How to Wear Shapewear Comfortably in Hot Weather
For many women, shapewear is a daily essential. For other women, it is reserved only for events and special occasions. Regardless of which of these categories aligns with your shapewear preferences, the need to wear shapewear when the weather is hot is bound to arise at some point–whether it’s to keep up with your daily shapewear habits or to smooth and slim for a special event.
Shapewear has definitely come a long way in terms of comfort since the days of corsets and other ultra-tight shaping garments that are now considered outdated and old-fashioned by the vast majority of women and society as a whole. That being said, the point of shapewear is to fit snugly–that’s how it works to smooth, slim, and shape your figure. There’s no doubt that it tends to be more comfortable to wear tight fabric against your skin when the weather is cooler rather than warmer. Wearing shapewear that fits tightly and offers some level of compression for your figure decreases air circulation and can cause you to sweat more and more quickly. If your shapewear is not breathable, this increase in sweat without air circulation can cause your skin to feel hot and sticky throughout the day.
Hot weather during the warmer months of the year deters many women from wearing shapewear, which can in turn lead to decreased confidence and limited wardrobe options for women who are used to pairing some or all of their outfits with shapewear. Some women even worry that it is dangerous to wear shapewear when the weather is hot. In reality, you have nothing to worry about in terms of danger when wearing shapewear in hot weather as long as you are wearing the right types of shapewear in the right ways while also taking care of yourself and listening to your body’s needs throughout the day.
Fortunately, there are several ways to keep yourself comfortable while wearing shapewear in hot weather. Keep reading to discover seven top tips for how to wear shapewear comfortably in hot weather so that you can maintain your shapewear habits throughout the summer without sacrificing comfort.
Shop Comfortable Shapewear for the Hot Weather
1. Choose Breathable Materials
When it comes to wearing shapewear in hot weather, wearing shapewear styles that are crafted from breathable materials is a must. As previously mentioned in this post, wearing tight shapewear that induces increased and more rapid sweat production without offering the relief of air circulation can
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2. Opt for Light Compression
Different shapewear styles offer different levels of compression. Shapewear styles range in compression from shapewear that only offers smoothing without compression to extremely firm, high compression shapewear styles. When the weather is hot, you might consider avoiding high compression shapewear altogether. Smoothing-only shapewear styles or shapewear styles that offer light compression tend to be better options for women who want to wear shapewear throughout the warmer summer months. Light compression shapewear does not fit your figure as tightly as high compression shapewear, and it allows for increased air circulation that decreases sweat production and helps keep you cooler in your shapewear while still offering smoothing and light shaping coverage. If high compression shapewear is like a heavy blanket, think of light compression shapewear as a lightweight sheet–which would you rather use when the weather is hot?
It is true that wearing shapewear that offers light compression can be an adjustment for some women who are accustomed to the effects of wearing high compression shapewear when the weather is cooler. While the shift from high compression to light compression shapewear during the warmer months of the year can be a difficult transition, the added daily comfort you get from opting for smoothing shapewear that offers lighter compression when the weather is hot is worth any slight feelings of insecurity you may experience and is generally a more palatable option than not wearing any shapewear at all for women who are used to wearing shapewear on a daily basis.
3. Select One Target Area
Instead of attempting to shape your entire figure with a full body shaper, choose one target area to smooth, slim, and shape when the weather is hot. Shapewear that only targets one aor two areas of your figure can still help you feel much more confident in your clothes, but these shapewear styles offer less coverage and are more lightweight than full or even half body shapers.
Some popular shapewear styles that specifically target one or two areas of your figure include high-waisted shaping panties, shaping shorts, shaping camisoles, and more. Pick out a few shapewear styles that target different areas of your body so that you have several different styles to choose from depending on your areas of insecurity in certain outfits.
4. Wear Shapewear Clothing
One thing that can increase the discomfort of wearing shapewear in hot weather is the fact that wearing shapewear underneath your clothes increases the number of layers you wear. More layers mean less air circulation, more sweat, and more heat–especially when the weather is already hot.
Some shapewear styles double as clothing pieces. Shapewear clothing offers the same smoothing, slimming, and shaping benefits for your figure, but eliminates the need for you to wear multiple layers at one time. Popular shapewear clothing styles include shaping bike shorts, shaping camisoles and other tops, shaping bodycon dresses, and more. Many shapewear clothing pieces are stylish, comfortable, and subtly shape your figure while reducing the number of layers you have to wear for shaping benefits in hot weather.
5. Buy the Right Size
If you want to stay cool in your shapewear in hot weather, it is important to make sure you buy the right size. Many women accidentally buy shapewear that is too small for them and fits too tightly against their figure. Shapewear that squeezes you is uncomfortable and is not any more effective than shapewear that offers the right fit. Plus, even light compression shapewear that is supposed to be breathable blocks air circulation and induces rapid sweat production when it is too tight.
Well-fitting shapewear should fit snugly against your skin but should allow you to move and breathe freely. Make sure you measure yourself according to the size chart of the shapewear style you want to buy before actually making your purchase to make sure that you purchase your shapewear in the right size to ensure a cooler, more comfortable fit year-round.
6. Drink More Water
Even if you wear the most breathable shapewear styles that offer the lightest compression possible, you will still likely sweat more than you would if you weren’t wearing shapewear. Sweat is made up of 99% water, which means that sweating more than you usually do can dehydrate you quickly. Therefore, it is very important to keep your water intake up when wearing shapewear in hot weather.
If you are outside in the heat, you should aim to drink at least one cup of water every 30 minutes to stay hydrated and make up for the water you lose through sweat throughout the day. If you spend most of the day inside and don’t sweat as much, you should still drink at least 12 cups of water per day–try to drink at least one cup of water per hour, because drinking smaller amounts of water more frequently is more effective at keeping your body hydrated than drinking larger amounts of water only a few times a day. Increasing your water intake to stay hydrated when you wear shapewear in hot weather can help you stay more comfortable and less fatigued throughout the day.
Shop Comfortable Shapewear for the Hot Weather
7. Take Care of Your Skin
Wearing shapewear in hot weather can lead to skin irritation. The friction of the shapewear’s material rubbing against your skin–especially when your skin is moist and sticky with sweat–can lead to severe skin irritation. Common allergens like pollen can also get trapped between your shapewear’s material and your skin, which can lead to increased skin irritation as well. If your skin is irritated, it will be more sensitive and wearing shapewear will be much less comfortable.
Fortunately, there are a few ways to minimize skin irritation and subsequent discomfort that can result from wearing shapewear in hot weather. Make sure you wash your shapewear on a regular basis to get rid of any allergens or bacteria that could be sticking to the inside of the material. Choosing shapewear with a soft and breathable interior lining can help reduce skin irritation as well. Also, try to give yourself a break from wearing your shapewear to let your skin breathe more freely whenever possible. If you get home from an event, for example, change into loose and breathable clothing for yoru time at home instead of staying in your shapewear for the rest of the day. Finally, keeping your skin clean and moisturized at all times is key to preventing skin irritation that can result from wearing shapewear in hot weather.