Why Do Removable Sports Bra Pads Even…Exist?

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I was jogging around my neighborhood the other day when I glanced down and noticed an unusually large lump under my shirt. I figured a pair of underwear was stuck in my top (which, sadly, happens way too frequently when I do laundry), so I reached into my shirt to pull it out. But, alas, there were no undies—just a very clumped up, misshapen pad squished within my sports bra.

I shoved my fingers into the tiny hole on the inside of my bra to try and straighten it out, but this was an impossible feat—the pad was completely folded in half and I was running on a crowded city sidewalk. It wasn’t going to happen. So I let it be, and finished my run with the pad jutting through my shirt.

To be fair, having my sports bra pad visually announce itself isn’t a huge deal, but it can be really freaking annoying, especially when you’re in public or in the middle of a workout. I know I’m in good company—in fact, this seems to be one of the only things people on the Internet actually agree about.

SELF wanted to know why these pads even exist in the first place, since, ya know, they’re driving people wild. So we went straight to the source: the brands that make them. Here’s what they said.

Why do so many sports bras have removable pads anyway?

According to the sports bra designers I spoke to for this story, the removable pads exist for one reason: modesty. Lauren Haron, senior designer of bras and swim at Athleta, tells SELF that sports bras and stand-alone workout tops are usually made out of thin, lightweight materials. While these fabrics are great for working out—they whisk away sweat and don’t trap heat—this also means your nipples can make an appearance, Haron says. In other words: These little pads exist to hide your nip.

Lots of folks like the pads and the coverage they offer. Like people who want to feel more filled-out (hot girl walk, anyone?) or protected while wearing a white or light-colored bra in public, Casey Schumacher, senior design director of performance at Athleta, tells SELF. Lots of breast cancer survivors who’ve had mastectomies also opt to wear the inserts, Haron says.

But for all the people who love them, there may be just as many who can’t stand ’em. Like my pal Paola Quiñones. She wears a size 32H and rips out the pads whenever she buys a sports bra with them. “Maybe they work for smaller boobs but, for me, they just add bulk and highlight how much bigger my boobs are than the pads,” she tells SELF.

Jasmine Leidich, product designer at Brooks Running, tells SELF it’s a 50-50 split. “Every time we have focus groups or interview people, they either really want them or they really don’t,” she says. The Adidas team has noticed the same. “Some consumers like them, and use them from day one; others remove them from the first wear, finding them distracting and an annoyance during performance,” Amy Charlton, senior director, head of global product, Women’s Training & Bra & Tights Center of Excellence at Adidas, tells SELF. By adding the removable pads, brands can appeal to people on both sides of the aisle. Because guess what: If you hate them, you can always take them out and chuck ’em.

Good news: Sports bra manufacturers are trying to make the cups less irksome.

The brands are well aware of the complaints, and many have tried to make them less…insufferable. Athleta, for example, created fixed pads—basically, the pad is stitched (like this) or bonded to the bra (like this)—so they don’t wiggle around, in addition to their removable ones. Brooks increased the size of the opening along the edge of the bra so it’s easier to stick your fingers in to remove them (check it out), and its larger-size bras come with bigger pads that offer more coverage, Leidich says.

Adidas released different pad styles to better fit its various bra shapes—say, like an oval one here—and will be launching styles with a teardrop pad in the coming months. The company also added an internal seam in the center of its bras along with a silicon dot the fabric can catch on to prevent the pads from migrating east or west when you move around, Charlton says.

Bras with removable pads are often—but not always—designed for lighter-intensity and studio-based workouts (think Pilates and yoga) and those with sewn-in cups are typically created with more rigorous exercises, like HIIT or running, in mind. At Athleta, for example, Schumacher says the high-impact bras offer more compression and support so the removable pads aren’t as necessary.

So it could help to pair these bras with your less grueling workouts. But, as Leidich says, it really comes down to personal preference. If you like low-impact bras with removable pads for jogging (confession: I do)—stick with it. It’s not like the cup, or lack thereof, is going to hurt you. Another tip: Be mindful of fit. There’s a greater chance the pad will swim around if your bra’s too loose, Haron says. You can also get creative—try to sew or bond the pads in place (as some innovative folks online have done) or, if you don’t want to use them, repurpose them as floor protectors under furniture, dog toys, or makeup sponges.

The best way to prevent the pads from bunching: Know how to clean them.

Finally, and perhaps the best thing you can do, is know how to clean your bras. Why, you may ask? Because it actually plays a big part in wear comfort.

We know this adds an extra step, but you really should be taking out the removable pads before laundry day: The number one reason the pads bunch up is because people forget to take them out before they toss them into the washing machine. “They can get creased and bunched up, and then once you have the creases, they don’t always lay how you want them,” Leidich says. Her advice: Remove them, clean them in a separate washer bag, then stuff them back in.

This, friends, is where I’ve gone wrong. Never once have I taken the pads out before cleaning them, so it’s no wonder they refuse to lay flat. Yes, plucking them out will add a few seconds to my laundry routine, but if it’ll prevent me from stuffing my hand up my shirt and jerking my bra around in public? Well, then, hey, I’ll do it. Easy fix.