that do not require a patch but have the adhesive on the form itself. It may be reused some number of times. Originally only the breast enhancers (Nubra) used this technique but now most manufacturers offer it for their regular forms. It requires a clean skin surface and diligence about cleaning the form afterwards. It also works only for moderate sized forms. One must be careful about wearing them for too long or with too much activity or they can come loose!!
Finally its often helpful to apply some baby power between the form and the your skin (if not using adhesive forms) to counter the moisture that develops. Unlike natural breast, the form does not breath and so there will be a tendency for moisture to occur. This can be uncomfortable and the baby power helps eliminate it. It also has a nice feminine scent!
