Lessons Learned From Trying to Find a Good Pair of Butt-lifting Pants (Top Butt-lifting Pant Tips) -- What to Do, Look For, and Avoid
By The Treasure-Sharer
I'm by no means an expert in this area, as I've only bought one of each of the most popular styles of the cheaper variety of butt-lifting pants I have come across, as well as a few higher-end pants not marketed for butt-lifting, but having a butt-lifting effect. However, I did learn a lot from reviewing the different styles of butt-lifting leggings I bought (which you can read my reviews of in Part 1 and Part 2 of my series on cheap butt-lifting pants I bought from Temu, which you can access by clicking the links above).
For your (and my own future) reference, here's what I've noticed, learned, and come to realize about butt-lifting pants (with added observations and suggestions from my man). If you decide to try applying any of my tips to browsing the butt-lifting options on Temu, please use my referral link and code acs874614 to help support our site and receive promotional savings, should you decide to buy anything.
1. Accept that butt-lifting pants won't work miracles.
Take into account how big your butt is. The pants serve to compress, shape, and sculpt what you already have. They won't create a round bubble butt out of nothing. If you have an already-big butt, then they're good for shaping, but if you have a super-flat butt, then they don't really have much of an effect (as you can see in the photo above of me wearing "butt-lifting" capris. I noticed that when I worked out and my butt got a bit bigger, I saw a bit of liftage, but if my butt shrank, then the pants went back to doing pretty much nothing for my butt. If your butt is naturally small and/or flat, you still need to work(out) for it to look bigger.
2. Try to buy ones made with natural materials -- preferably organic.
Check your tags for the pants' clothing materials, and try to stick to ones made with only natural materials. After sending 32 workout legging and yoga pant brands to an EPA-certified laboratory to test for indications of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals"), "a toxic class of chemicals linked to a number of serious health conditions," Mamavation shared its results, which found that 25% of the activewear sent for testing came back with indications that they contained PFAs, including expensive and popular brands like Lululemon. Mamavation recommended sticking to natural materials like cotton to greatly improve the chances of avoiding PFAS, and "scrutiniz[ing] synthetic materials made from petrochemicals that are 'buttery soft.'" Its article (linked above) included a updated list of pant brands that weren't found to contain PFAS indicators, if you want a quick reference for that.
In an article about the problem of forever chemicals and waterproof clothing, Ethical Consumer listed some of the problems they can cause in humans as including high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, cancers, reproductive problems, and a reduced immune response to tetanus vaccinations, stating, "These chemicals are often referred to as 'Forever Chemicals' because they are extremely persistent. Once in the environment, they can take thousands of years to break down. They have been labeled 'the most persistent human-made chemicals known to date.'"
It's definitely worth staying away from PFAS and minimizing your exposure to them where possible, so if you can find and afford butt-lifting pants that don't contain them, then that would definitely be preferable.
All of the pants I bought as part of my butt-lifting pants review were made with synthetic materials, and they all made my skin itch after only a few minutes (or even seconds!) of wearing them, and many felt too hot and non-breathable for my skin, so those are other reasons to choose pants made with natural materials, if you can.
3. Back pockets help contribute to the enlarging illusion.
Strategically-placed pockets and embellishments can be especially helpful for those who have a particularly flat butt. When you don't have meat to lift, pockets can add padding. See below for a side-shot of the cargo butt-lifting pants I tried and reviewed.
If you notice, the pocket is unbuttoned, because it actually can't be buttoned -- because the button was actually too big to fit the buttonhole of the pants. I found that five out of the six buttonholes weren't large enough for their buttons (with one just barely making it -- but not without work!), so be aware that, sometimes, all the extra pockets might not be as useful as they seem. I'd be afraid to use them for anything other than style and butt-lifting support, since I don't trust them to hold in anything I put in them. This button problem might be confined to the pants I received, or this particular cargo butt-lifting legging option, but this is something to watch out for when buying cheap butt-lifting pants with pockets.
4. Choose white for extra expansion.
This is a tip from my man. Choosing white pants can enhance the enlarging illusion. As an article on rules for wearing white says: "Since light colors (including white) visually enlarge while dark colors visually diminish, it's true that wearing white will make you look bigger, wherever you wear it. But it doesn't mean that you have to skip it entirely."
We think that butt-lifting pants are one of the cases where white's expanding effect is worth seeking out.
