THE ANATOMY OF THE BREAST

Your breast is over fifty percent adipose tissue (fat) and fibrous connective tissue: These two, which surround the mammary gland itself, give the bosom its shape and firmness, or its lack of them. Each of us is born with a certain genetic inheritance in terms of size and shape and, short of plastic surgery, there is supposed to be little we can do to change it.

This is only partially true. For, although seldom do you find a woman who has markedly changed the size of her breasts, it does happen. After successful psychotherapy some women report that their formerly underdeveloped breasts have become normal size. Other factors can affect size too - and not always for the better. Hormonal changes such as those brought about by the Pill or HRT for menopausal difficulties sometimes slightly enlarge and improve breast shape - an improvement that often lasts after treatment has finished. Weight loss also affects the bosom. If too quick, it can leave you with sagging, flabby breasts that you could have avoided with a less drastic diet. And the quality of what one eats makes an important contribution to breast beauty, too, particularly in that you need to ensure that you get enough vitamin C in your diet because of its role in preserving the healthy collagen fibres, which, along with the firmness of your pectoral muscles, helps keep breasts firm and well-shaped.

THE IDEAL BREAST

A so-called ideal bosom is little more than a figment of someone's (probably French) imagination. But here is the archetype anyway: breasts well separated with nipples halfway between the level of the elbow and the shoulder when the arm is at the side of the body and at least as far apart as the ears. If this description doesn't fit you, you have two choices. Either you say to hell with such nonsense or you might take a look at your posture. Many a less-than-perfect bosom is simply the result of poor carriage. This is something you can correct, though not by sticking your chest out further or sucking it in. Instead, try tilting your pelvis slightly up and forward and tucking your bottom under. This will straighten the spine and lift the rib cage at the same time, giving your belly and bust their truest lines. You can test your breasts for droop by putting a pencil horizontally just under each. If it is held in the fold, indicating a true sag, then you can use exercises to improve the muscle tone and other techniques to improve the size and shape.

FIRMING UP A BOSOM

Exercise is the only way to lift a sagging bosom - either exercise got passively from faradic current equipment such as Slendertone or from simple daily movements in a routine. Swimming, particularly breaststroke is also good for improving the tone of the breast and firming the muscles. Skilful weight training for the entire body can do wonders for the look of the breasts, by realigning the whole body and enhancing muscle tone. Here also are some basic movements that, if done daily, will keep your breasts firm and well shaped and also help restore their beauty where it has been neglected. These exercises are best performed daily before a bath to get good results, and then three times a week to keep your sleek new shape.

Small Circles

Stand tall, feet planted firmly on the floor at shoulder width. Stretch arms out to the side at shoulder level and make circles in the air of about eighteen inches in diameter, first in one direction and then in the other. Six times each way.

Large Circles

Stand tall and swing both your arms straight out in front of you with palms down towards the floor. Then fling your arms as far back as they will go as though you were reaching for something behind you, all the while pushing your chest out as far as possible. You will feel a strong pull on the pectoral muscles with each movement. Repeat this twelve times, then go on to the next exercise.

Press-Ins, Pull-Outs

Standing before a mirror, raise your elbows to shoulder height at the sides of your body. Then bring your palms together and press as hard as you can. (You will be able to see the contraction in the pectorals, and as you practice this movement your breasts will lift with each press.) Keep pressing for five seconds. Then, bending your fingers and making the hands into hooks, lock them together and pull. Hold for five seconds and repeat from the beginning. Do this sequence six times each way.

HYDROTHERAPY AND AROMATHERAPY

In France, where the care of breasts is almost a national institution, they have developed a number of more or less effective salon treatment (some more, some less) that involve exercises to strengthen muscles, hydrotherapy to improve circulation and absorption by skin, and finally the application of creams and oils containing the essential oils of plants and other substances such as embryo and placenta extracts. Although most of the Western world pooh-poohs the idea that such treatment can do any good, there are thousands of French women whose exquisite breasts would belie this scepticism.

Hydrotherapy in the form of a spray of cold water (the colder the better) is directed against each breast for a couple of minutes a day. The combination of the force of the spray and the temperature of the water stimulates the blood supply to the breasts, eliminates any stasis in the tissues, and helps tone muscles at the same time. There is equipment that you can buy in France specifically designed for giving this treatment at home. It consists of a large cup-shaped cone containing a rotating sprinkler. It is held against a breast and then attached to the cold water tap of your skink with a piece of hose. By turning on the cold water you receive jets of cold water with considerable force on the breast. This treatment should be used daily for two to four minutes on each breast over several months for the best results. But this kind of apparatus has other applications too. It has been used successfully to stimulate the milk supply of nursing mothers as well.

Creams and oils for use on your breasts are best made from essential oils, with safflower, sesame, almond or hazelnut, used as a carrier in a dilution of 5 percent - that is one part of essential oil to nineteen parts of the carrier. There are products on the market specifically made to treat the bust using essences that are reported to stimulate circulation, cell growth and reproduction, and to improve the skin in general. Most of the good ones are French. And most of them are expensive. But you can make your own at reasonable cost. Here is a good recipe for a toning oil to use daily:

Mix: 5 drops lavender oil, 10 drops juniper oil, 5 drops rosemary and 5 drops of ylang-ylang oil in the carrier oil. Apply daily after exercise, a bath, or hydrotherapy, when the skin is warm and most receptive. With the fingers and palms, massage the breasts inwards from the outside and then upwards from the space between the breasts in circular motions for three or four minutes until the oil is dispersed.

For the best results in improving the shape and look of your bust, use exercise, hydrotherapy, and oil massage together daily until you get marked improvement - usually six weeks to three months. Then you need only use them once or twice a week to preserve the benefits.