The promising claims of breast firming creams to lift the breasts and return them to their youthful firmness may seem too good to be true. While offering moisturizing features, whether these creams actually provide permanent firming benefits is questionable. The bottom line is, short of surgery, there’s little that a topical cream will to do to firm sagging breasts.

Promises

Many brands of breast firming cream exist, and each comes with specific promises. Super Firm: Breast Firming Cream promises a “natural breast lift” by tightening the skin and improving tone and texture. Dermory ST cream claims to stimulate the metabolism. Godiva breast firming cream claims it can prevent sagging. These promises are worded very carefully, including vague phrases about the “appearance of firmness.” Qualifying phrases buried in the fine print, such as “results not typical,” tend to discount these claims. These products range from $30 to $150.

Considerations

Just what causes breasts to lose their firmness in the first place? Breasts are composed of ligaments and fatty tissue. Factors such as genetics, age, gravity and even cigarette smoking can cause breasts to lose firmness and begin to droop over time. Pregnancy causes changes in the breast tissue that can result in a loss of firmness as well. While the appearance of the skin that covers the breasts can be improved by a topical cream, no topical product will change the inner tissue of the breast.

Function

What these creams actually do is cause the skin to tighten and contract, which creates a temporary illusion of firmness, similar to the effects of taking a quick cold shower. These breast firming products often claim that since they tighten the skin that supports the breasts, then the breasts will stop sagging. Skin loses elasticity with age, and nothing short of surgery permanently reverses this natural trend.

Active Ingredients

Breast firming creams often contain ingredients such as Retin-A and phytoestrogen. Retin-A is a popular wrinkle cream and reduces the appearance of small wrinkles by promoting the formation of collagen within the skin. Phytoestrogen is an artificial estrogen derived from plants. The logic behind using this ingredient is that estogen is what makes breasts grow during pregnancy, therefore artificial estrogen applied topically can make the breasts more firm. These ingredients can improve the texture of the skin.

Benefits

Since most breast firming creams include ingredients such as lanolin, aloe vera, and vitamins E and ester C, they moisturize the skin and improve the skin’s appearance. However, other moisturizing products come with a much smaller price tag than breast firming creams.

Warning

Pregnant or breastfeeding women should not use these creams. In fact, manufacturers advise anyone who is dealing with a medical condition that impacts the breasts not to use breast firming creams. The nipple is particularly sensitive and may react to the active ingredients in many breast firming creams.