Signs a binder is too tight?

[Astra]

Hi all!

Not sure if this works better under bodies, or... Well, too late now.

So I got my first binder! So happy - I didn't expect to get one until I hit at least 25. A new friend gave me his old binder, but I'm quite anxious over whether it fits or not.

The first time I put it on, it was a little awkward; I think this was more because I didn't know how to do this, it was my first time and because I was very very scared of breaking it. I heard a tiny little rip, but there are zero signs of damage or changes on the binder itself and I believe this was because, again: I had zero clue of what I was doing. The ripping sound was very minor and I have never heard it again.

When I wore it for the first time, it was comfortably tight. I loved it SO much. Nothing felt wrong and it wasn't difficult to breathe or anything. It was a new feeling, sure, but I assume this is true for most people who wear binders. However, when I took it off... I got stuck. This was my mistake: I assumed you had to take it off like a t-shirt. Got freaked out, started stressing over whether or not I needed to cut my one and only binder and eventually saw a YouTube comment that said you're meant to pull it from the back. I pulled it off easily enough - just a bit of firm pulling with leftover anxiety. Panic over nothing.

After I took it off (having only worn it for around twenty minutes), my back ached a bit - the best way I can explain it is that I felt weak. More anxiety, a lot of Google searches that didn't really strike true for me, but I slept it off. I felt a tiny bit of aching in the morning, but that left within minutes.

Since then, I find it a lot more easy to take it on and off (with the exception of today - taking it off when you're being rushed for time is NOT a conducive experience). I feel like I'm breaking it in, and I'm gradually increasing my tolerance. I don't want to rush anything.

Last weekend (I think it was, at least), I wore it for almost two hours. It felt SO good - those things are magic, and I absolutely loved the tightness again! Easy to breathe, comfortable to move around in, and a whole lot of gender euphoria. Close to the two hour mark, it started to hurt... so I took it off. Quite a bit of back aching and soreness, more anxiety. However, this was the first time I had worn it for so long, and it was quite a jump from the taking-it-on-and-off practice I had been doing. I've also heard having your back, arms and shoulders ache is normal. Anyway, the aching left by the end of the day (I wore it until 7PM, and class the end of the day as around 9:30PM).

But after I took it off, I had a few red, angry marks left on my skin. These were diagonal around the sides of my lower ribs, except... I can't think what part of the binder caused them? It wasn't the ends of the binder, as these marks were nowhere near, and the wrong shape. It was a really awkward position as well. These marks didn't hurt whatsoever, but it scared me as to whether this binder is right for me.

This and back aching are all that worries me, I believe. However, I experience both of these anyway - I get painless but angry red marks after wearing my bra all day and my back aches a LOT day to day - they just seemed a little different. Again, the position of the marks was different to usual and the back ache did seem to be caused by my binding, and that "weak" feeling wasn't too familiar to me. I've heard it goes away with time, but I'm still anxious about everything.

As the marks are painless and normal for me, I'm not too concerned for my health with those, but they still make me anxious. The back ache is uncomfortable, but is rumoured to be common or part of the process - I'm just not sure how much I trust it.

So... yeah. Does this seem normal to you? And what are the warning signs that your binder is too tight?

[Elise]

Hi there Astra, and welcome to Scarleteen. I'm glad to hear that you have been aware of healthy binding before starting to wear your first binder. First of all, please rest assured that finding the right fit is something that many people have teething issues with at first.

What I'm hearing is that whilst your binder isn't so small that it is causing the #1 issue to avoid (impeding breathing), that it might not be the perfect fit for your body, and so causing discomfort (a similar thing can happen with bras, many people are wearing ones that are not the right size for them right now).

As you've articulated, it can be tricky to determine what is "getting used to"/"breaking in" a compression garment, and what is actually a fit issue (I say fit here, rather than sizing, as fit speaks more to the cut of a particular style, as opposed to perhaps the listed size, two binders with the same chest measurement can fit differently).

The good thing is that there are some different styles available, and ways to get support getting a binder, too. I am going to list some resources below. Is your thought about when you'd be able to access one based on having access to enough/your own money? Or when you could move out and not be as "monitored" by your parents?

1. This article on Transhub Australia, lists not only some tips to help with comfortable binder wearing, but also in the illustrated comic, shows some of the different styles: Binding on Transhub

2. Point of Pride have a free binder distribution program that is global: Point of Pride: Free Chest Binders, they are provided by gc2b, who you can ask for fitting advice, their general fitting instructions are on this page: gc2b sizing, which also includes a link to then ask them for a personalised fitting recommendation.

There are also some services in the UK assisting with this, speaking to Mermaid's support chat is likely the best way to get up-to-date information of which ones send binders to minors.

3. If your main issue with access is parents needing to buy/pay for your clothing, whilst not as compressing an option, TomboyX's compression tops pass as a sports-bra: TomboyX The Compression Top

I know this is a lot of information, but hopefully is a useful start to finding something that is hopefully an even better fit for you.