Body Shaping Review – Right For You?

Body shaping is one of the hottest trends today. Beloved by Kim Kardashian and other major celebrities, body shaping is actually one of the oldest beauty practices in the world. Here’s our ultimate guide to contouring your body using waist trainers, corsets, shapewear, slimmers, and compression apparel.

What is Body Shaping?

Body shaping is a general term for the practice of shaping your body using different apparel devices – like Spanx, corsets, or waist trainers.

Body shaping has been a popular practice throughout history. We’ve all heard about Victorian-age women using tight corsets to get their desirable hourglass shape.

In the last decade, however, body shaping has seen a resurgence in popularity. It started with Spanx in the early 2000s. In the last few years, we’ve seen celebrities like Kim Kardashian advertising their waist trainers on Instagram.

The science on body shaping remains a little suspect: most research indicates that waist trainers work temporarily without actually reshaping your body over time. Most people understand that they’re only getting short-term results. Some people, however, continue to insist that they use waist trainers to change the shape of their body long-term.

Of course, when you use a waist trainer, you’re naturally inclined to eat less food (your stomach has less physical room for food). Reducing your daily calorie intake can lead to long-term weight loss results.

In any case, we’ll help you learn about the different types of waist trainers and body shaping devices on the market today.

There Are 8 Female Body Types

In general, there are 8 female body types that most women fall into. Knowing your body shape helps you pick the right body shaping device.

Traditionally, most women were told that they’re either an apple or pear body type. Today, people tend to have increased that to 8 body types, including all of the following:

-Straight Body Type: Bust and hips are similar sizes, with the waist slightly smaller than the bust and hips.

-Pear Body Type: The hips are larger than the bust, with the waist gradually sloping out to the hips.

-Spoon Body Type: Hips are larger than the bust and hips have a “shelf” appearance, with the waist slightly smaller than the bust.

-Hourglass Body Type: Bust and hips are basically the same size, with your waist well-defined.

-Top Hourglass Body Type: Bust is larger than the hips and the waist is well-defined.

-Inverted Triangle Body Type: Large bust, narrow hips, and a not well-defined waist.

-Oval Body Type: Waist is larger than the bust and hips, and the hips are narrow compared to the shoulders. Medium-sized breasts.

-Diamond Body Type: The waist is larger than the bust and hips, with narrow shoulders compared to the hips. Breasts are small to medium in size.

Based on your body type, you can choose a body shaping device that helps you change your body type and reach your desirable shape.

Ultimately, you’ll find plenty of different names for these body shapes. Some people list circle body shapes, for example, while others say ruler body shapes. Some people claim there are 12 body shapes, including “apple” and “lollipop”. Everyone has their own system – but the descriptions listed above tend to be accurate across multiple types.

How to Shop for Body Shapers

There are three things to remember when shopping for body shapers:

-Find the Correct Fit: When shopping for body shapers, the most important thing is to know your correct fit. That’s important with any clothing, but it’s doubly true with body shapers. After all, your body shaper isn’t going to do much good if it’s one size too small or too large. Take extra time making sure you know your measurements. Go to a reputable store that will help you find the right size. The last thing you want is for body shapers to leave you with strange lumps and bumps or discomfort when it’s too small or too large.

-Have Reasonable Expectations: If you want to look thinner, your best option is to diet and exercise. That’s going to give you the best long-term results. With that in mind, body shapers aren’t an instant way to drop 30 pounds from your weight. You’re not going to drop 2 dress sizes or remove four inches from your waist. Expect to look about 5 or 10 pounds thinner at most. Go in with reasonable expectations, and you’re unlikely to be disappointed.

-Test your Body Shaper Out: Grab your favorite outfit. Put on your body shaper. Try on your favorite outfit and test it as much as possible. You’re going to look silly when you do this next part, but bear with me: you’re going to want to bend over, sit down, squat, and test out the garments in every way you can think of. A good, well-fitted body shaper lets you move around comfortably without bulging, pinching, or rolling down.

How to Get Started with Waist Training

For most women, waist training is the key goal with body shaping. By slimming your waist, you can accentuate your hips, butt, and bust.

