With the advent of social media and rapidly growing online marketing,
more and more beauty and fitness enthusiasts are turning towards
natural and herbal products to fulfill their health-related objectives.
Some common examples of such segments include weight loss and fitness
products, anti-acne and anti-arthritis supplements, anti-aging products
and teeth whitening and polishing supplements.
The latest addition to such categories is that of “female enhancement
products or breast enhancing supplements”. In this evidence-based
review, let’s explore and discover the basics about breast enhancement,
various modalities used to achieve this goal and the comparative
efficacy of each of such methods.
What is breast enhancement?
Also known as breast augmentation, by definition,
breast enhancement
refers to any method, technique or a way that is implied to increase,
enlarge or beautify the size, shape or appearance of women’s
breasts.However, to better understand how breast enhancing methods work
or why it is necessary, let’s first understand the structure of breast
itself.
Defining female breast
Anatomically known as “mammary glands”, two breasts serve as the
secondary sexual characteristics in females. By nature, they are
intended to serve the following important functions:
- They are the core source of nourishment to the newborn (through the process of nursing or lactation after baby’s birth)
- They also serve as the “cosmetic appearance” in women and help differentiate physically from the opposite gender.
Why is breast enhancement important – Reason and Rationale
Healthcare experts, physicians, herbalists, dermatologists and
plastic surgeons have identified the following key reasons that could
justify the need for breast enhancement in women:
Cosmetic reasons: This is, perhaps, the most common
reason for which most females seek breast enhancement. It is justifiably
perceived that bigger, fuller and firmer breasts add attraction and
enticing beauty to female figure.
Health reasons: After pregnancy or due to breast
feeding, most women’s breasts begin to sag because of the increased
accumulation of fatty and loose areolar tissue. In such cases, health
care experts suggest breast toning and tightening in women.
Anti-aging phenomenon: The wrinkled and loose skin
of breasts adds to the physiological ‘aging” phenomenon in many women.
As a result, their cleavage and bosom look like those of older women.
Published studies, clinical trials and surveys have revealed the
following frequent reasons for women’s desire to enhance their breasts:
- To beautify their external appearance
- To simply enlarge their size
- To increase their firmness (by tightening and toning effect)
- To enhance their shape
- To recover the lost tone, appearance and firmness of skin
Types of breast enhancement methods and products
On the basis of their nature and type of action, various
breast enhancement techniques and methods can be classified into the following
categories:
Surgery: Often done by a general, cosmetic or
plastic surgeon, breast surgery is a traditional method of enlarging
breast size. Also known as breast augmentation operation, this surgery
can be of various subtypes such as silicone implantation etc. It does,
however, has its own share of drawbacks e.g. high costs, health risk of
associated complications (e.g. bleeding, perforation, inflammation and
infection during and after surgery).
Medications: In certain pathological conditions,
doctors or endocrinologists prescribe “Hormonal or hormone replacement
therapy’ to the women in which breast fail to develop because of some
clinical disease or reason. Estrogen injections or pills are frequently
used for this purpose. Again, this method is associated with a lot of
side effects and there is no guarantee that it will work for all.
Natural methods: Probably the safest of all methods, these methods and techniques comprise of the following:
i) Exercises: Recommended by massage therapists and
physiotherapists, various exercises have been found to increase shape
and appearance of breasts in certain women.
ii) Herbal supplements: There are quite a few good,
recommended and scientifically backed herbal supplements that, when used
regularly and for long period of time, significantly contribute to
breast size and shape in women. More importantly, they are most
economical and safest method and are generally conside3red devoid of any
health risks, complications or side effects. Some of the common
examples of such supplements include natural
breast enhancement pills and creams.
How do natural breast enhancers work?
Most natural breast enhancement supplements or products work through one or more of the following ways:
By hormone-like mechanisms: It must be remembered
that the key female sex hormone responsible for breast growth and
development is known as “Estrogen”. Some estrogen-like ingredients
derived from plants are known as “phytoestrogens” and serve as the key
ingredients in many of the recommended herbal products. Just like the
real hormone “estrogens”, these phytoestrogens of herbal origin act to
accelerate the growth of your breast size, inducing a natural phenomenon
of “cell division” only in the breast tissue.
- They also increase the blood flow to the breast tissue which results
in speedy growth and development of the palpable breast tissue
- Finally, they also promote fibroblasts growth which eventually leads
to the increased size of fatty and fibrous tissue which contribute to
the mass and bulk of the breast
By exercising method: The palpable tissue of breasts
has a self-growing feature i.e. it tends to grow when palpated. For the
same reason, many experts and massage therapists recommend daily
massage tactics that could help breasts grow firmer and fuller. It is a
time-requiring procedure though and months could be needed to witness
full results, if any. However, it should be remembered that exercising,
alone, won’t work and will only work synergistically if used with
recommended natural methods such as mentioned above.
Conclusion:
After reviewing the information above, it is logical to conclude that
breast enhancement has now become more of a need than a want. As more
and more women toward towards breast enhancement methods, careful
consideration should be given to various methods used for this purpose.
Due to their high safety profile, low costs and increased effectiveness,
natural or herbal breast enhancement methods and supplements are now
considered as the first-line priority by naturopaths and enthusiasts
alike.