Pain-Free Binding Techniques (that you can sleep in! wear to the gym! and won't make your back hurt)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 พ.ย. 2021
- Ironically, this past week I wore my GC2B compression binder two days in a row because it was Thanksgiving and I wanted to look 🕺 and now I have crazy stabbing pains in my back. So looks like I'll be using these three minimally invasive options 100% going forward until top surgery.
1. Under Armour Men's HeatGear Tactical Compression Short Sleeve T-Shirt smile.amazon.com/dp/B004DU31G...
2. TAILONG Compression Shirts for Men Shapewear Slimming Body Shaper Waist Trainer Vest Workout Tank Tops Abdomen Undershirts smile.amazon.com/dp/B0827CT11...
3. Trans Tape
transtape.life/
If you want to buy me a coffee (well, realistically, sugar free energy drink):
ko-fi.com/arthur_rockwell
Sorry but "It compresses my... sigh boobs" is a mood
felt
best comment I've ever seen on youtube
lmao
"This is what I look like without binding!" *Chest that I've been trying and failing to achieve*
Few transtape tips I've seen:
1) Avoid skin irritation by wiping the skin with rubbing alcohol, apply milk of magnesia, let it dry, and then brush off any excess powder. It helps the tape stick and prevents itching (which is surprisingly common).
2) Always, always, always round your corners. It helps the tape stay on longer and prevents peeling and skin blisters.
3) If you add a slightly shorter piece vertically (from the bottom of your chest to a little below your collar bone), it helps create a more pecs-like shape rather than a squished-moob shape.
About #3 - are there any videos or pages you’d recommend demonstrating this? I’m having trouble visualizing where you mean by “from the bottom of your chest…”.
Yeah no... Trans tape does not make me feel masculine. Thanks though.
I think they mean to lift them up.@@basketchaos
@@basketchaos"cheese-named-kyle" here on TH-cam has a tutorial called "how I bind w/ trans tape" that shows this technique, i recommend it
One tip I use for working out in the gym is wearing the compression tank top with a slightly larger sleeveless hoodie. Bonus points if you add sweatpants B). It flattens well, and even though sleeveless can be intimidating, the compression tank top looks perfectly normal if you look through the arm holes, and your chest is covered by the hoodie! Plus, it really helps with cooling off while working out. I'm only 7 months on testosterone and larger chest wise, but it certainly helps hide everything very well.
This is great advice!! I had never thought about sleeveless hoodies but they seem fantastic for coverage and also not been too hot/heavy
@@arthur_rockwell Sleeveless hoodie is a good tip.
I never bind because I don't like that pressure.
But I once had an experience.
That I had a sleeveless hoody made of thicker fabric as a first layer.
Then a blue, slightly larger, ordinary T-shirt over it.
The thick fabric of the lower hoody was already blurring the contours.
The blue t-shirt over it made everything appear flat.
Completely flat.
It felt so good
and so free.
That only with clothes that cover the chest.
Without feeling of pressure.
Hi, I'm a skinny cis-man, but my chest looks quite similar to yours when you're wearing the black tank top and the tape. I guess there's just more fat located in that spot on my body. I used to be very, very self conscious about this as a teen and my half-brother teased me for having boobs, but now that I'm grown up (22 yo) I don't mind it anymore and am even quite pleased to have such a trait, even when I'm skinny.
Thank you for being so open and honest and sharing what works for you!
It makes me really happy to see someone with freckles or scars or acne or whatever on their chest and shoulders, because I pick at my chest whenever I get acne or cuts and I now have a bunch of scars that I’m really insecure about. Seeing someone else with a similar thing makes me feel so much more confident
Hi one tip for the tape. Round the corners! it will help it to stick longer without it starting to peal. It is common practice with sports tape :)
Also when stretching the tape, dont stretch the entire tape. Leave two finger width of material at the end and stick it down without any stetching. It should help with the irritation and blistering.
Respect that you show your chest like that! I could never
Working out your chest/peck muscles will flatten them as well, as I've heard through the trans grapevine. My fiancee tells me that even doing a small set of pushups during periodic breaks throughout the day can make an exercise like that feel less daunting also. But he tells me planks and pushups are good for pecks, and other trans men have said pressing with dumbbells and doing flights works really well also.
I'm a larger chested guy and I have to say I agree! I find upperbody exercises tend to fill out the upper part of your chest, making the distribution more masculine. On top of that, you build muscles in your traps and deltoids which widens your upper body, giving an even more masculine shape to your whole torso.
