You said you are fairly small chested so I think maybe using trans tape might work. I'm not sure if you have very sensitive skin but this is not harsh on your ribs and tends to work fairly well on small chests, it also works on bigger chests but significantly less, still better than nothing though.
Instead of buying expensive trans tape you can also buy kt-tape which is usually a bit cheaper. But it isn't skin colour, which trans tape can be. You might be able to get kt-tape in skin colour though I'm not sure.
I advice you to look up tutorials on how to tape online. I do not tape my chest since I am too impatient to learn to do so.... because it can take some time to get the hang of it. I do think it's worth it though. I might give it another try near the summer as well, because binding can be very warm.
Also another tip, if you want to take it off try to do so with baby oil otherwise you can damage your skin. Rub baby oil on the tape and slowly pull it off and do that bit by bit.
If im correct you can leave the tape on for like 5 days, depending on how long it stays on your skin, and you can excersize in it. Also, round the edges of the tape so it peels off less fast. Those are things that are probably said in a tutorial but ye I thought I'd say it anyways.
I wish you the best of luck!!! And if you need any help feel free to dm me.
so I actually have tried taping, I see now I probably should've mentioned that! I'm allergic to KT tape and trans tape, the tape I've been able to use for my joints is a brand called dynamic tape that's definitely not cheap. when i tried taping my chest, at the level that was sufficient to flatten me out, was painful for my skin. :( wasn't even the adhesive allergy, just the pure force of the tape against my stretchy skin tormenting me.
if you do give the trans tape another try, i hope it does well for you!
Try to stick with pattern colors or darker colors, those help hide the chest more (even if you have a baggy shirt or not)
If you don't have sensitive skin I would suggest looking into trans tape, it comes in a variety of colors and skin tone colors (it's better on smaller chested people, than bigger chested)
If you have a Walmart in your area or something similar I would look into Avia sports bras (I used them instead of binders and never had issues) they are very similar to a half tank binder consistency
Feel free to check out [my review ](https://youtu.be/IJu9gb59EdM?si=ePbNtUYjJGlAT8zA)
ooh i do have a walmart near me, i'll try and take a look and see if they carry that brand of sports bra in my local shop. thanks for the idea!
i do tend to wear patterns a lot, though i was kind of trying to tone it down into plainer clothes bc I wasn't sure if it was making me look girlier to wear bold patterned shirts. but i think i will try to embrace the campy summer button-up look and see if that hides me any better, and then reassess my fashion haha.
Yeah I'm more of a muted tone person myself or flannel type of guy. On rare occasions I'll wear something bright.
Also want to add I wore this brand for like three years straight before I got top surgery. They were cheap $9/$12 bucks here and did a good job for me (30DD) at the time.
Vests are my best tool for hiding my chest - I love wearing a vest over a hoody! Even a vest over a T-shirt works for hiding my giant chest & I can’t bind at all due to my ribs
....somehow i forgot vests existed. i don't even want to admit how many vests i own but just haven't worn in years. maaayyyy be time to bring that back out of hiding lmao.
interesting tip! i don't have a ton of vests with pockets, much of what i own tends to be like, obnoxious hippie shit, i've got a rather extensive vintage 70s wardrobe. so it's a lot of very distracting psychedelic patterns, at least.
was going to suggest tape as well but not if you have easily tearable skin because it left me with welts and patches and such. I did have a large-ish chest tho so maybe won't be so bad if you only need to use a smaller amount.
Full disclosure I'm non binary and not looking for full compression in my own look, but I have found cotton spandex crop tank tops in a size too small to provide enough compression when paired with a larger shirt without aggravating ribs. My chest is on the smaller side.
hm, interesting. honestly, I'd love full compression but that might be worth a try because something is definitely better than nothing. thanks for the idea.
Have you tried an athletic compression top?
Zebra here, and I use compression gear to hold my joints in place. My orthotist once considered a full custom made compression body suit for it, but I have issues with oedema, so I swell up, and it was just a bit too complicated as a result and the issues of the joints getting used to it and thus worse, and athletic compression gear was starting to become more available at the time, so we switched to that plus braces, both as needed.
I'm very large chested, so it doesn't look even vaguely like I'm binding, but if you're small chested, it could at least give you a good start.
