A little care and maintenance goes a long way to protecting your breast form purchase. Most vendors include care instructions but in case you discarded yours in your excitement to wear your ‘girls’ let us take you through the basics of caring for and cleaning breast forms.
Do I need to clean my Breast Forms?
The short answer is ‘yes’ if you want them to have a long life. Basic maintenance, cleaning and storing of your breast prosthesis will extend their life and so protect your investment.
We recommend thinking of your breastforms as if they were real flesh. If you wear them everyday, then wash them frequently and be gentle with them. If any of your actions would hurt a human breast, it is likely to damage a prosthetic breast.
Best Tips for Caring and Cleaning Breast Forms?
If you get in the habit of following a simple list of care techniques then your breast forms will always look, feel and smell good and last a very long time. We recommend:
Wash Breast Forms frequently.
Ideally you should wash breast forms after everytime you wear them. Silicone, latex and other gel breast forms tend to be non-porous and do not breathe. This means you will sweat in them. After wearing, always wash with luke-warm water and a mild, non-perfumed soap. Gently rub with hands or a soft cloth, rinse in cold water and then pad dry on a clean towel. Make sure they are fully air-dried before storing. If your breast forms come with a specialist wash solution then make sure to follow the care instructions and use the accompanying product.
Do Not use Scented products or chemicals.
Do not use perfumed deodorant or antiperspirant. Over time these chemical formulations can damage your forms and they will adversely affect breast form adhesive and self-adhesive surfaces of specialist breast forms. To help minimise sweat on the chest use a specialist skin antiperspirant.
Keep Finger Nails trimmed and filed.
Sharp and uneven fingernails can damage your breast forms. Keep your nails well manicured including the filing of fingernails. If you wear false nails then either put them on at the end after you are wearing the breast forms or wear gloves to protect the breast forms.
Keep Jewelry away from your Breast Forms.
We recommend attaching/fitting breast forms BEFORE you put on your jewelry. One of the common causes of puncture to silicone forms is by jewelry. Make sure the forms are on with at least a bra, dress or top on before you wear your jewelry. Likewise, when undressing, you must remove all jewelry first and then take off breast forms.
Keep Breast Forms away from sharp edges.
Again, if you think of your prosthetic as a human substitute and treat it gently you will have many years of use. Pets, sharp corners of breast form storage boxes and even furniture can and will harm your breast forms. Sit down when fitting or taking off your forms so if you drop them they don’t have far to go. Always put them back in their protective boxes once you take them off.
Store Breast Forms away when not being worn.
As soon as you finish dressing, remove your forms, clean them and then place them in a safe storage space. If the forms came in storage boxes then place them back in their box for safety. Always try to store at room temperature and do not store for long periods of time in a car where extremes of heat or cold can damage your breast forms.
Only Sleep in sleep-safe Breast Forms.
Most gel silicone breast forms are not intended to be slept in. Many people do BUT you run the risk of transferring weight onto the forms and exerting undue pressure on the seams. Over time this may weaken the structure and lead to leaks. A good solution is to keep your soft silicone forms for day wear and have a sleep set of breast forms which will not break on you. There are other silicone-substitute breast prosthetics and even foam ‘falsies’ that can be used for this purpose.
Always wear the correct size bra for your Breast Forms
Do not guess at bra sizing. In our experience many crossdressers wear a band size too small for them. The danger with this is if you have a bra smaller than the actual forms, you place undue pressure on the forms. This can affect the seams of the breast forms over time and lead to splits or leaks. Find out your correct bra band size and ensure you match that size to your breast forms. Need help with this? Contact us at info@glamourboutique.com
For going Braless only use recommended Breast Form Adhesive.
If you wish to go braless then only use adhesive and adhesive remover recommended by the breast form manufacturer. Most of our silicone breast forms are recommended to be used with the Glamour Boutique adhesive. Look for the money-saving combination packs that include both adhesive and adhesive remover. Alternatives include double-sided breast for adhesive tape but you need to take more care when removing these from the breast form so you do not damage the outer covering. Our liquid adhesive is safe and effective for most breast forms and also safe on the skin.
In Conclusion
So remember, a little preventative maintenance and you will have years of enjoyment with your crossdressing breast forms. Silicone breast forms in particular do not like extremes of pressure, heat, cold or sharp edges so protect them. If sleeping, swimming or other activities are important then think of purchasing specialty prosthetics that allow you to carry out such activities. Checkout our Crossdressing Tips blog for articles like the Crossdresser Breast Forms Checklist which will give you all the knowledge you need to make a correct decision.