@@danieneit6830
Funny thing is about that... Even before I came out of the closet, my traps have always been gargantuan, for some odd reason. Everyone used to think I was a guy even long before I started identifying as a guy, because of that fact about me and also the fact that my voice is much deeper than you'd expect it to be. So really doing this is just making me look even bigger in the shoulders, and in turn makes me look more masculine at a first glance, which I'm happy about.
I have a big chest, training shoulders makes my chest look a bit more normal. I have a vtaper somehow but my chest is still obscenely large.
@@aspenziff What's a vtaper? Is that something like trans tape?
@@AgentCalifornia just means my shoulders and chest are wider than my hips and waist
The compression shirt makes u look like u have pecs- like u bench press (: that's pretty cool!
And maybe one day I'll actually get in the habit of bench pressing lolol
Dude your chest unbound is totally passable!
Ikr!!
I don't bind either really unless my dysphoria is really bad. It's mostly a social thing. Like in the house I don't care that much.. it always feels like something is there that shouldn't be but but the prospect of going out makes me even more hyperaware of how clothes sit on my chest even though I'm not that big either. Also only ever used a gc2b binder and don't like wearing it because I hate the shortness of breath. Interested in trying different methods that don't make it so dreadful. Thanks for making this video!
But also i wonder if my binder is too big cos I noticed yours doesn't hang off at the bottom like mine which always annoyed me. But also I hate the outline of it through clothes. Like pantylines for your shirt lol
@@felix5287 that gap you get at the bottom of your binder happens to a lot of people even with the right sized binder. It just depends on the amount of tissue you have to compress, and how it's distributed. I got a tighter binder to try to get rid of it, but I ended up with costochondritis (inflammation of the cartilage in your ribs), and the gap didn't even completely disappear :(
Unfortunately there's not much you can do about it, but I've found that it's not as visible if you wear loose clothing, that's preferably dark and/or has an irregular pattern to it.
Hey, I'm here with an update. After I commented yesterday, I had an idea.
I tried first taping my chest using just two strips of 5cm (2 inch) wide kinesiology tape. I made sure not to tape too tightly, just enough to position the tissue more evenly without making me flatter. Then I put on an old, pretty worn out binder, that's not as tight as it used to be. This helped me get rid of the gap at the bottom, even while wearing a fairly tight shirt (with that tight shirt you can still see it if I lift my arms, but it's much better than without the tape) :)
@@bratatouille ty for sharing. I've actually been using trans tape exclusively for a couple months now and it has been a game changer
@@felix5287 that's great to hear!
I've been debating on whether I should order some transtape. Unfortunately it's just a lot more expensive to ship overseas :/
i think this is the video that properly introduced me to taping. ive been using tape daily for 1.5 years now and i absolutely recommend to EVERYONE to give it a try. my chest is bigger so i used to overwear my binders to the point that i cannot wear binders anymore (also wearing something compressive on my chest just make me dysphoric). tape is great. feels like wearing nothing and it supports your chest very well so you can even comfortably work out in it.
thinking about doing a guide on it before my top surgery (wich is soon! hopefully (dealing with health insurance rn)) bc ive picked up so much info over the time
Thanks for making this, I can't bind as often as I'd like and it also doesn't flatten me completely bc I got a size up for safety reasons, so I'll definitely try some of these out :)
Aw yay hopefully some of these work for you;
I just found your channel. I'm ftm with a very big chest, so i know pain from going both braless and wearing binders. Because of my top dysphoria i wear binder far too often for far too long, so while these won't work perfectly for dd moobs i know my back and neck will thank me for it. Keep up the helpful, lovely content. You deserve so much more followers
he looks flatter with only the compression shirt than I do with the gc2b binder FUCK
same dude
hey I just wanna say, thank you so much for putting out content, I’m pre-transiton and still living with my parents.
I appreciate your content a lot.
Aw thanks for this nice comment!!
Alright, catch me purchasing some compression shirts then.
Also, I find that making sure that I don't have any tension on the end of the strip of tape really helps with preventing blistering. If I keep the tension up all the way to where the strip anchors, I get super gnarly blisters.
Oo that's super great advice! I think you're right that this might be the problem for me when I do get the blisters
the blisters can also be from yeast in your sweat getting trapped under the tape! changing the tape more often can help that especially if it’s hot or you’re doing physical activity
I've definitely worn my binder more than is best for me. that men's compression shirt and tank is surprisingly effective! unfortunately I'm an overall skinny person with a lot of chest tissue, so methods that simply reshape and don't compress don't seem to work for me. but I'll look into Trans tape more and see what it can do! I'm agender and like to be very "neutral" and not necessarily masculine so maybe it won't be for me... anyways thank you so much for an informative video!
