August 01, 2023 5 min read

Body shapers are incredibly versatile garments. They can provide you with the perfect look for any occasion when you match them with the right outfit and doing so offers you the confidence to go out there and own the spotlight. It’s no wonder that buying and wearing shapewear is so popular today, no matter whether you wear a body shaping garment for a special occasion or just every day.

Yet body shapers aren’t like regular clothes, and this means that to care for your control garments, you can’t treat them like you would a t-shirt, a pair of jeans, or even another type of undergarment. These garments require specific care to ensure they can continue to provide their unique body-shaping capabilities for as long as you need them. Here’s how to wash shapewear so that you can look forward to using them for years to come.

Why Body Shapers Need Special Attention

Shapewear provides body compression, smoothing out curves and creating a more attractive body silhouette. That’s their primary function. But to accomplish this, body shapers need to be made from specific types of material that provides this compression. Elastic materials like Spandex and Lycra are often used in body shaping garments because they offer great compression, especially since the amount of fabric used in each garment can be adjusted to provide for specific levels of compression.

The truth, though, is that including these elastic fabrics in shapewear means that they can’t simply be put in the washing machine with the rest of your undergarments. These materials often react poorly to high-heat machine washing and drying. This can break down the elasticity of a body shaper, and with repeated washing it’s no longer going to provide you the same level of support and contouring as it did right out of the box. It’s for this reason that you need to wash body shapers using different methods.

Washing and Drying Tips for Shapewear

So if you want to keep your shapewear in perfect shape, you’ll need to wash and dry them in ways that will preserve their ability to contour and support your body. Otherwise, thatbody shaper you just bought will end up being so much trash after just a handful of washings! Thankfully, there are plenty of ways you can both wash and dry your control garments safely. Here is a collection of the best tips:

Yes, You Can Wash Shapewear

It might be tempting to simply not wash your shapewear to preserve its elastic capabilities. That’s not a long-term option, as you don’t want to wear any garment repeatedly because it’s likely to have absorbed sweat and odors. That’s why you’ll be glad to know that yes, you can wash a body shaper – if you do it the right way.

Most manufacturers will recommend hand-washing your shapewear to preserve its elasticity as much as possible. Use cold water to rinse and use as delicate a detergent as you can. If you don’t have a specific detergent, you can also use baby shampoo, if you rinse thoroughly. Finally, never wring out your body shaper to remove excess water, as this can damage the elastic!

Body shapers are incredibly versatile garments. They can provide you with the perfect look for any occasion when you match them with the right outfit and doing so offers you the confidence to go out there and own the spotlight. It’s no wonder that buying and wearing shapewear is so popular today, no matter whether you wear a body shaping garment for a special occasion or just every day.

Yet body shapers aren’t like regular clothes, and this means that to care for your control garments, you can’t treat them like you would a t-shirt, a pair of jeans, or even another type of undergarment. These garments require specific care to ensure they can continue to provide their unique body-shaping capabilities for as long as you need them. Here’s how to wash shapewear so that you can look forward to using them for years to come.

Washing Shapewear in a Washing Machine

If you hand wash your body shapers, you’ll never have to worry about being too rough with them. If this isn’t an option, though, you can use a washing machine, but you don’t want to just toss your shapewear into a load of regular laundry. The better choice is to instead set your washer to its most gentle cycle, such as the one you would use for silk, cashmere, or any other delicate garment.

If you do choose to use your washing machine, your best bet is to use a wash bag with your shapewear. These mesh bags are already most people’s go-to for washing delicates and lingerie, as they provide an extra layer of protection against the rigors of machine washing. Just be sure not to include anything in your wash bag that might damage your body shaper, such as a bra with hooks and clasps.

Drying Your Shapewear

Washing your shapewear is just half the battle – you also need to dry yourbody shaping garments as well. This is where most people encounter issues, especially if they place their body shaper in the dryer. Please don’t – the intense heat of any dryer, even one that’s set to its lowest heat setting, can and will wreak havoc on your control garment’s elasticity. 

Instead, it’s recommended that you always air-dry your shapewear. Yes, this does mean that it will take much longer for your body shaper to dry than your other clothes. A little extra time is worth it, though, especially if you only recently bought the garment and you don’t want to have it ruined after wearing it just one time.

Other Ways to Preserve Your Shapewear

Washing and drying your body shapers properly is the best way to preserve the quality of your shapewear. Doing so will prevent you from having to throw out what would have been a perfectly good body shaping garment if it hadn’t been ruined by machine washing and tumble drying; there’s nothing worse than investing in a quality control garment only to have it ruined after one good washing!

There are other ways you can preserve your shapewear as well, though. In addition to washing and drying your body shapers the right way, you can purchase more than one of the same body shaping garment and then rotate their use. Each one will end up being used less frequently, doubling their lifespan. When combined with washing your garments properly, this will help increase their longevity!


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