5. Choose higher-waisted pants that suck in the tummy, if you need help with slimming that area.
Pants that specifically indicate that their waistbands are designed to suck in your tummy (as featured below), can do an especially good job at this, but I have had mixed results with this, so I would be wary of believing all the claims made by butt-lifting pant promo pages. For example, the pair below, which was from pant set #1 in my review, made a difference that even my man noticed and commented about how it helped pull in my tummy.
Another pair (pants #4 from my review) that promised a high waist and tummy control, on the other hand, did nothing to help my stomach look smaller at all.
If you can find pants that do as they claim, and both enlarge your butt and pull your tummy in at the same time, then that's, in my humble opinion, the best way to go, as, at the very least, a smaller-looking tummy will make your butt look bigger proportionally. As well, even if you already have a good waist, if you have food baby problems like me after meals, then they'll be less noticeable, and your stomach size will stay more consistent.
6. Pull pants up as high as they will go for maximum butt liftage.
I found that if I just pulled up my pants the way I normally do, most of the butt-lifting pants I bought wouldn't even show any butt-liftage, but when I made the effort to pull the fabric up my legs, and up so that it fit tightly around my butt area, sometimes some liftage would appear. Make sure you pull both sides evenly, to make sure that one butt cheek doesn't look bigger than the other, and to ensure that one pant leg doesn't end up looking shorter than the other, which you can see an example of below.
7. Make sure the leg length suits your body.
A number of the pants I bought ended up too short on me. But I've also had pants I've bought from other brands in the past that were too long for me, resulting in me stepping on the bottoms and tearing/damaging them while I ran. The tough thing about ordering pants in general is what to do if you're a size small but tall, or size large but petite, etc. The only way to know for sure is to try on the pants and gauge the fit, and just buy/keep the pants with leg lengths that are the right size for your body. I don't sew and don't really like altering the clothes I buy, but if that's something you like and are good at doing, then you could also try hemming pants that are too long, but only if you're sure you like everything else about the pants and have decided that you for sure want to buy and keep them.
8. Don't pick pants that are too tight.
I bought all my pants in size small, and, while I was able to fit them all, some showed bulges in funny places that looked awkward and gross, which I suspect would not have happened with looser pants. Just because you can manage to pull the pants on and walk around in them, doesn't mean that they are your size and/or will flatter your body. When in doubt, try multiple sizes and go with what feels good to, and looks good on, your body. If you can, try not to go the other extreme and order pants that fit too loose on your body, as they can look saggy, and equally unflattering. I'd rather just not buy the pants at all if none of the sizes end up looking good on my body.
9. Make sure the waistband is strong and tight enough to make you confident that your pants won't slip down, and that maintains that support over time.
Waistbands made of thicker and stronger material make it less likely that they'll stretch out over time and become loose. I like to keep my pants for years, and have had the problem of many of my pants losing their elasticity at the waist and slipping down when I run or do exercises that require bouncing. I've found that stronger and thicker waistbands hold up their ability to hold up my pants longer than pants with less waist support, so it's definitely worth investing in pants with better waist support features, if you can find them.
10. Avoid nude, light pink, and flesh-toned colors (unless you have noticeably darker skin that will provide a contrast).
I bought a pair of light pink pants that my man said kind of made it look like I wasn't wearing any pants (see below for a photo). Unless you're going to wear them under a dress or long shirt (which kind of defeats the purpose of getting pants that show off your ass), then I'd avoid anything that might suggest you aren't wearing pants. Doing so could make you the "butt" of cruel jokes and memes that I don't personally think are worth the public humiliation, such as some that have gone viral and been reused several times over, regarding how skin-tone leggings should be banned, a recent example of which you can find here.
11. Make sure the seam placements look natural on your body every time you put the pants on, and after using the washroom -- and adjust your pants if they don't.
Wearing butt-lifting pants takes effort. You can't just pull up your pants and go -- you should check to see that special seams or bands that are designed to fit under your butt do so the way they are meant to, scrunches are minimized for scrunch-butt pants, etc., or you might look like you have a wedgie, or unnatural bumps and bulges. Butt-lifters are designed to shape your butt, but you have to manually adjust the shaping to achieve the best effect for your body, and get used to doing it regularly. Also remember to keep an eye on your crotch area, and watch out for camel toe!
12. Wash before wearing, and air dry when possible.
Washing can remove some harmful chemicals like dyes, softeners, and anti-mildew agents that could irritate your skin, especially if you're someone like me, who has sensitive skin. It also removes germs and bacteria that clothes may have picked up from being handled by other customers and other people down the supply chain. It can also prevent excess dye from transferring to other clothes when you wear them.
