Lingerie Solutions: Pambra’s The Original Bra Liner Review

I am often asked by my readers to suggest what can be done to alleviate bra band chafing. This is something I myself have suffered with from time to time so it made sense for me to trial some kind of solution and review it on my blog. Of course, my first and top solution is to wear a correctly fitted bra – see my post here for tips on how to find a bra that fits you properly – but even then there may be days when your bra causes irritation and so it is good to know of a way to deal with this if needs be.

Pambra’s The Original Bra Liner

After a bit of digging round online, I discovered these bra liners, which are touted as ‘the original bra liner (since 1988)’ and are made by an American company – Pambra’s.

Image courtesy of Pambra’s

Pambra’s website describes this innovative product as follows:

A soft cotton bra liner designed to absorb perspiration under and between the breast. Pambra’s also add comfort to under wire and irritating elastic. Wearing Pambra’s has been proven to reduce moisture that causes skin rashes and extends the usage of your bra. Anyone suffering from an unknown rash or fungus should consult a doctor prior to using Pambra’s, The Original Bra Liner that really absorbs BOOB SWEAT.

Effectively absorbs perspiration under and between the breasts.
Extends the usage of your bras.
Keeps skin drier to prevent chafing and irritation.
Prevents wetness from seeping onto brassiere and clothing.
Now providing Nursing & Post-surgical options! 

These liners are not available to purchase on Pambra’s website; instead a handy ‘Where To Buy‘ page is available on which you will find a list of online retailers. This is ideal for those of us based outside the USA.

Intrigued by this product, I contacted Lady Grace Intimate Apparel and they very kindly agreed to send me a set of liners to try for myself.

This product is sold in packs of three, with one colour per pack from a choice of white, black or nude, and come in a range of sizes as follows:

Pambra’s Size	Bra Band Size	Pambra’s Length
Small	34-36	14”
Medium	36-38	18”
Large	38-40	26”
X-Large	42-46	30”
XX-Large	48-50	36”

Actual fit will depend on how far you want your liner to go across the rib cage. As you can see from my table above, a 36″ Pambra’s is recommended for a bra band size 48-50, so these liners are not intended to line the entire length of the band. However, I wanted to try one that would fit under the whole length of my bra so I asked for the largest size – XX-Large – from Lady Grace Intimate Apparel.

This bra chafing solution product is a very simple concept: it comprises a strip of soft cotton fabric shaped in a particular way that is filled with absorbent lining. The idea is that the main portion of the liner fits underneath your bra’s band and the taller part should be placed underneath your central gore. This liner will absorb sweat and provide padding to minimise and hopefully even eliminate bra band chafing.

I wasn’t sure how best to put on my bra liner to begin with, so I tried a few different ways and eventually found it was simplest to tuck my liner into place once I had my bra on. There is a great video guide showing how easy it is to do this on Pambra’s website here.

For reference, in my photos below I am wearing a black liner with my Ewa Michalak FB Tęczowe bra and matching briefs, my Kix’ies Lois Holdups and some black heels from George at Asda.

In these photos I have teamed a white Pambra’s The Original Bra Liner with my Ewa Michalak S Letnia Noc bra and matching briefs, my Prague Lady Lace Hold-ups from The Big Tights Company and some nude heels from Internaçionale.

Finally I paired a nude one with my Ewa Michalak S Granatowa Pantera bra and matching thong, my Kix’ies Lois Thigh Highs and some platform heels from eBay.

I have worn my various Pambra’s The Original Bra Liners on a number of occasions and I have found that they work very well at stopping one’s bra band rubbing. They also wick any sweat away from the skin, which means that the risk of chafing is minimised, so they are perfect for wearing on hot days.

I liked the longer length of my bra liners and I think if I’d ordered the size recommended for my bra size – small – the short length would have annoyed me where it stopped somewhere under my arms instead of fitting all the way round my bra’s band.

In my photos you can see that I have positioned my liners a little lower than I’d actually wear them in ‘real life’ so that they are clearly visible in the photos. Normally they would be tucked more into the bra’s band. You can also see that in some pics I have positioned the liners more tidily and neatly than others – again, when wearing a liner on a day-to-day basis I would take more time to tuck it in properly and make sure it was just right.

That said, I did find some issues with the length of the liner. As there was nothing attaching my liner to my bra’s band it of course fell down during wear. It also did so when I was taking my photos for this post, and indeed on the occasions I’ve worn a liner for road-testing. The front seemed to stay put pretty well as long as it was positioned properly to begin with, but the section around my back regularly worked itself free.

It is because my back – as I’m sure most people’s does too – arches in at the spine so there is nothing for my bra’s band to sit against. This isn’t usually a problem for a bra because it is fastened around my body but a liner needs two things to hold it in place: my body and the bra band, and without both it will fall out. This must be the main reason that Pambra’s recommends a smaller size so that where the liner only goes partway round a person’s body it will not move out of place.

I am in a fortunate position where I don’t actually ‘need’ to wear a bra liner but if I did I think I would be tempted to either loosely stitch one in place on each of my favourite bras or find a way of securing it without ruining the aesthetic of my bras. Fortunately when wearing this liner it makes a bra look like it has a longline design so it’s not immediately obvious what it is, but if I was attaching hooks and eyes or some other way of keeping my liner in place I would be careful as to how I did it so that my bra’s aesthetic was not spoilt.

On a couple of occasions when wearing a liner I realised you could see the outline of it through my clothing. This is another example of why it’s really important that one takes time to ensure that their Pambra’s liner is in the correct position when first putting it on and to also check it during the day.

These minor issues that I have experienced can be solved by careful and purposeful use of the liner, ensuring that it is positioned correctly throughout wear. I cannot think of any ways in which the design of the liner could be improved so it is up to individual wearers to make sure they are using it correctly to get best results.

This product is a great solution for anyone who experiences discomfort from a bra’s band. I would strongly recommend making sure you are wearing the right bra size first, however, but if you definitely are and you are still experiencing issues, this is a fantastic option to try. You can buy Pambra’s The Original Bra Liner from Lady Grace (who ship outside the US as well!).

Have you ever tried a bra liner? Did it work for you?