It’s our mission to inspire Bravissimo girls to feel confident and amazing, and we understand that when you find supportive lingerie and swimwear that you feel great in, you want it to last for as long as possible…! Often bras tend to be thrown into the washing machine along with everything else… but this can really damage your delicates, so that’s why we’re here to arm you with the knowledge on how to wash bras and care for your lingerie and swimwear, so you can love wearing them for even longer!

Our lingerie and swimwear care guide will answer all your “how-to” questions on caring for your lingerie and swimwear, so read on to find out everything you need to know when it comes to washing bras, briefs, swimsuits and bikinis.

The short answer is… YES! We understand that washing bras by hand can be a bit of a pain, but machine washing can cause wonky wires and make the elastic less stretchy. Putting your lingerie in the washing machine can also damage the plastic tips on the end of the underwires and cause them to push through their casing which can scratch your skin or get tangled in your washing machine – ouch!

We recommend that you hand wash your lingerie – it’s easy, we promise! To hand wash your bras, simply soak them in cool water and detergent, and then gently rub your bra all over (paying special attention to the band and armpits) and rinse in clean, cool water. Some non-wired lingerie can be washed in the machine on a cool wash – but it’s always best to check the label first. Just remember to fasten the hooks so they don’t get caught on anything else!

When you’re drying your lingerie avoid any source of direct heat, like the tumble drier or radiator, as this can damage the shape and elasticity of your bra. Once you’ve washed your bra, leave it to air dry. It’s important for bras to be air dried because intense heat from a machine dryer will cause damage and affect the fit. They’ll need at least a day (maybe two) to fully dry, so it’s a good idea to have plenty of other bras to wear while the washed ones dry!

We’d recommend washing bras every one to two weeks to keep them fresh and in good condition, but there is no hard and fast rule for this! Ask yourself: how many bras do you wear on rotation? What kind of climate are you wearing them in? If you live in a hot climate, you’re probably sweating in your bras more often than someone in a colder climate… so you will have to wash them more often. However, if you have more bras to wear and rotate through, there will be less strain on each of them and you can hold off on washing them for a bit longer – it really does depend!

When you’ve found beautiful bras that you feel confident and amazing in, you want to look after them and store them properly, so they last for as long as possible! It’s worthwhile organising your bra-drobe and lining your bras up in your drawer neatly with space between them as this will help the bras keep their shape in between wearing them and washing them. This will also reduce any snagging on the hooks and will stop moulded bras losing their shape or wires bending.

If you’re short on drawer space for all your bras, you can hang your bras in your wardrobe too – grab a hanger and place the straps of your bra on the hooks of your hanger to make sure they don’t fall off!

As too much direct sunlight can lighten the colour of your swimwear, we’d recommend drying your bikinis and swimsuits out of direct sunlight to keep them bright and colourful.

Make sure your sun cream is totally dry before you put your swimwear on, otherwise it can leave patchy yellow stains which can be a little tricky to remove.

Elastane (the stuff that makes swimwear stretchy!) really doesn’t like heat or chemicals. So, we recommend not tumble-drying your swimwear or putting it on a radiator – simply hang it up to air dry instead!

Chlorine can be damaging to the fabric and colour of your swimwear so, after having a splash in the pool, don’t forget to rinse your swimwear in cold water straight away to get rid of the chlorine and hang it up to air dry.

To make your swimwear last for as long as possible, we recommend always washing it by hand. Simply rinse your swimsuit as soon as possible in cool tap water after each time you wear it. If you have time, allow for it to soak in cool water for 30 minutes (as this will be even better for the fabric!). Fill the sink with cool water and add some laundry detergent, turn your swimsuit inside out and swish it in the water for several minutes and then rinse! Gently squeeze out the excess water (don’t wring it dry as it can damage the shape).

We recommend you wash your swimwear with detergent every few wears, but we’d suggest swilling your swimsuit in cold water after every wear to look after the fabric of your swimsuit to remove any salt water and chlorine straight away.