Why Are My Boobs So Small And What Can I Do About It?

It is not uncommon for women to feel concerned about having smaller breasts, particularly if they consider them to be disproportionate to their frame. Many wonder, why are my boobs so small? Generally, smaller breasts are the result of genetic inheritance, but very small breasts can also be the result of postpubertal underdevelopment – also known as micromastia.

Surgeries such as breast augmentation and breast lift can significantly enhance the size and shape of underdeveloped or small breasts. This article will explore the causes for smaller breasts and the various treatments available.

The CREO Clinic’s Medical Director and experienced breast surgeon, Dr. Omar Tillo, has performed countless surgeries to enhance smaller breasts. Dr. Tillo works to provide consistently excellent, natural-looking results, and patient testimony to his skill and high levels of patient care is available here.

Find out Dr. Tillo can improve the shape and size of your breasts.

Understanding What Can Cause Small Breasts

Biological and Genetic Factors

A key factor in the development of smaller breasts is genetics, which determine the breast growth throughout adolescence – levels of oestrogen during this time particularly impact breast growth and help determine the size of your breasts as an adult.

Other biological factors such as age and body weight, can also influence breast size.. For example, the breasts may decrease in size as you age, and can fluctuate in size alongside fluctuations in body weight – lower levels of fat can reduce breast tissue present, making the breasts appear smaller. If you lose weight, your breasts may shrink due to reduced fatty tissue, since fat makes up a large portion of breast composition.

Hormonal Influences

Oestrogen and progesterone are two hormones that play a central role in breast development – oestrogen is most responsible for pubescent breast development, but it works in unison with progesterone to provoke tissue growth and the aid the growth of milk ducts and glandular tissue. 

Higher levels of oestrogen typically lead to larger and rounder breasts once they are fully developed, whereas an oestrogen deficiency or excess of androgens such as testosterone can mitigate breast growth and lead to smaller breasts post-puberty.

Breaking Down Common Myths About Small Breasts

Here are some of the more common myths about small breasts, and why they do not hold any validity:

• Smaller breasts are less feminine – This is a common assumption, but the reality is much more nuanced. Femininity is a complex and varied concept, and many different parts of the physique can carry greater weight in producing a typically feminine physique overall.
• Smaller breasts are less attractive – Many women assume the smaller breasts are less attractive, but individual tastes and subjective standards of attractiveness differ widely between individuals. 
• Smaller breasts produce less breast milk – While this may seem logical, in fact, all breasts can produce sufficient breast milk provided your milk ducts expand and blood flow increases around the breasts. The amount of breast tissue present does not determine milk production. This is very common for women who are breastfeeding.

Fashion and Styling Tips For Women With Small Breasts

There are an array of helpful styling tips that can help complement a frame with smaller breasts, such as v-neck necklines that draw the eye downwards and help to accentuate the length of the neck. Push-up and padded bras are also useful for adding contour and cleavage to the chest by adding volume and pushing the breasts upwards, respectively.

Choosing certain colour patterns can be flattering for those with smaller breasts, such as darker colours on the upper half to minimise the breast area are lighter colours from the lower half to draw the eye downwards.

Non-Surgical Options To Change Small Breasts

Exercise and Nutrition

Maintaining a regular exercise regime and a balanced diet can improve our overall well-being, but it is unlikely to drastically alter the size of the breasts. Building the pectoral muscle in the chest can help support your breasts and improve their perkiness, but this is unlikely to change their size.

Temporary Fillers and Hormonal Treatments

Dermal filler can be applied to the breasts to create small enhancements to their size. However, it should be noted that these fillers are short-term, modest in their effects compared to implants, and require repeated treatments to maintain their effects over the long term.

Hormonal treatments such Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) can lead to further breast development, but these are usually only considered for health issues related to the menopause, or as a part of male to female (MTF) gender transition.

Surgical Options To Enhance Small Breasts

Breast Augmentation

Breast augmentation, or enlargement surgery, with implants is one of the most common surgical treatments designed to enlarge breasts. The surgery involves making an incision in the breast – usually at the breast crease, but sometimes under the armpit or below the areola – then inserting silicone implants that enhance the size and shape of the breasts according to the patient’s aesthetic goals.

Provided the surgery is performed by an experienced surgeon, the surgery usually only leaves small, well disguised scars that can be reduced via laser scar removal, and the improvements it makes are permanent. 

Breast Augmentation with Fat Transfer

Fat transfer can also be a highly effective way to enhance the size of the breasts. This is the process of extracting fat from around the body in areas where it is in excess, then transferring this to the breasts to increase their size and improve their contour.

In general, fat transfer creates more modest enhancements to breast size, but the look and feel of fat transfer enhancements is often more natural than implant augmentations. 

Composite Breast Augmentation

Dr. Tillo has also created a combined fat transfer and implant technique called composite breast augmentation, which combines the larger size enhancements of implants and the natural look and feel of fat transfer. This procedure has proved a highly successful innovation, and patients at the CREO Clinic have been delighted with the results it provides.

Breast Lift

Some women find that the concerns they have around the size of the breasts can be resolved by improving their shape and perkiness. A breast lift does this by removing a small section of the breast skin and tightening up the remaining gap to lift the breast upwards.

This can be an excellent approach for women with concerns about tuberous breasts or sagging.

What to Expect with Surgical Breast Treatments

Realistic Expectations

It is vitally important to maintain realistic expectations about surgical breast treatments and their impact. For example, all surgical breast treatments involve some degree of scarring and downtime from work. 

Note that the results of your surgery may change over time due to the natural effects of hormonal imbalances, ageing, fluctuations in weight, or life events such as pregnancy. This is why our surgical team ensures you are fully informed before your surgery, and we encourage you to ask Dr. Tillo any relevant questions you may have during your initial consultation.

Risks and Side Effects

As with any surgery, breast augmentation and breast lifts carry some risk of complications and side effects. Some of the potential complications for breast surgery are:

• Loss of sensation in the nipples
• Scarring (you can see our blog on breast lift scars here for examples – laser scar removal is also readily available at the CREO Clinic)
• Infection at your incision sites
• Capsular contraction (augmentation only)
• Haematoma
• Breast asymmetry
• Rotation, loss, or rupture of your implant (augmentation only)
• Aesthetic concerns

The best way to minimise the possibility of complications is to ensure you are treated by a board-certified, experienced cosmetic surgeon. Make sure they are specialists in your procedure and have a proven history of high-quality results.

Hear From Previous Clients

Before and After Results

Contact CREO Clinic Today to Learn More About Ways to Change Small Breasts

Book a consultation today at the CREO Clinic and find out the ways Dr. Tillo can enhance the size of your breasts. Whether you’re looking for larger breasts, improved contour, or a subtle enhancement, Dr. Tillo has provided enhancements to women of all different aesthetic needs, and is skilled at creating artful breast enhancement procedures that both look and feel natural.

FAQs About Breast Size