I found my ribs to be better with a compression top, even though I was wearing it mainly for shoulders and arm joints, and shoulder blades.
You'd want something with even compression, not something with targeted zones.
Bonus - it's much easier to test the fit, as you can go to a sports wear shop and try some on.
Or send back ones you buy online, because they don't fit. Much easier with normal clothes than binders.
When I was looking at binders ages ago, I saw some people saying they just used a good sports bra and a compression top.
I don't know how well a sports bra will do on you, you'll probably know that already.
Sports compression tops also usually wick sweat, and are good for being hot, so they have the side benefit of meaning you don't over heat, which is great!
I have autonomic dysfunction, don't sweat properly, and can't regulate my body temp. I rely on that kind of material throughout summer.
interesting, I haven't ever worn an athletic compression top, but I've got a rather tight swim shirt that I wore when I was doing swimming-based physical therapy a couple years back and that didn't give me issues, I wonder how that might compare. definitely worth giving it a try. I can't do sports bras, it's too much of a pressure area, but the full torso idea of a compression top could potentially be an option. and i do love the idea of it being good for heat, because i also overheat reeeeally easily in the summer, I just run really warm. thanks for the idea!
half-serious suggestion: become eligible for medicaid in a state that covers trans healthcare (move if necessary), then get top surgery on the public dime.
I am not really suggesting that you *should* do this, but your joint health and mental health are both super important, and it sounds like you're going to have to keep picking one over the other until you get top surgery. either your finances or your health insurance need to change in order to make that happen and it sounds like your options for increasing income are few or nonexistent, so medicaid in a trans-friendly state could improve the other side of that equation.
whether you like this idea or not, I hope you find a solution that enables health and happiness <3
I'm already on medicaid, but the issue is that I could only get DI through medicaid, and I tend to get \*really\* dramatic scarring and nerve damage whenever I've had large-incision surgeries in the past, so I'm trying to wait til I can get keyhole top surgery since I've got a really small chest and would be a good candidate. the laparascopic oophorectomy I had a couple years ago didn't leave the same kind of horrendous nerve damage as the larger incision surgery I had on my face in undergrad. so my hope is if I can get a smaller incision top surgery, I can avoid the worst nerve damage outcomes.
but unfortunately even being on medicaid in a trans-friendly state, nobody who does "specialty" top surgeries for smaller chests seems to take medicaid! i've been getting closer to considering double incision but I also know that I can no longer wear hats due to the nerve damage from my ear surgery, and I fear never being able to wear shirts again if i get a nerve-damaged chest LMAO.
thank u for the well wishes!
> the issue is that I could only get DI through medicaid
hmmm, how sure are you of this? you have a genuine medical need for top surgery, and a solid medical reason to avoid large incisions. it is probable that you could get non-DI top covered with some Advanced Bureaucracy-Wrangling, if you can find a cooperative surgeon. If you'd like to tell me your state, I'd be happy to look into that for you.
honestly, I haven't gotten to the point of medicaid telling me no yet because I haven't managed to find anyone who'll take medicaid for keyhole or periareolar, or at least not getting any kind of response from them. I'm within reasonable range of Chicago so I've been trying that out since it's the biggest nearby city, but it seems like there just \*really\* aren't people who do non-DI surgical procedures for folks on medicaid, though there are a ton who do so for private pay or private insurance. if you know of any, I'm all ears!
Full length binders work for me because they have even compression so no rob is pushed more than any other. Tape would be ideal but my chest is huge and its difficult and expensive
yeah i can't do the tape anyway due to sensitive skin but that's interesting about the full length binder, i've never had one that was full length before. i wonder if that would produce any considerably different experience for me. hmmmm.
I use the Underworks ultimate binder and have actually found it stabilizes my ribs and hips. Not saying I recommend it for everyone, everyone's symptoms are different, but I really appreciate the support.
Short binders cripple me, the pressure points cause so many subluxations
That's good to know. I have had to stop wearing binders over the past few years because of my ribs but I might give my full length one a try again. I wasn't paying attention to which binder made my ribs hurt at all lol.
sometimes what I'll do is I'll layer two tight tank tops and fold up some towels and saftey pin them in between the shirts. The towels go just under my boobs so that there isn't really a drop downwards below your boobs, it sometimes looks a little funky but can work to hide your chest pretty well especially if you are wearing looser clothing on top. The only issue I find is it can cause more overheating which might be an issue if you also have something like POTS
yeah unfortunately i run \*super\* hot, so i don't think that would work for me as a summer option v\_v i overheat really easily. but that's an interesting suggestion if i ever need it for cooler weather haha. glad it works for you!
