Many women experience greater anxiety and difficulty making the decision to commit to a breast enhancement procedure than in actually lying down on the operating table. Although such a decision is, technically, not irrevocable, no one wants to put themselves in a position of facing a second operation just because they’ve changed their mind or don’t like the results of the first. Thankfully, a wide range of comfortable and realistic undergarment products are available to help a woman chose her new shape and to try it out for awhile before undergoing an actual enhancement surgery.

Women’s undergarments have come a long way since Howard Hughes designed a “lift and separate” bra for actress Jane Russell to wear in the film “The Outlaw,” and gone are the days when the best option for a better bust line involved the strategic stuffing of tissues or gym socks. Bra inserts come in many forms including those filled with water or natural oil to air-filled, foam, and silicone models. The latter is an especially good choice for wear with swimsuits in hot tubs or in either fresh or ocean water, although foam versions can be sewn inside a suit for maximum security of placement. When worn in a bra, inserts are typically placed in a specially constructed pocket, although many will comfortably stay in place at the base of a regular bra cup. Some inserts can even be attached with adhesive and used in the absence of a bra.

Not surprisingly, these devices come in a variety of shapes and sizes and in a wide price range from as low as $10 to as much as $75 to $100 for higher end products constructed of the most realistic materials and even outfitted with nipples for the most natural appearance. Inserts can be worn in addition to “push up” bras with wire framing that supports the breasts and positions them to create a deeper cleavage. Typically two pre-surgical avenues can be explored with such garments. A woman can experiment on her own and achieve a desired “look,” which she can wear to a consultation with a cosmetic surgeon to illustrate her personal goal for the surgery. By the same token, it’s common to ask the consulting surgeon to recommend appropriate inserts that will approximate the effects of a proposed procedure. This allows the woman to try out the change in her body until she’s comfortable with it or knows what alterations of the plan she’d like to discuss. It is not unusual for women who are on the fence about permanent augmentation to decide that the use of inserts for several months or longer is a better personal decision than actually going through with (and paying for) a surgery.

Either way such garments and others of the genre -- like padded shapewear, girdles, and waist cinchers -- are an important supporting tool in the field of breast enhancement and cosmetic surgery. Unlike mastectomy bras that are made of special materials that allow incisions to breath free of irritation and are constructed for maximum comfort in the face of limited mobility while healing, bra inserts are the best friend of the indecisive woman. Having a breast enhancement surgery is, in the vast majority of cases, an elective procedure and not one to be undergone lightly or without a trial run. The use of figure-enhancing undergarments is a win/win for both sides. The surgeon is protected because the woman knows what she’s getting and the woman is protected because the surgeon knows what she wants to get. (And you don’t have to worry about a stray gym sock falling out.)

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Carefully chosen undergarments for breast augmentation help women make good pre-surgical choices. Learn more about what's available.