Keep in mind that waist training can be dangerous. Some women take it to extremes. Even moderate waist training can have lasting impacts on your health. Remember: you’re literally squeezing your internal organs closer together to slim your waist. Talk to your doctor before you do this (although your doctor will most likely tell you not to do it).

To start waist training, you should first remember that there’s a number of fabrics, boning, and in closures from which to choose.

Many women prefer steel-boned waist trainers over plastic boning. The major difference between the two is durability. Steel boning is tougher than plastic, and tougher materials like steel will always increase the lifespan of your waist trainer.

Other tips to remember when buying waist trainers include:

-Your waist trainer should be snug enough to pull your waist in on the third hook closure

-It should have enough structure to not roll over the waist (typically, this indicates that the waist trainer is too small)

-Your waist trainer shouldn’t impede your breathing or cause you pain (it’s definitely too small if that’s the case)

-You can expect some discomfort, however, at least until your body gets used to it; start gradually wearing the body trainer for longer periods of time to build up your tolerance

-You should be able to properly close your waist shaper with no bulging

-Always break in your waist trainer for a more comfortable fit

-To find the perfect waist trainer, start by measuring your natural waist (the smallest part of your waist). This is the waist measurement you need to deduct to get the right size for your needs and waist training goals.

Once you’ve found the perfect waist trainer, it’s time to start your 7 day training period. Most women will know after 7 days whether or not a waist trainer is the right choice for them.

Body Shaping 7 Day Training Schedule

Here’s what your 7 day schedule might look like:

-Day 1: Wear your waist trainer for 2 hours the first day

-Day 2: Bump up to 4 hours today, but don’t push yourself. Listen to your body. If it starts hurting or pinching, take it off immediately. Expect some discomfort during this period.

-Day 3: Bump up to 6 hours today. Stretch your body and try to incorporate 15 to 20 minutes of cardio.

-Day 4: Aim to wear your waist trainer for 8 hours today.

-Day 5: Continue increasing your waist trainer wearing for 9 hours today, increasing your cardio to 20 to 30 minutes.

-Day 6: If you’ve been eating less, exercising, and wearing your waist trainer, you should start to notice it becoming more comfortable and looser by day 6. Tighten your waist trainer further if you notice it slipping. Your target time at this point is to wear it for 10 hours a day.

-Day 7: Continue aiming to wear your waist trainer for 10 hours a day for up to 8 weeks. By maintaining this, you should start to notice spectacular results.

Ultimately, the longer you can comfortably wear your waist trainer, the more noticeable your results will be. Don’t exercise or sleep with your waist trainer on until you feel comfortable and pain-free.

You should also notice that you eat less when wearing your waist trainer: your body physically has less room for food, so you tend to eat less during meals. This dieting will increase your waist reduction results over time.

How to Wash your Waist Trainer

Most waist trainers need to be hand washed. They’re delicate fabrics and you don’t want to ruin your investment. Hand washing your fabric preserves the latex within the waist trainer. Never machine wash or tumble dry.

Ideally, you should wash your waist trainer three times per week. After washing it by hand in warm water, allow it to dry flat in a cooler shaded area. Wait until it’s completely dry before you wear it again (it should take about 2 to 4 hours to completely dry).

The actual washing is straightforward: get a bowl of hot water, some soft soap (shampoo is a popular option) and a towel. Then, put a small amount of soap and water onto your towel and softly rub it against the latex. Once every part of your waist trainer is washed, put it up to dry.

You can speed up the drying process without harming the fabric by using a dry towel. Some women also use some baby powder or a hair dryer on the lightest setting.

Should You Use Body Shaping Apparel to Trim your Figure?

Whether you call them corsets, waist trainers, waist cinchers, contouring garments, shapewear, bodywear, or compression garments, body shaping apparel is extremely popular today among women (and men) who want to trim a few extra pounds from their appearance and from their actual weight.

Body shaping apparel works in two ways: it physically slims your waist, leading to a (short-term) reduction in waist size. It also physically reduces the size of your stomach, which means you naturally eat less during meal times.

Whether you’re large or small, and no matter what body shape you have, body shaping apparel is a popular option for many people today.