Breasts change. After pregnancy, after breastfeeding, after losing weight, and simply with time, they sit differently than they used to. That is normal biology rather than anything you did wrong, and most women notice it at some point.
A straight answer about what actually helps is harder to come by. Search how to fix saggy breasts and you are offered firming creams, natural lift exercises and treatments that promise tightening without an operation. So here is a look at which of those change anything, which do not, and where the line falls.
The short answer
Sagging breasts cannot be lifted without surgery, because the change is in stretched skin and internal supporting ligaments rather than muscle. A properly fitted supportive bra, a stable weight, and not smoking all help appearance and skin quality. Only a breast lift removes excess skin and repositions the nipple.
What actually causes breasts to sag
The breast sits inside a skin envelope and is held in position by internal supporting structures called Cooper’s ligaments. Sagging, which surgeons call ptosis, happens when that skin and those ligaments stretch and lose elasticity. The tissue inside the breast has not failed. The scaffolding around it has given way, and stretched ligaments do not shorten again.
The research on what drives this is more specific than most articles suggest. Two studies by Rinker and colleagues looked at exactly this question and found the significant independent risk factors to be greater age, higher body mass index, a larger pre-pregnancy or pre-existing bra size, the number of pregnancies, a history of significant weight loss, and smoking.
One finding is worth pulling out, because it contradicts what most women have been told their whole lives. Breastfeeding was not found to be an independent risk factor. Pregnancy itself contributes, and the risk rises with each pregnancy, but breastfeeding does not appear to make it worse. If you have been quietly blaming yourself for nursing your children, the evidence does not support that.
The mechanical point underneath all of this matters for everything that follows. Saggy breasts are a change in the skin envelope and the support structures, not something inside the breast that can be tightened from the outside.
What can genuinely help without surgery
A properly fitted, supportive bra
The most useful thing on this list, and the most overlooked. A professional fitting changes how the chest sits under clothing straight away, which for a lot of women is most of what they were actually after. Fit is also commonly wrong: many women wear a band too loose and a cup too small, which gives the appearance they are trying to avoid.
A good sports bra earns its keep. University of Portsmouth researchers measured unsupported breast movement at about 4 cm while walking and over 15 cm at a run. Support brought that down a long way. Less strain on skin and ligaments every time you train is worth having.
Be clear on what this is, though. A bra improves appearance, comfort and strain during activity. It does not reverse sagging that has already happened, and the evidence does not support the claim that wearing one prevents sagging over a lifetime.
Weight stability
Gaining and losing the same weight over and over stretches the skin envelope, and significant weight loss turns up in the research as an independent risk factor. Getting to a weight you can hold is worth doing anyway. It also matters here for a practical reason. If you do consider surgery later, going in at a stable weight usually means less surgery and a more stable result.
Building the chest muscle underneath
Chest work builds the pec behind the breast. A bigger pec changes how the chest sits, slightly. Real effect, small effect, and no reason to stop training.
What it cannot do is lift the breast, because the breast itself contains no muscle to tone. It is glandular tissue, fat and skin sitting on top of the muscle. No amount of press-ups reaches it. This is not a failure of programming or effort, just anatomy.
Not smoking and looking after your skin
Smoking appears as an independent risk factor in both of the studies mentioned above, because it damages the collagen and elastin that keep skin resilient. Sun exposure works on the same tissue, which in Queensland is worth taking seriously across the chest and décolletage.
Neither will reverse what has already happened. Both affect how your skin behaves from here, and both matter considerably more if surgery is something you might consider later, since skin quality influences the result.
What does not work
Creams, oils and firming products
No topical product reaches the internal supporting structures of the breast. A cream works on the surface of the skin, and the thing that has stretched sits well below it.
Some of these products will leave skin feeling smoother or better hydrated, which is a reasonable thing to want. Just buy them for that rather than for lift, and be sceptical of before-and-after photography used to sell them.
Exercises marketed as a natural breast lift
These are chest exercises under a different name. The anatomy has not changed and neither has the limit. You are training the muscle underneath, not the breast.
Posture work is a partial exception, and worth saying so. Strengthen the upper back, carry your shoulders better, and the whole chest wall sits differently. Some women do notice that in the mirror. What they are seeing is posture, not a lift.
Non-surgical breast lift treatments
A category of treatments is marketed as a non-surgical lift, including platelet-rich plasma injections, skin-tightening devices and thread lifts.
These are not treatments we provide, so we are not in a position to comment on how any individual one performs. The structural point is what matters and it does not depend on the provider: none of them removes excess skin, and none of them repositions the nipple. Those two things are what correcting sagging physically requires. If you are considering one, ask the practitioner offering it what it can be expected to achieve anatomically, and what evidence supports that.
Where volume loss fits in, and why it is a different problem
Plenty of women describe the change as deflation rather than sagging, and often after breastfeeding. The breast feels emptier up top while sitting in much the same place.
That is a volume question, not a position question, and the two are addressed differently. Lost volume is handled by adding volume, through implants or fat transfer. Position is handled by a lift. They frequently occur together, which is why the two are often discussed at the same consultation.
When a breast lift is the only thing that will change the result
What gets assessed at consultation is where the nipple sits relative to the crease beneath the breast. At or below that crease, with clearly excess skin, and with position rather than firmness or fit as the concern, the non-surgical options have run out.
A breast lift removes excess skin, reshapes the breast and repositions the nipple and areola. That combination is precisely what nothing on the non-surgical list can do. Whether it is right for you depends on your anatomy and your goals, and where a reduction might suit better, our post on breast reduction versus breast lift works through that choice. For fees see the cost breakdown, and for rebate eligibility see whether Medicare covers a breast lift.