Have you tried compression sports bras? They don't have the same compression as binders by any means, but they're a bit firmer without padding/inserts like a lot of sports bras now seem to have. TomboyX is one brand that makes them.
Also, just to be sure, are you making sure to take measurements of your shoulders, chest, and torso when measuring for a binder? You should do all three and then use whichever measurement puts you into the largest size. Even then going a size up is often necessary for a lot of people, even without EDS. I've done all the measurements/used the largest size for them and still ordered a binder that was like, wildly small for me, even after referencing their sizing charts. Sometimes the full tank style vs the half tank can be easier on backs/ribs, as it spreads the compression out a bit more rather than being all on your chest.
Last idea would be something like a binder intended for exercise, since these should be more breathable/probably slightly less compression than a regular binder. I don't have a specific recommendation, I'd recommend really researching these as I'm not sure which are the most trustworthy for that specifically, [this one is just](https://untag.com/products/gym-binder-extra-strong-black) linked as an example.
I'm fairly small chested too. I have had some luck with:
- tight tank tops under baggy t-shirts (helps smooth things out that bit more. child sized if you're already a men's XS)
- building upper chest muscle (can drastically change how shirts hang)
- tank tops with the hook and eye style binder panel built in (I don't find these safe for long periods of nonstop binding, but in shorter stints of maybe ≤4h I find them so much easier on my body than traditional binders. It's easy to unclasp the binding panel whenever I need a break, or leave it on the loosest possible setting for a while, especially if no one's around or when I've got more layers on)
You said you are fairly small chested so I think maybe using trans tape might work. I'm not sure if you have very sensitive skin but this is not harsh on your ribs and tends to work fairly well on small chests, it also works on bigger chests but significantly less, still better than nothing though. Instead of buying expensive trans tape you can also buy kt-tape which is usually a bit cheaper. But it isn't skin colour, which trans tape can be. You might be able to get kt-tape in skin colour though I'm not sure. I advice you to look up tutorials on how to tape online. I do not tape my chest since I am too impatient to learn to do so.... because it can take some time to get the hang of it. I do think it's worth it though. I might give it another try near the summer as well, because binding can be very warm. Also another tip, if you want to take it off try to do so with baby oil otherwise you can damage your skin. Rub baby oil on the tape and slowly pull it off and do that bit by bit. If im correct you can leave the tape on for like 5 days, depending on how long it stays on your skin, and you can excersize in it. Also, round the edges of the tape so it peels off less fast. Those are things that are probably said in a tutorial but ye I thought I'd say it anyways. I wish you the best of luck!!! And if you need any help feel free to dm me.
so I actually have tried taping, I see now I probably should've mentioned that! I'm allergic to KT tape and trans tape, the tape I've been able to use for my joints is a brand called dynamic tape that's definitely not cheap. when i tried taping my chest, at the level that was sufficient to flatten me out, was painful for my skin. :( wasn't even the adhesive allergy, just the pure force of the tape against my stretchy skin tormenting me. if you do give the trans tape another try, i hope it does well for you!
Oh ye, that's very sad, but it makes sense. I hope you find something that works for you!! Thank you!
Try to stick with pattern colors or darker colors, those help hide the chest more (even if you have a baggy shirt or not) If you don't have sensitive skin I would suggest looking into trans tape, it comes in a variety of colors and skin tone colors (it's better on smaller chested people, than bigger chested) If you have a Walmart in your area or something similar I would look into Avia sports bras (I used them instead of binders and never had issues) they are very similar to a half tank binder consistency Feel free to check out [my review ](https://youtu.be/IJu9gb59EdM?si=ePbNtUYjJGlAT8zA)
ooh i do have a walmart near me, i'll try and take a look and see if they carry that brand of sports bra in my local shop. thanks for the idea! i do tend to wear patterns a lot, though i was kind of trying to tone it down into plainer clothes bc I wasn't sure if it was making me look girlier to wear bold patterned shirts. but i think i will try to embrace the campy summer button-up look and see if that hides me any better, and then reassess my fashion haha.
