A viral TikTok claims nipples are 7mm higher when women don’t wear a bra, so we asked an expert for the truth

TikTok gives us plenty of brilliant content and trends (hello, bow tie braid, revenge makeup and Bridget Jones Tok), but not everything on the social media platform goes viral for the right reasons.

Whilst there is a plethora of brilliant experts and credible information on the platform, TikTok is also full of confusing and contradicting information that can misinform followers.

One such example is a viral TikTok that hit the headlines this week for claiming that wearing a bra may cause your breasts to sag. Right.

TikTok user @arlaxh shared a video talking about a study that claims women’s nipples are 7mm higher when they don’t wear a bra. The video has over 1.4m views with 36k+ likes where she says “Nipple alert. Apparently, when women stop wearing bras, this happens – their nipples get lifted seven millimetres. I haven’t been about that ‘no bra life’ but this is making me reconsider.”

The video explains that “Professor Jean from the University of Besancon states that bras interfere in blood circulation, so in the case of women who do not wear them, the amount of collagen increased, and the elasticity is improved.”

Confused? Same. That’s why we called on Sarah Martin-Allon, Chief Brand Officer at Lounge Underwear, to debunk the video and confirm whether or not the TikTok user’s claims are true.

“There are many discounting this study in the viral TikTok comments and for good reason,” Sarah told us. “The study claims that the cause of the sag is due to circulation – which would actually come from a poorly fitting bra, so wearing the right size shouldn’t affect your natural changes. Wearing a bra that’s too tight can cause more issues than just discomfort and re-measuring your bra size every six months is crucial to make sure you’re providing the right support for your breasts without compromising on comfort.”

Although not proven, for anyone worried about wearing a higher support bra, Sarah says there are a number of different bras on the market now for support or comfort so if you want to feel snug without compromising, a bralette is always a good way to go. Similarly for those that do like extra support, choosing the right size can eradicate this potential issue.

“At the end of the day, every woman is different and every woman is beautiful,” she said. “The fact this is such a topic leads to the idea that there’s a ‘perfect’ image of what ‘good’ boobs look like. But while women may actively make decisions to not sag, this is actually a natural occurrence. Essentially, women should not be compromising on what makes them feel comfortable and sexy, and we advocate for doing literally whatever makes you feel best. Sag or no sag, your boobies are beaut.” Hear, hear.