It is surgery, with real risks, permanent scars and a recovery period. The general risks of surgery are set out on our website and are worth reading before you get attached to the idea.
What to do next if you are in Brisbane
If what you want is a better shape under clothing, start with a professional bra fitting. It costs very little, it works immediately, and a surprising number of women find that is the end of the matter.
If the concern is position and it bothers you enough to have researched it this far, a consultation will tell you where you actually sit. You will need a GP referral, and consultations can be arranged in person or by video call. Where surgery is classified as cosmetic, AHPRA rules require a referral, a body dysmorphic disorder screening questionnaire, at least two pre-operative consultations and a cooling-off period of at least seven days between giving informed consent and the surgery.
Worth saying plainly: a consultation includes being told when surgery is not necessary. Nobody should be talked into an operation for something a bra fitting would have fixed.
Why choose Dr Richardson for breast lift surgery in Brisbane
Plenty of women who book a consultation about sagging do not end up having surgery, and that is a perfectly good outcome. A useful consultation tells you what is causing the change, what would and would not improve it, and whether an operation is warranted at all.
Dr Philip Richardson is a Specialist Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon, MBBS(Hons), FRACS(Plast), and the founder of Brisbane Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery. He holds specialist registration with the Medical Board of Australia in Surgery (plastic surgery), AHPRA registration number MED0001389187
MBBS with First Class Honours, University of Queensland
- Three years of residency at Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane
- Four years of specialist training through the RACS SET Program
- Twelve years of total training and more than 22 years of post-qualification practice
- Operates across breast lifts, breast reductions and combined breast procedures
- Breast surgery is the main focus of his practice
- Follows a 14-point plan for breast implant safety where implants form part of the surgical plan
- Regularly teaches, presents and mentors surgeons in training
Memberships: the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the Australasian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ASAPS), the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS). Hospital affiliations include North Lakes Day Hospital, South Bank Day Hospital, St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital, Westside Private Hospital and Chermside Day Hospital.
Check those credentials yourself rather than taking our word for it: Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons directory and his profile page.
Practical details: consultations are held at the Fortitude Valley clinic, 151 Robertson Street, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006, and at North Lakes, Suite 507, 6 North Lakes Drive, by appointment. Phone 07 3268 3774. A GP referral is required before your consultation, and a single consultation fee covers all subsequent pre-operative and post-operative appointments within twelve months. You can also view the breast lift gallery, bearing in mind that those images show individual patients and are not a typical or expected result.
Individual results, risks and recovery vary between patients, all surgery carries risk, and specific surgical outcomes are not guaranteed. Whether a breast lift is appropriate for you can only be determined through a personalised assessment with a specialist plastic surgeon.
Frequently asked questions
Can you fix sagging breasts without surgery?
No. Sagging is caused by stretched skin and internal supporting ligaments, which cannot be tightened from outside the body. A well-fitted supportive bra, a stable weight and not smoking improve appearance and skin quality, but only a breast lift repositions the breast. Dr Philip Richardson can advise what is realistic at consultation in Brisbane.
What causes breasts to sag?
Breasts sag when skin and the internal supporting ligaments stretch and lose elasticity. Research identifies age, higher body mass index, larger bra size, number of pregnancies, significant weight loss and smoking as independent risk factors. Dr Richardson assesses skin quality and breast position at consultation.
Does breastfeeding cause sagging breasts?
No. Published research found breastfeeding was not an independent risk factor for breast ptosis. Pregnancy itself contributes, and the risk increases with each pregnancy, but breastfeeding does not appear to worsen breast shape. This is one of the most commonly misreported claims about breast changes after having children.
Do chest exercises lift sagging breasts?
No. Chest exercises work the pec behind the breast. There is no muscle inside the breast to tone, so training cannot lift it or remove stretched skin. A bigger pec may change how the chest sits, slightly. Repositioning the breast takes a breast lift.
Do non-surgical breast lift treatments work?
Treatments marketed as non-surgical breast lifts, including platelet-rich plasma injections, thread lifts and skin-tightening devices, do not remove excess skin or reposition the nipple, which is what correcting sagging requires. Ask what any treatment can achieve anatomically, and discuss it with a specialist plastic surgeon before committing.
Further reading
- Breast reduction vs breast lift: what is the difference?
- How much does breast lift surgery cost, and what is included?
- Will Medicare cover my breast lift surgery?
- Breast lift mastopexy
Medical references
- Breast lift (Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons). What a lift does and does not achieve, and why to see a Specialist Plastic Surgeon.
- The effect of breastfeeding on breast aesthetics (Rinker, Veneracion and Walsh, Aesthetic Surgery Journal, 2008;28(5):534-537). Identified age, BMI, number of pregnancies, pre-pregnancy bra size and smoking as independent risk factors, and found breastfeeding was not one.
- Breast ptosis: causes and cure (Rinker, Veneracion and Walsh). Risk factors for ptosis across 132 patients, including significant weight loss and smoking history.
- Supported and unsupported breast displacement in three dimensions across treadmill activity levels (Scurr, White and Hedger, Journal of Sports Sciences, 2011;29(1):55-61). Breast movement during walking and running, and the effect of support.
- Breast lift (mastopexy) (Cleveland Clinic). Patient overview of the procedure and what causes breasts to change.
Disclaimer: This article is general information only and is not a substitute for individual medical advice.
