Is open binding bad for skin?

[November Fox]

Hey guys.

A long while ago, I learned about open binding when I stumbled upon the technique on the interwebs.
This guy wore his moobs to the side using tape (not regular tape, sports tape, he used KT tape).

I´ve since purchased KT tape and I use it with a lot of satisfaction.
Sadly some guys have told me that I shouldn´t be using this because it damages the skin, according to them. The skin would supposedly lose its elasticity and this would be bad for top surgery.

Does anybody know more about this? I plan to ask the surgeon when I see her, but it isn´t for a few months.

[FTMax]

Binding in general changes the elasticity of the tissue, so in that sense using tape is the same as using a traditional binder. Of all the non-binder options out there, I think KT tape is actually not a bad one. It's breathable, it stretches, it moves with the body, etc.

[Alexthecat]

I've used KT tape on my top surgery scars at one point in an attempt to flatten them. The tape is expensive if you plan to take it off and on every day. If you leave it on for days then it will get very itchy and you will take it off anyway. I'd say it's cheaper in the long run to get a binder.

[November Fox]

I prefer KT tape over binders. I have a binder, but the KT tape I can leave on, even at night - I don´t tape all the way across the chest. The binder you have to take off at night.

KT sticks like a ... .... (use your imagination), so it´s not recommended to take it on and off everyday. That would actually be pretty rough on your skin and probably give you problems. It´s intended to stay on for a week or so. I´ve had it on longer than that amount of time (it does lose elasticity) without too much problems.

It does get a little bit itchy which is why I imagine it would be best if you allowed the skin to recuperate in between times when you wear the tape.

@Max the tape does stick directly to the skin and applies "suction" to it so I would imagine that in the long run, the skin could lose more of its elasticity than compared to a binder? It does stretch with your body which is what I like about it. I can do sports with it, shower - whatever I want.

[FTMax]

@Max the tape does stick directly to the skin and applies "suction" to it so I would imagine that in the long run, the skin could lose more of its elasticity than compared to a binder? It does stretch with your body which is what I like about it. I can do sports with it, shower - whatever I want.

I think they are about the same in terms of prolonged use. Elasticity refers to the skin's ability to "bounce back" once the stretch is released. So with prolonged binding, what you typically see is guys whose chest is typically more saggy because the tissue has been broken down slightly. It may even be angled differently because of the way they shove themselves in a binder.

With the KT tape (which I love - I use it on my ankles all the time), you're applying the same amount of "force" ie. what is required to get yourself flat, but the movement of the chest tissue is different. So while what it's doing is the same, I think if you were to bind exclusively with KT tape and compare to someone binding exclusively with a binder, I think over time your chests would look (1) different from when you both started binding, and (2) different from each other because of the different ways in which the tissue is being manipulated.

[November Fox]

Hmm okay, that makes sense. Thank you as always for thinking along!

[Kylo]

I remember a few years back I tried different methods of binding and always did it with the intention of making the chest surface as tight and flat as possible. I did it for a year or so only removing it to wash and it did change the skin, not in a good way. I noticed the difference when I stopped doing it, but I don't know if can all be attributed to just that and not maybe the time I did it for.

I can't wait to get rid of these things.

[green27]

I had some skin damage from binding with a regular binder. I have stretch marks on my upper to middle chest where I would shove everything down. after surgery they are pretty much in the middle of my my pec and I think they look really strange because my nipple is on top of them. But you can't tell unless you are looking super close.

I feel like the KT tape puts pressure on the lower part of the chest more than the upper. if you are planning on having DI then that part will most likely be removed anyways. I wish I had known about the KT tape before, haha.

You might get skin damage either way but I was binding every day for 8 years, and the damage I have is really minimal in the long run.

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[November Fox]

Ok. I hope to get surgery in 2018. One more year.... 

There isn´t a lot "there" in my case but I can´t tolerate the area if not somehow managed to look like a flat chest. I have considered allowing it more "breathing time" in between taping, but most of the time this triggers too much dysphoria.

I am guessing taping it in for a really long time (months) can´t be that good on skin anyway. I´ll ask the surgeon what she thinks, I can write her input here when I get it.