Yeah totally, I think being a skinny person with a larger chest is probably the hardest position for using these techniques. Also, for some reason I think TH-cam deleted your comment on my detransition video (it does this sporadically and I haven't figured out why... I'll get the notification but then the comment will vanish), but I so agree. As my mental health has gotten better, top surgery feels even more like the right choice and a way to make my life easier/better.
thank you for the video!!
also tip for the trans-tape:
you should round the edges so the tape stays better and you won't get blisters 🫂
Wish I was smaller chested
Thank you so much for making this video. I've been binding pretty much all day everyday for four years, and I'm definitely feeling the effects. Now that I'm on t my chest has become a little smaller, so I think I might be comfortable enough to wear something a less restrictive like a compression shirt :)
Happy it helped! I'm definitely in the same boat and I wished I'd learned about this stuff earlier (hence I made the video haha)
I really have to say, Thank you for your candor. I'm cis, looking to be a supportive ally to some friends of mine, and understanding these things really feels like I can be a better ally. I find it so hard to look this stuff up, found your channel, and you've been such a well spring of information.
I honestly have a bigger chest... So I'm not sure if these would help me but these are some good tips! Worth a try.
Thank you for this. I'm trying to find the best techniques for my 14 yo son. I hadn't even thought of compression shirts!
You're a great mom. although I guess the bar is low for how parents usually treat tranks children. still though that's a dope thing to do for your son. I hope he's found technique that works well for him after a year!
Currently, I'm dealing with the back pain effect from binding with 2 very very tight sport bras for way too long. (For like 10hrs) sooo this video popped up in my recommendation and I swear it was a gift TYSM
I can’t bind since I don’t have a binder but before bed I’ll get my clothes for the next day, bind my chest with whatever I have, get dressed and just hype myself up. Then the next day i won’t bind and I avoid mirrors to pretend I look the same as I did the night before …
It looks totally fine with the T-shirt you’re wearing, you just look like you have nice chest muscles.
Ive been binding almost everyday, for 2 years, exceptions being times I'm home with just my mom. It feels comfortable, it hurts but it's so comforting and feels right. It helps me feel more confident, It feels better practically (I play bass guitar and sometimes i will put on my binder when practicing so i can hold my guitar comfortably.) Doing physical activities feel so much better, like running but no stretching, or reaching up, That's my only weakness
.
I love how it makes me feel, how it helps me, I hate that it hurts and where it can't help.
Thank you so much for this! I honestly never considered compression shirts or tape as I didn't think it was an option for larger chest sizes but I definitely plan to make the most of the sales and get myself some Trans Tape despite the high shipping costs to the UK. After looking into it some more, I noticed a few guys recommending rounding the corners of the tape pieces to reduce blistering - thought I'd share in case it helps you too!
no bc u blew my mind about the compression shirts/tanks i never thought of that.. i have a similar sized chest to yours and i'm not suitable for using a binder so i constantly jst wear undershirt layers so the slight compression is genius, tysm!!
You pass so well, like I’m blown away, give me all your tips please 😭
Omg this is the video I needed. I don’t bind because anxiety (some days I can’t even deal with wireless bras), but I do sometimes want a flatter chest. Add. To. Cart.
I absolutely wish 'reshaping it' worked, but when you have very low body fat and F cups you're beyond that 😂 Eternally jealous of FTM/NB people with naturally small chests
Yes same
Yupp ive tried tape but my boobs r too small with too little sag that they are rearrangable
Yesterday, I have discussed in a circle of non-cis people about the effects of T and E on your body. I know trans women who are pre op who totally pass as cis women, and the same with trans guys. I can't wait to start my HRT because my fat distribution is still very masculine (I am transfeminine)🥺
hey there! been binding with gc2b around 4 years now (5, maybe?) and definitely havent taken care of break time, etc. this video was super helpful for reaffirming that yeah, all of us guys have some sort of tissue there!! super excited to have just gotten tape in the mail and will he trying out soon, tysm‼️
I've met a *lot* of (presumably) cis guys whos chests look exactly like yours in that tshirt without a binder. You lucky man.
