The era of flaunting large boobs appears to be fading out. Moderate boobs seem to be coming back to the limelight.

Women with large boobs have dominated men’s attention for a long time now, to the extent that breast enhancement had become the first choice for women, who want to dominate the beauty scene.

The side effects notwithstanding, many ladies still find fulfilment when all eyes are on their boobs.

They enjoy the limelight when their necks turn each time they walk past a gathering.

The importance that large breasts had on the beauty of a woman was such that a certain Nollywood actress was reported to have insured her large boobs, paying a premium against any unlikely damage to the “asset.”

However, it does appear the hold big boobs have on men, probably may be waning, or for women, carrying large breasts is becoming burdensome, as many young ladies now fall against each other, trying to reduce their breasts.

Just like in the time of breast enhancement, the cost of having breast reduction, popularly known as mammoplasty is high.

Now, Economy&Lifestyle can confirm that most ladies take the alternative route to get it done, instead of going under the knife.

These alternatives range from exercise to herbal and organic drinks.

For some of the ladies who spoke to Economy & Lifestyle, Mammoplasty is the trend now, because it helps align a woman with a flat tummy and round buttocks giving them the desired figure-8 shape.

Those who go for alternatives do so due to a lack of money.

Mrs Adejoke Kunbi, a pharmacist said:” Women with large breasts are everywhere. I have a very large breasts.

Even after childbirth my breast was still large. I had between the option of going for surgery or exercise and creams. I had to take exercise and creams, which has helped me alot because the effect of having large breasts tells on the shoulder and the sizes of brassieres which sometimes are difficult to come by in the market.

Mr. Ayo Akinsanmi, an organic product seller, said:” Many ladies do come to my store to buy organic creams and other natural remedies such as green tea, ginger drinks, and flax seed,  among others. These breast reduction creams cost between N10,000 and N50,000. They claim it helps them to shrink fat in their breasts and make the loose body firmer.

“Some of them run away from surgery because of the amount which according to them is very expensive. A customer once told me that apart from the cost of surgery, the risk of death also prevents ladies from going under the knife.”

According to Mayo Clinic, breast reduction surgery has the same risks as other major surgeries such as bleeding, infection and a bad reaction to the anaesthesia.

Other side effects are the loss of feeling in the breasts or nipples for a brief or longer period of time.

Economy & Lifestyle discovered that these alternatives are not only sought by ladies with large breasts but also those with normal size breasts.

These ladies do this to follow the trend of small breast size followed by large hips and huge backsides, which according to them constitute the features needed to achieve an hourglass shape (also called figure 8).

Demilade Ogunsana, a student said:” Many of my girlfriends in school, who have large size breasts are using creams and taking organic drinks to shrink them.

“Even those with less large breasts go for these creams and drinks to shrink their already moderate breasts. There is this trend in girls’ body physiques where they have smaller breasts, tiny waists and wide hips and buttocks (figure 8). These ladies do it just to follow the trend.”

Procedures and costs of mammoplasty surgery

According to Abuja plastics.com, breast reduction is a surgical procedure that reduces, lifts and reshapes the breasts. It can also reduce the size of the areola (the dark skin surrounding the nipple).

Many Nigerian women seek breast reduction to alleviate painful discomfort and other conditions (back pain, shoulder pressure, rashes, skin tags, etc.) as well as to improve the appearance of their breasts.

The procedure is usually performed at a hospital under general anaesthesia. The operation takes about three to four hours, and you may require an overnight stay or be allowed to go home on the day of surgery.

The maximum price for this surgery ranges between N2 million and N2.5 million in Lagos, which is perceived as  the lowest of prices.