Best bra for older women with extra skin near the armpit

The best bra for extra skin under your arm skips the underwire and uses a wide, tall side panel instead, one that holds the skin in place rather than pushing it away. A regular underwire bra is almost never the right pick here: the tip of the wire lands right in the fold where the skin is already loose. Styles with a double shaping layer on the side panel are actually built for this, and we'll walk through which style fits which situation. This comes up more often for women over 50, simply because skin loses elasticity over the years, but the fix is the same at any age: support where you need it, not wherever the manufacturer happened to put a wire.

What's actually happening to the skin under your arm?

Skin loses elasticity with age. That happens everywhere, but it shows up first at the side of your chest and underarm, since there's not much muscle there to hold things in place. Weight changes, a shift in fat distribution during menopause, and plain aging all play a part. This is a normal body change, not something wrong with you. It shows up more in older women, simply because collagen and elastin in the skin gradually decrease, but that doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong or that it can't be addressed with the right support.

Try this: stand in front of the mirror without a bra and lift your arm. Is there a fold of skin at the side of your chest, separate from the shape of the breast itself? That's excess skin, and it calls for a different style than when the whole breast shifts toward the side. If that second scenario sounds like you, read Bras for full busts that shift to the side instead.

An underwire: why it's rarely the right choice

An underwire is rigid, curves around the breast, and ends in a point right at your underarm. On smooth, taut skin you barely notice that point. With extra skin, that point sits right in the fold and digs in, every time you move your arm.

"During a four-day walking trip, the tip of the underwire left my underarm raw."

This isn't rare. Of almost 2,900 women we asked, 32.8% name the underwire as the biggest annoyance with their bra, ahead of poking, straps, or a wrong size. For extra skin under the arm, that number makes sense: that's exactly where skin is thinnest and most sensitive. For an older woman with more excess skin, this matters even more, since the wire isn't resting against smooth skin, it's pressing into a fold that shifts with every arm movement.

Try this: run your index finger along the underwire of your current bra, on the side under your arm. Do you feel a hard point poking into a fold or a bit of extra skin instead of lying flat? Then this bra isn't right for your situation, no matter the size. Read more about this in Underwire bra hurts under the arms.

Not every wire-free bra fixes this

This is where it often goes wrong: women switch to a wire-free bra and expect the problem to disappear. But a wire-free bra with a narrow side panel, like many bralettes, gives no support exactly where your skin needs help. The skin just slides right over the edge of the fabric. That's why "wire-free" alone isn't a guarantee: what matters is the width and height of the side panel, not simply the absence of a wire.

Try this: measure with your fingers how wide the side panel of your current bra is, from the cup to the band at your back. If it's less than a full hand's width, there's simply not enough fabric to support the skin.

The Daily Essential Bra was built with this exact problem in mind. The 3-inch band sits low and shifts the weight away from your ribs instead of your underarm, and a double shaping layer on the side keeps the skin in place instead of pushing it away. The memory foam cups mold to your body, so there's no hard edge creating a new fold of its own. This bra comes in sizes S through 3XL+, with a size chart that goes up to cup H, so a larger cup size is covered too.

If you're after something very thin for a backless top or a gown, this isn't the style to reach for. Look at the strapless collection instead, though side support is harder to combine with invisibility there.

Posture Lift Bra: when to pick this over the Daily Essential?

Work in tailored clothing and want absolutely nothing showing under a fitted blouse or a sleeveless dress? The Posture Lift Bra is the better pick. It's fully seamless, with extra tall side panels for a smooth line under clothes, and the Stay Dry+ fabric keeps skin from rubbing against skin in the fold under your arm, a spot where excess skin tends to sweat more. That last part gets overlooked, but if you deal with irritation in that fold daily, a breathable fabric makes a real difference fast.

Try this: put on your current bra under a fitted shirt and check yourself from the side with your arm raised. See a ridge or bulge near your underarm? Seamless with tall side panels is exactly what you're after.

One note on sizing: the Posture Lift Bra goes up to cup DD/E. If you wear an F, G, or H, this style runs too small, and the Daily Essential, with its size chart up to cup H, is the better fit.

Lace Lift and Jelly Push-up: two alternatives that do something a bit different

These styles are also wire-free, but they're built mainly for shape and lift, not primarily for handling excess skin on the side.

• The Lace Lift Bra is a wireless push-up with lace, made for women who wear their bra 12 hours a day or longer. The size chart goes up to cup F. If your main concern is comfort and coverage on the side, the Daily Essential is the more logical first pick.
• The Jelly Push-up Bra is seamless and uses jelly strips for support where an underwire would normally sit. Nice if you also want a bit more shape, but the side panel is lower than on the Posture Lift or Daily Essential, so it covers less if you have a lot of excess skin.

Neither style is a bad choice on its own, but if you're specifically dealing with skin folds hanging under your arm, a style with a wide, tall side panel should always be your starting point.

Does this apply to swimsuits and bikinis in summer too?

Yes, the exact same thing happens in swimwear. A swimsuit with no side support leaves the skin under your arm just as exposed as a poorly fitted bra. Look for the same things in a swimsuit as in a bra: a side panel wide enough, and ideally shaping mesh that holds the skin together instead of letting it fall loose over the edge. At the beach or by the pool, where you're wearing fewer layers, excess skin at the underarm stands out faster, so it's worth paying extra attention to this when picking a swimsuit.

The Shaping Swimsuit with Mesh & Ring Detail and the Strapless Shaping Swimsuit with Tummy Control are good options if you want the same comfort on vacation or at the pool that you get from your everyday bra.