I do ballet, and there's these leotards that are very thin and meant to be worn under stage costumes. The material doesn't fray, so the edges are raw and you can just cut off the bottom part so it becomes an "undershirt" shape, but with quite a lot of compression/support. Since it's for ballet (aka a sport) it's basically a sports bra, but with the same amount of compression everywhere, instead of the weird "make it look more like big boobs" piecing that some sports bras still do. Also the straps don't slip, and since there's almost no seams there's no bulky lines showing. Been wearing those as underwear all day avery day for over a decade, even before starting to question gender, simply because they're so much more practical and super comfortable. Guessing it might be the same/similar material as those compression tshirt/tank tops. Only downside is that most ballet brands tend to stop at like size L or XL :/
I use light trans tape and a "athletic binder" which is a little bit stretchy but it makes me look a bit more flat and not round and I can breathe comfortably and have less back pain👍
Also make sure that your tape isn't pulling your skin at the ends, it makes well at least my skin itchy and the tape come apart from the adhesive:/
So helpful, thanks so much man
Thanks so much for the tips, never thought about the compression shirt trick before, I'll definitely try that in the future
Thank you so much! This is so so helpful!
Thank you so much man this helped me out so very much!
new here, thanks for years channel and this video. working on coming out to my circle and visually coming out more. this is helpful
Thanks! I didn't know about compression shirts, I sure will check them out!
This video is incredibly helpful, thanks for sharing!
Thanks! The black tank compression looks pretty much what I want. Ordering one now.
Thankyou this was really helpful
Also I love your wall paper.
got a binder today and i’m so happy man
Thankkkksss!! I'm really into going to the gym and stuff and I get quote a bit of rib pain so this is fantastic info my friend.
it's been a long time since you posted this video, but i just wanted you to know it's still helping folks :) this is the perfect advice i needed, as someone who couldn't even wear a bra without having trouble breathing (let alone a binder) and desperately wants a masculine chest
Wonderful video! Thank you so much for the info
Wow the tight stretchy shirts are such a good advice! Thanx
I didnt know that all of these cool things existed thanks man ❤
I dig the ocean animal design on your walls! also this is an excellent video, thank you so much for your insights and advice :-)
I just today got tape and was kinda insecure about it not being completely flat but your video helped!!! Thank you! 💕
Thank you so much for this video man. I usually bind but I can’t wear it while playing sports, I tried transtape but it gave me blisters and is really painful, I think 8m gonna try the compression shirt!
I would highly recommend using baby oil or something similar to assist with the removal of tape if you choose to bind that way, as it dissolves the adhesive for the most part and helps prevent irritation and pain during the removal process.
Thank you so much for this review Arthur. I appreciate you putting yourself in such a vulnerable position.
For some adhesive irritations, spraying the area first with Flonase and letting that dry helps!
Fascinating
Thank you for this information, I'll check them out and get one or two. Also, I like the background stickers too.
thank you for sharing
super helpful! ty
This is a bit late but I've heard that for transtape, rounding the corners really helps with blisters
super duper helpfulll thanksss
Thank you so much. I’ve been wanting to join basketball without having to worry abt my chest, this is so helpful. You don’t even know how much this helps, mate!!!
Aww good luck with basketball 🏀!!
ik this video is old enough now, but thank you so much! i really wanted to try trans tape and binders aren’t easily available in my country, but kt tape is! i’ll be able to try that now :D
Gosh this video is a lifesaver for me, my dysphoria is so bad I basically live in my binder, and it hurts but like- I can’t stand the way my chest is growing, thanks for the video man!
I’m still figuring out my identity but I just wanted to say this video is really sweet and helpful!!!
Just bought both of those compression shirts!! I just stared T, and have probably one more year until I can get top surgery (money is a little tight rn) and I don't bind much, so I needed some kind of alternative. Can't wait, I really hope they work. My body looks about the same as yours (my chest is a tiny bit bigger tho) I got a Small in both! :)
my friend cuts the edges round to prevent blisters (hope that helps)
Honestly my biggest problem is chest pain my tissue doesn't like to be moved around on my chest. I can barely stand wearing a binder for 5 hours straight, and at the end of the day I can absolutely feel it. And sometimes I'll get little pinches in my chest even days after. Hopefully the compression shirt will help but if anybody has any tips please leave me some 😭💕
Binder stretches absolutely. Also try stretches that require sitting up straight and fully breathing, gentle ones that target the rib area. I totally get it bc binders rlly get my chronic pain lol. Stretch and massage the area basically. And either warm/cold packs depending on what helps you most. Warm is good for relaxing muscles.