Air-drying reduces the risk of antimony being released from polyester pants, which can be released when polyester is exposed to higher temperatures. As an article on polyester clothing says: "Human exposure to antimony can impact the heart, lungs and stomach as well as irritate the eyes. Even if you aren't a fan of using the dryer, traces of antimony can be released when wearers sweat.
However, while antimony does come with health risks, the levels of exposure from putting polyester clothing in the dryer or exposing it to sweat are relatively minimal. This risk is also further decreased when clothing is washed before wearing."
Air-drying also minimizes the likelihood that your pants will shrink. This is particularly important for butt-lifting pants and other body shapers, since, as I discussed previously, the placement of seams and bands, etc. is crucial to how the pants end up looking, and if the size changes, this could affect how and where the seams and bands sit, and whether they will continue to work the way you need them to.
13. Express yourself.
My boyfriend suggested the colorful capri set of butt-lifting pants I bought for me (see below for a photo of the pair he thought matched me best) because he felt that it matched my personality, being loud and funky. Choose what fits your personality, and what you feel comfortable with, because choosing a congruent style is also a factor in whether your pants will flatter you and your body.
14. Try before you buy, if you can.
This is the best way to gauge how a pair of butt-lifting pants fits and looks on you. If they don't work well with your body, then move on and try something else. I kept my pants until almost the end of my three-month return window, hoping they might look better with more butt growth, but none of the changes I saw were enough to make the pants worth keeping, and you're better off just getting ones you end up loving from the start, rather than ones you hope to salvage.
15. Try to find reviews that include photos of customers with your similar body type wearing the pants you are interested in.
If it's not possible to try the pants on before you buy them (e.g. if you buy them online, like I did), then I would recommend looking through reviews for pictures of customers wearing the pants you're eyeing.
Try to find photos of customers wearing the pants you are interested in, in the color and size you are interested in, who have a similar body shape, size, and type as you, for comparison. Some pants, I should have already known wouldn't do anything for my butt, based on how flat the customers' butts still looked after wearing them, in their uploaded photos.
16. Be realistic about what you're getting for the price you're paying.
Because the pants I bought were relatively low-cost in comparison to most butt-lifting pants available, I couldn't be too shocked when I later discovered a host of problems, such as the buttons not fitting the holes in the capri butt-lifting pants, the pants feeling very hot from the synthetic material, and the funky chemical smells emitted. I was surprised by how itchy the pants felt after only very little time spent wearing them -- especially after having read so many reviews of how comfortable the pants I bought were from other customers -- but I guess that's a factor to consider for those who have very sensitive skin, like me, resulting from the pants' cheaper synthetic materials.
The study on PFAS in pants that I cited earlier did show that more expensive pants did sometimes still contain harmful forever chemicals, so buying more expensive pants does not guarantee getting less toxic pants.
Just know that if you're paying a low price, it probably comes at a cost to some area.
17. Remember that any effect you might be able to achieve is only an illusion.
Don't fool yourself into believing that any boost that a pair of butt-lifting pants might give your butt equals real self-improvement. Like a push-up bra, butt-lifting pants only work (if they actually even do work for your body) while you're wearing them, so I'd recommend putting in the physical work to grow your butt while having the pants in the meantime, and use them to motivate you to earn the real thing.
My man recommended I try the pants knowing fully well that they were only an illusion, but just wanting something to improve my butt's look and shape in the meantime, as I did exercises to build my butt naturally (which I was diligently working at anyway). Don't use butt-lifters as an excuse or way to be lazy, because illusions can't last forever.
I'm not under any illusion that you'll want to buy butt-lifting pants from Temu after all the things I've pointed out, but if you read my previous review of Temu's butt-lifting pants and decide that you fall under one of our "Gems For Who" categories and still want to try them out, then we would definitely appreciate you using our referral link and code acs874614 when signing up, since we're definitely not being sponsored or receiving any money for the work we put into creating this post otherwise.
If you haven't read Parts 1 and 2 of our series of articles about the butt-lifting pants from Temu, be sure to check them out, for more and deeper insights on what to expect when buying butt-lifting pants. You can find Part 1 here: https://gemorjunk.com/Articles/review-site-first-post-and-butt-lifting-pants-review, and Part 2 here: https://gemorjunk.com/Articles/cheap-butt-lifting-pants-review/
See you in my next post!
