Embedded Files
By Finley Baker
Last Updated March 24, 2025
Image Description [Vignette style illustration with green, purple, yellow, and orange color palette. The green frame of the vignette features purple, orange, and pink breast forms and small stars, with the design repeated in each corner and the text "Finley Baker 2025" at the bottom. Within the vignette, there is a nude Indian trans woman sitting on the edge of her bed with an yellow flowered bed spread. She has dark, messy, wavy hair with bangs, gold earrings, and oxygen tubing in her nose that runs behind her ears and across her chest to an oxygen tank attached to her four wheeled walker. She is wearing a gold medical ID bracelet, and pick compression socks. She is pulling back on side of her purple bra to insert a dark brown foam breast form, and the other one sits on the bed beside her. On her other side, there is a folded shirt and pair of pants. An adaptive dressing stick and an under-bed bed rail are visible at the side of the bed. The floor is purple hardwood, and the orange bedroom wall and open sliding closet are visible behind her. There is an Air Force flag, military portrait of her, framed photo of planes, and an orientation clock on the wall. The clock reads "Tuesday 10:13 AM February 18, 2025."]
Image Description [Infographic with several textboxes with arrows connecting them. The heading reads "Padding" and the subtitle says "Giving the appearance of bigger breasts." There is a QR code with a link to this webpage and the caption "Scan for more." The top line is different types of breast forms. The first box is pink and shows a photo of striped socks sewn into two spheres with the caption "DIY Sock Tits: Sewing project or roll them up (more lumpy option). Knitting patterns also available." The next box is purple and shows a photo of light-skinned foam breast forms with the caption "Foam: Largest option, wide variety of shapes and skin tones. Not as form-fitting to the skin." The last box is orange and shows a photo of small silicone breast forms with the caption "Silicone: Unclockable Breast Buds: Waterprood, increase by 1 cup size. Can put in bra's insert pocket." The bottom line is different type of breast-form compatible bras. The first box shows three photos and the text "Adaptive front closure bra: magnets, hook & eye, zipper, velcro, etc." The photos are of a magnet closure bra from Victoria Secret, modeled by a white femme person with one arm, a hook & eye closure bra from Skims, modeled by a white femme person in a wheelchair, and a solitary zipper-closure bra from Aerie. The next box shows a Black femme person wearing a sports bra from TomboyX with the caption "Traditional bra: sports bra or underwire bra." The final box shows a Polynesian femme person wearing a red two piece tucking swimsuit from Chromat with the caption "Swimsuit top: combine with tucking bottoms." Pink, orange, and purple arrows connect the top line to the bottom line of boxes.]
Padding
Padding
DIY Tits
Knit: Quick & Easy Round Knocker by Janet Dawson - Ravelry knitting pattern
Sewn Socks: Upcycled Sock Balls by Julie - Use fabric from socks to make spheres, can be filled with lightweight polyester fill or something heavier like rice
Rolled Socks: Roll up one or two socks into a sphere shape
Foam
Come in many shapes, cup sizes, and skin tones, may or may not come with nipples (Search companies like Transform for full range of options)
Lightweight, much more wear and tear, as the foam starts to break down after a while
Many more options for daily wear from companies that primarily cater to cis women who have had mastectomies for breast cancer (Ex. Amoena)
Silicone
Can be clear or flesh toned, can be weighted or unweighted, may or may not come with nipples
Typically comes with textured backs so that they stay in place against the skin
Smaller silicone options increase cup size by one size, may not be as effective for chests that are already larger (Ex. Unclockable Bra Buds)
Custom options: Amoena Custom - made to measure Breast form
Attachable Nipples
Attachable nipples can be added if your breast forms came without them. If you wanted more prominent nipples to compliment your existing shape, you can attach them directly to the skin.
Breast Plate
Breast plates are full silicone pieces that stretch over the head like a tank top, and have full silicone breasts attached. Not ideal for people with sensory sensitivities around their neck or who have limited range of motion or strength in their arms.
Not meant for daily use, these are very expensive and not very common. Used by professional drag performers.
Note: If you have developed small breasts from estrogen-based hormone replacement therapy and you want to create the appearance of larger breasts without using padding, TransTape is an alternative way to lift up existing chest tissue.
Bra Options for Breast Forms
Adaptive Options: These may or may not have pockets for breast forms
Ana Ono - Front Closure Sports Bra with Pockets - adaptive (front closure) and has specific pockets
Skims - Adaptive Scoop Bra - adaptive (hook & eye closure), does not have specific pockets
Victoria Secret - Adaptive Bra Collection - adaptive (hook & eye closure or magnet closure), does not have specific pockets
Aerie - Adaptive Bra Collection - adaptive (hook & eye, magnet, Velcro closure options), does not have specific pockets
Mastectomy Bras: Originally designed for cis women who have had mastectomies due to breast cancer. They are designed with breast forms in mind, so always have roomy additional pockets
Sports Bras: Often have inner pockets that small breast form options can be added to. Requires dexterity to manipulate the breast form through a small slit in the bra.
Swimsuits: Same as sports bras, there are often pockets that come with small triangular pieces of foam that can be removed and replaced with breast forms. Recommend silicone option for swimming since water will not break down the material.
Wear & Cleaning
Wash any breast forms with warm water and gentle soap (free of fragrance), let air dry completely. Do not scrub foam breast foams. Foam breast forms will take longer to dry than silicone.
On a hot day, you can put a thin absorbent layer (like a cotton round or pad) between your skin and the breast form to help protect them from sweat. Choosing a bra option that has a inner pockets will also help form a barrier between your skin and the breast form.
Avoid contact with heavy perfumes, deodorant, or moisturizers, as they will start to break down the material of the breasts
If you have pierced nipples, you may want to wear a looser bra so that the forms are not held as tightly to your skin, or wear them for shorter amounts of time
You can sleep in breast forms if it is comfortable, but this will contribute to wear & tear
Signs of irritation to watch out for: Redness on lighter skin/grayness on darker skin, raised bumps, heat rash, or itchiness
Resources & References
Resources & References
I Heart My Chest - Qmunity: Specific advice about chest tissue, for AMAB and AFAB folks
A Bra That Fits Calculator: How to measure chests to find the correct bra size
Fucking Trans Women by Mira Bellwether: A famous zine about having sex with trans femmes, created by a trans woman
Transform Contact Us: Transform sells the foam breast foams, they were consulted for care instructions. They offered to answer additional questions if people needed more help.
Related Topics
Related Topics
Suggested APA 7 Citation
Suggested APA 7 Citation
Baker, F. (2025, March 24). Padding. Disabled & trans sexual health. https://sites.google.com/view/disabled-trans-sexual-health/sex-ed-postcards/padding
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