Just got sum trans tape on amazon that was relatively cheap, cause i wanted to try it out first. It works really well, and i feel so so euphoric. I plan on getting a more better quality once i get paid ^^
with the transtape i find it helps with the first piece to kind of go sort of upwards instead of just straight or down
This makes me feel better because I also have an uneven chest and frankly I never understood how to fully use my TransTape when I bought it, I've used it a few times but from the tutorials I watched and followed my chest literally looked the exact same with boobs hanging down and I never understood why, but I will 100% try this way and see how it turns out
thank you!! i’ve been lucky enough to be able to order a binder through a friend and i’ll probably get it in a week or so. i got the GC2B racerback because it allows for more movement (has anyone else got it?:) for me, i think i’ll stay in the 5 days a week 8 hours a day rule since being around the house alone with boobs doesn’t make me feel too bad, but mostly because i don’t want my parents to get suspicious :’) i can’t come out to them because they’d probably kick me out or something
I hope everything goes well for you!!! ❤
you are so lucky with your chest size dude, my spectrum binders only compress me down to an A
Cool content!
Hey, This is an amazing vid and I just barely happened upon your channel, im younger and still live with my parents, and I was wondering if anyone here had tips for how to get binders/compression shirts?
Once again amazing video thank you so much!
Arthur your videos bring me so much hope for the future. I just reached 1 year on T and feel like I'm getting my effects late. I want to thank you for making content about being trans. Thank you for
I used to have this binder from underworks that was loose enough to wear without feeling out of breath or painful, i could sleep in it and feel fine (though i wouldn’t recommend it), it was a tank top one and i got it a size larger than i probably needed, although it started out the right size i just lost weight, but it worked very well. before that i had one that was a bit small for me and at the end of the day i could of sworn i was seeing god. Tank tops seem to be the most comfortable for me, and slim my stomach a bit, while the cropped ones (idk the name) that cut off above my stomach was more visible through my shirts (like you could see the lines they make) and were harder to get on and off, but they compressed much more effectively. I guess everything has its ups and downs.
I don't own a binder, but as pre t, my chest isn't flat at all, but to go out my house I wear 2 sports bras, one is wear in the normal way and the other is use backwards over it, it flattens pretty good, tbh😅
But I don't use it for more than 8 hrs, 'cause tho it flattens well, sometimes cannot be comfortable😬😮💨😔
Omg same! I can’t get a binder cuz my mom is transphobic 🥲
I do that as a binder break day
Cool.
I’m probably gonna go for a compression shirt if no transtape. I was already looking into one for autism reasons so added bonus lol. Thanks I didn’t realise they would also compress my breast tissue a bit, though mine are a big bigger than yours they will still do something hopefully.
First video I'm watching on yours, and I love your walls and how confident you are at showing us and talking so openly about being trans
I got a compression shirt cuz of this video and it works as well as trans tape for me holey crap idk how i never thought of that before 😭
i use much less tape and get the same results but thanks for the tut i needed it
I didnt like the shape feom the binding but the 1st top you wore introducing and the black top looked great. Very natural
this is so helpful !!!!! youre really sweet ^_^
Thank you for this video ! Do you think it's better to buy under size tactical compression shirt ( the first you show) or must I buy my real size ?
A good thing to do is to round the edges of the tape to eliminate any chance of blistering. Blistering occurs from the tension pulling on one corner. If they are rounded the tension is distributed evenly 🙏
I tried binding a few days ago (didn’t rly work) and I’ve been watching a bunch of videos to be better and this was great :)
(also please PLEASE don’t just pull it off- I almost lost a nipple)
I saw someone say they use second skin/saniderm under trans tape to keep it from irritating and extend the length of time you can wear it
Dude has such a cool wallpaper
I only bind with a tomboyx lc at this point. I used to wear a binder that was way too small. I'm able to bind 12 hours a day with no pain. I'm trying to lose weight so I don't have to bind anymore.
I love the idea of using compression shirts! However, I am quite small and cannot find any men shirts for my size. I would need an XS-XXS (following the size charts) and most brands start at S or M :c
Yknow I always wondered why they never made a men's XS, probably not the biggest market but there's obviously some people 😩
Maybe try children’s large?
This video gives me gender euphoria lol I wish I could wear my binder right now. 😢 I'm definitely going to invest in these options!! I'm also scared of it affecting surgery results.
I find that in the winter I find less because I feel comfortable just wearing a t-shirt and hoodie but in the summer I wear my binder alot more because it is too hot to do anything else
I haven't tried trans tape before mainly because I didn't know much about it
This is all great but my chest is too big for this to work at all. Wearing something that compresses but doesn't really make it flat would just make me more uncomfortable. Tape doesn't work for me, it just pulls my skin a lot and I find that much more uncomfortable than a regular binder. Glad to see this stuff works for you tho!
I wonder how many of these will work for those with a large chest....
I have a very similar chest! I measured myself to see if I was good for peri, my left side *might* be, but the right is a bit bigger and is definitely not a candidate for peri. The right side is also really irritating to tape cuz it doesnt bind as easily as the left.
ETA: Im getting modified peri on both sides this year!!