Make a bra your best friend. Some bras are so uncomfortable that you want to remove them immediately you step in the house after a long day. A perfectly fitting bra should feel super comfortable; you can even forget you have it on. The bra’s design and brand don’t matter if you wear the wrong size and can even cause shoulder and back pain if you are unlucky.

A well-fitting quality bra can transform your breasts for the better, enhancing and lifting them. It also changes how your outfits gloss over your body. Even so, some women are not putting their bras up to task for a great boob job. If you are not entirely sure if the undergarment is working in your favor, purpose to get professionally fitted or use a tape measure to determine your right bra size.

How to Know if a Bra is Too Small

Here are a few tips on how to know if your bra is too small:

1. The cups run over

If the breasts keep brimming on the sides, bottom, and top of the bra cups, then it means you are wearing the wrong bra size. The cups should hold the breasts without creating the dreaded uni-boob effect. It’s usually common with snug and small bra cups as they tend to push the breasts closer together. You, therefore, will need to go up a cup size to get a more comfortable fit.

Some women believe that they get fuller décolletage when the breasts pop out at the top, but they don’t get enough support. The transition between the décolletage and the bra should always be smooth.

When trying on bras, it’s always good to carry a t-shirt, as suggested by Kay-Lin Richardson, a bra expert. You might think that the bra looks great on you, but on throwing in a t-shirt, you realize it isn’t giving you that flattering shape or vice versa. Besides, a well-fitted t-shirt will help you know if you have that quad-boob effect going on.

2. You are struggling with bulging

Bulging is the opposite of slipping. Bras that are too small cause unnecessary back fat to start showing. It can additionally create a digging sensation at the back that makes you very uncomfortable. In this case, going up a cup size would be ideal. You should, however, remember that cup and band sizes are related.

For instance, go down a cup size if you try a larger band size. If the band size is too small on size 34C, then you should try 36B. For A Cup women, try AA Cup bra since it has a bigger band size. Remember, sometimes even a band that fits correctly will still create a small bulge at the back.

Instead of buying a bigger band size and compromising on support and fit, get a bra with a broader band at the back for that smoothing effect.

3. Crossed bra wires

If the underwire sits away from the chest wall, it means the bra cups are relatively small. The wire shouldn’t gap but fit snugly on the chest and should stay in place even when you try lifting your arms over the head. The problem lies with the band’s fit right under the cups.

The underwire or cup seam for wireless bras shouldn’t press against the breast tissue at the center, middle, or sides. The entire breast should comfortably fit into the bra cups. Besides, the underwire should separate the breasts to offer additional support.

A correctly fitting band allows you to lift your arms without the underwire going up comfortably. Therefore, the band mustn’t be too small since most of the bra’s support is drawn from it.

4. You feel some pain

Sizing is always the issue if you feel any discomfort when wearing a bra. Some odd pressure around the area where the bra cups meet, under the arms, or along the underwire curve are clear indications that your bra is a tad too small. It could also mean that you are wearing the wrong bra style for your body frame.

5. The bra’s band doesn’t sit straight on the chest

If the bra’s band doesn’t stay in place and keeps riding up at the back towards your shoulder blades, it’s probably small. The band should lie horizontally on the chest. The problem can be solved quite easily since you might be adjusting the bra straps a bit too tightly, forcing the band to ride up and creating the too small effect. It would help if you also remembered that most of the support should come from the band and not the straps.

The under band size must be accurate. If it’s too big, you won’t get enough breast support, and if it has a snug fit, it can cause great discomfort and skin irritation. Ensure the under band runs parallel to the ground and fits comfortably.

6. Spinning around the bra to fasten is hard

When wearing a bra, you need to position it around the stomach with the cups at the back to fasten the clasps. What happens after that will help you know if your bra is too small or doesn’t fit properly on the body.

After spinning the bra back around, you will know the fit depending on the struggle. If the bra’s band was rubbing too much against the skin, causing any discomfort, it’s an indication of tightness, meaning the bra is too small. Check all connections as it could also mean that the bra is wrongly hooked and if you still feel some friction, then dump it. Sometimes, it’s difficult to spin the bra around altogether, and you need to ditch it.

7. The band tends to roll or curl up

Still, on the bra’s band, you will easily notice when your bra is too small, depending on how it sits around the breastbone. An ill-fitting bra won’t sit on the chest as it should, and the band stretches due to tightness even though it doesn’t look or feel anything like it. The band will roll or curl to a close loop.

It’s worth noting that you need to adjust the grasp to a loose-fitting. The bra is too small if the adjusting and the bra’s band still doesn’t lie flat against the body.

8. Too much pull on the bra’s grasp

When putting on a bra with a fixed rear grasp, you will know immediately if it’s too small since the first connection will be difficult to fix the bra. Please don’t use other grasp points since it’s the first one you need to fix.

If you manage to connect the grasp as positioned between the breasts, you will feel some pain spinning it back around. Grasps are usually made of metal, so the idea of fixing placed unnaturally would damage the skin.

When fixing the bra at the front right before spinning it around, you will know if it will fit loosely or tightly as you wear. For this reason, give it the best as it might be hard to put on but has a perfect fit.

9. The straps don’t feel long enough

If you want to know if the bra is too small, check the positioning of the straps. Like a new shirt or top, an excellent fit should hang low while a smaller one tends to expose the belly. The same applies to a bra’s shoulder straps. If the bra is too small, then the straps are as well, which will interfere with how the cups sit on the breasts.

An ill-fitting bra will have the straps lifting the breasts further on the chest in an awkward position. At first, it may not look like it, but if your breasts are a bit stretched underneath, then the bra is lifting them too far. However, make good use of adjustable straps as much as you can since not all bras have this feature. Otherwise, there isn’t much you can do if you can’t make the shoulder straps long enough.

10. The bra tends to lift from the chest, revealing the underboob.

If the bra is too small, it will not only fit on the closure, band, and shoulder straps but will also make the breasts spill. Underboob is expected when the bra has a smaller fit and if you wear a bigger or even small cup size.

What happens is that the underboob will be seen underneath the bra when it lifts from the chest. An underboob, therefore, means that the bra is too small or you need to go up a cup size.

Conclusion

The bra’s overall fit should tell you if the cups are too small, shoulder straps not long enough, and the band too tight. Please weigh in on all your options regarding the right bra size since sometimes it only needs some adjustments.

If you are sure about the bra’s fit but still feels a tad too small, signs include short shoulder straps and tight band, raising the cups exposing your underboob. Forcing a tight bra on will make the band curl or drastically roll up and not stay firm on the body. It can also break due to too much pull on the closure.