What Is Quadboob?

How to check for it

Quadboob is easy to miss when you are looking down at yourself, and easy to see in a mirror.

1. Put your bra on and scoop and swoop.
2. Put a thin, fitted T-shirt over the top.
3. Look at yourself side-on. The line from your chest over the breast should be one smooth curve.

If there is a step or ridge part-way down, where the breast seems to change direction, that is the cup edge cutting in. A mild case shows as a slight line. A marked one shows as a visible second curve above the first.

What causes it

The cup is too small

This is the usual cause. There is more breast than cup, and the extra has to go somewhere. It often comes with other signs: the centre panel lifting off your chest, wires sitting on tissue at the side, and a band that feels tighter than it should.

The cup is the wrong shape

If your breasts are fuller above the nipple than below, a cup with a firm, straight or inward-leaning top edge will cut in even when the volume is right. You will see the ridge at the top while the bottom of the cup has room to spare.

The style is cut too low for you

Plunge and half-cup bras have less upper cup by design. On soft or full-on-top breasts, tissue can rise over a low edge that a fuller-coverage style would contain.

Your size has changed

A bra that used to fit and now gives a ridge points to a change in you: weight, pregnancy, a new contraceptive, or the time of the month.

How to fix it

1. Go up one cup letter on the same band. In UK sizing the order is D, DD, E, F, FF, G. Keep going up until the edge lies flat.
2. If the next cup gapes at the bottom or sides while the top still cuts in, stop changing size. Go back to the size where the volume felt right and change the style.
3. Choose an open or stretchy top edge. Balconettes, and cups with a stretch-lace upper panel, follow the line of the breast where a moulded edge cuts across it.
4. Avoid tightening the straps to fix it. That pulls the cup edge further into the tissue.

The step-by-step for finding the right cup, including what to do when the band feels tight as well, is in spilling out of your bra cups.

Why it is worth fixing

It shows through clothes, which is what most people notice first. It also means part of the breast is unsupported and the cup edge is pressing into tissue all day. A cup that contains everything is more comfortable and gives a smoother outline under anything fitted.

Frequently asked questions

What does quadboob mean?

It is slang for the effect of a bra cup that cuts into the breast. The cup edge divides each breast in two, with tissue bulging above the line, so there appear to be four. It is also called double boob or quad-boobing.

Does quadboob mean my bra is too small?

In most cases the cup is too small. Sometimes the size is right and the cup is too closed across the top for breasts that are full in the upper half, and a more open style in the same size solves it.

Can quadboob happen in the right size?

Yes, in a style that does not suit your shape, or for a few days a month if your breasts swell with your cycle. A cup with a stretch-lace top section copes with both.