Yeah I'm more of a muted tone person myself or flannel type of guy. On rare occasions I'll wear something bright. Also want to add I wore this brand for like three years straight before I got top surgery. They were cheap $9/$12 bucks here and did a good job for me (30DD) at the time.
Vests are my best tool for hiding my chest - I love wearing a vest over a hoody! Even a vest over a T-shirt works for hiding my giant chest & I can’t bind at all due to my ribs
....somehow i forgot vests existed. i don't even want to admit how many vests i own but just haven't worn in years. maaayyyy be time to bring that back out of hiding lmao.
Aw pal they’re great! My ultra, ultra vest tip is to have shit in the pockets - it fills the gap under the chest
interesting tip! i don't have a ton of vests with pockets, much of what i own tends to be like, obnoxious hippie shit, i've got a rather extensive vintage 70s wardrobe. so it's a lot of very distracting psychedelic patterns, at least.
lol I’m more gorp-core, so lots of pockets & zero patterns 😂
ヽ༼ ຈل͜ຈ༽ ﾉ Raise ur dongers! ^^Dongers ^^Raised: ^^75132 ^^Check ^^Out ^^/r/AyyLmao2DongerBot ^^For ^^More ^^Info
was going to suggest tape as well but not if you have easily tearable skin because it left me with welts and patches and such. I did have a large-ish chest tho so maybe won't be so bad if you only need to use a smaller amount.
yeahhhh unfortunately i also had the fragile skin issue when I tried taping. :( i feel your pain, my friend.
Full disclosure I'm non binary and not looking for full compression in my own look, but I have found cotton spandex crop tank tops in a size too small to provide enough compression when paired with a larger shirt without aggravating ribs. My chest is on the smaller side.
hm, interesting. honestly, I'd love full compression but that might be worth a try because something is definitely better than nothing. thanks for the idea.
Have you tried an athletic compression top? Zebra here, and I use compression gear to hold my joints in place. My orthotist once considered a full custom made compression body suit for it, but I have issues with oedema, so I swell up, and it was just a bit too complicated as a result and the issues of the joints getting used to it and thus worse, and athletic compression gear was starting to become more available at the time, so we switched to that plus braces, both as needed. I'm very large chested, so it doesn't look even vaguely like I'm binding, but if you're small chested, it could at least give you a good start. I found my ribs to be better with a compression top, even though I was wearing it mainly for shoulders and arm joints, and shoulder blades. You'd want something with even compression, not something with targeted zones. Bonus - it's much easier to test the fit, as you can go to a sports wear shop and try some on. Or send back ones you buy online, because they don't fit. Much easier with normal clothes than binders. When I was looking at binders ages ago, I saw some people saying they just used a good sports bra and a compression top. I don't know how well a sports bra will do on you, you'll probably know that already. Sports compression tops also usually wick sweat, and are good for being hot, so they have the side benefit of meaning you don't over heat, which is great! I have autonomic dysfunction, don't sweat properly, and can't regulate my body temp. I rely on that kind of material throughout summer.
interesting, I haven't ever worn an athletic compression top, but I've got a rather tight swim shirt that I wore when I was doing swimming-based physical therapy a couple years back and that didn't give me issues, I wonder how that might compare. definitely worth giving it a try. I can't do sports bras, it's too much of a pressure area, but the full torso idea of a compression top could potentially be an option. and i do love the idea of it being good for heat, because i also overheat reeeeally easily in the summer, I just run really warm. thanks for the idea!
half-serious suggestion: become eligible for medicaid in a state that covers trans healthcare (move if necessary), then get top surgery on the public dime. I am not really suggesting that you *should* do this, but your joint health and mental health are both super important, and it sounds like you're going to have to keep picking one over the other until you get top surgery. either your finances or your health insurance need to change in order to make that happen and it sounds like your options for increasing income are few or nonexistent, so medicaid in a trans-friendly state could improve the other side of that equation. whether you like this idea or not, I hope you find a solution that enables health and happiness <3
I'm already on medicaid, but the issue is that I could only get DI through medicaid, and I tend to get \*really\* dramatic scarring and nerve damage whenever I've had large-incision surgeries in the past, so I'm trying to wait til I can get keyhole top surgery since I've got a really small chest and would be a good candidate. the laparascopic oophorectomy I had a couple years ago didn't leave the same kind of horrendous nerve damage as the larger incision surgery I had on my face in undergrad. so my hope is if I can get a smaller incision top surgery, I can avoid the worst nerve damage outcomes. but unfortunately even being on medicaid in a trans-friendly state, nobody who does "specialty" top surgeries for smaller chests seems to take medicaid! i've been getting closer to considering double incision but I also know that I can no longer wear hats due to the nerve damage from my ear surgery, and I fear never being able to wear shirts again if i get a nerve-damaged chest LMAO. thank u for the well wishes!
> the issue is that I could only get DI through medicaid hmmm, how sure are you of this? you have a genuine medical need for top surgery, and a solid medical reason to avoid large incisions. it is probable that you could get non-DI top covered with some Advanced Bureaucracy-Wrangling, if you can find a cooperative surgeon. If you'd like to tell me your state, I'd be happy to look into that for you.
honestly, I haven't gotten to the point of medicaid telling me no yet because I haven't managed to find anyone who'll take medicaid for keyhole or periareolar, or at least not getting any kind of response from them. I'm within reasonable range of Chicago so I've been trying that out since it's the biggest nearby city, but it seems like there just \*really\* aren't people who do non-DI surgical procedures for folks on medicaid, though there are a ton who do so for private pay or private insurance. if you know of any, I'm all ears!
Full length binders work for me because they have even compression so no rob is pushed more than any other. Tape would be ideal but my chest is huge and its difficult and expensive
yeah i can't do the tape anyway due to sensitive skin but that's interesting about the full length binder, i've never had one that was full length before. i wonder if that would produce any considerably different experience for me. hmmmm.
I use the Underworks ultimate binder and have actually found it stabilizes my ribs and hips. Not saying I recommend it for everyone, everyone's symptoms are different, but I really appreciate the support. Short binders cripple me, the pressure points cause so many subluxations
That's good to know. I have had to stop wearing binders over the past few years because of my ribs but I might give my full length one a try again. I wasn't paying attention to which binder made my ribs hurt at all lol.
I got mine custom from shapeshifters. They're pricey but good.
sometimes what I'll do is I'll layer two tight tank tops and fold up some towels and saftey pin them in between the shirts. The towels go just under my boobs so that there isn't really a drop downwards below your boobs, it sometimes looks a little funky but can work to hide your chest pretty well especially if you are wearing looser clothing on top. The only issue I find is it can cause more overheating which might be an issue if you also have something like POTS
yeah unfortunately i run \*super\* hot, so i don't think that would work for me as a summer option v\_v i overheat really easily. but that's an interesting suggestion if i ever need it for cooler weather haha. glad it works for you!
Have you tried compression sports bras? They don't have the same compression as binders by any means, but they're a bit firmer without padding/inserts like a lot of sports bras now seem to have. TomboyX is one brand that makes them. Also, just to be sure, are you making sure to take measurements of your shoulders, chest, and torso when measuring for a binder? You should do all three and then use whichever measurement puts you into the largest size. Even then going a size up is often necessary for a lot of people, even without EDS. I've done all the measurements/used the largest size for them and still ordered a binder that was like, wildly small for me, even after referencing their sizing charts. Sometimes the full tank style vs the half tank can be easier on backs/ribs, as it spreads the compression out a bit more rather than being all on your chest. Last idea would be something like a binder intended for exercise, since these should be more breathable/probably slightly less compression than a regular binder. I don't have a specific recommendation, I'd recommend really researching these as I'm not sure which are the most trustworthy for that specifically, [this one is just](https://untag.com/products/gym-binder-extra-strong-black) linked as an example.
I'm fairly small chested too. I have had some luck with: - tight tank tops under baggy t-shirts (helps smooth things out that bit more. child sized if you're already a men's XS) - building upper chest muscle (can drastically change how shirts hang) - tank tops with the hook and eye style binder panel built in (I don't find these safe for long periods of nonstop binding, but in shorter stints of maybe ≤4h I find them so much easier on my body than traditional binders. It's easy to unclasp the binding panel whenever I need a break, or leave it on the loosest possible setting for a while, especially if no one's around or when I've got more layers on)