STANDING in front of the mirror wearing a maxi skirt and strappy summer vest, I sigh and put a cardigan on over the top.
The reason? I am cursed with bingo wings, the annoyingly wobbly, flabby skin on the underside of my upper arms which have become the bane of my life.
And I am not alone in loathing their presence – three in four women hate theirs too, according to surveys.
I think my upper arms are akin to a pair of carrier bags, weighed down by groceries, and no matter what I do I can’t get rid of them.
Hot summers are spoiled because it means outing my wings. Vests, capped sleeves tops and dresses are all something I avoid and in photos, if I must wear a dress (like on holiday, in 30 degree heat), I’ll pose for photos with my arms fixed firmly by my sides in the hope of disguising the wobble.
The online world as well as magazines aimed at women are awash with exercises which claim to tone and hone these unwelcomed add ons.
I’ve tried them, but nothing works. No amount of resistance training, diet, or cardio shifts them either.
There’s been an increase in women having surgery to eradicate the excess skin under their arms. The procedure, called brachioplasty, costs between £5,000-£8,000 in the UK and involves the removal of both excess skin and fat.
If only I was brave enough to go under the knife.
I first became conscious of the sag under my arms when I was a teenager. Around 15, when I hit puberty and gained curves, they materialised and they’ve stayed ever since.
Despite being a yo-yo dieter – ranging from a size 18 in pregnancy with my two children, Alex, 16, and Adriana, 11, down to a size eight when my son hit one – the dreaded wings have remained.
Even at my lowest weight of 8st 11lb at my 2009 wedding, I wore a white stole to disguise them.
I’ll often gaze longingly at celebs’ rock hard upper arms, wishing mine were the same. From Ellie Goulding to Victoria Beckham… if only my triceps could look as taut as theirs.
Once, years ago at a wedding, I wore a halterneck top but when an elderly female guest said I was “very brave”, insinuating my arms were less than ideal, I spent the rest of the day with them pinned to my sides.
I felt extremely self conscious, and my arms have been a part of my body I’ve disliked the most ever since.
Even at my lowest weight of 8st 11lb at my 2009 wedding, I wore a white stole to disguise them
It’s only recently, scrolling through TikTok, that a possible solution caught my eye.
‘Instalift’
I watched in intrigue as a woman, aged around 45, used a £16.99 sticky tape called ‘the Instalift’ to banish her wings.
I was in awe as she wrapped it around her upper arm and readjusted her capped sleeve. Remarkably, her wings vanished – in an instant.
The tape was completely transparent and it looked like her excess skin – kept firmly in place by the tape – was tucked under her capped sleeve shirt.
A pack of ten strips from Skinnies on Amazon costs just £4.99[/caption]
The tape would be ideal for someone wanting a quick fix for ‘Ozempic arms’, says Julie[/caption]
Celebs like Victoria Beckham are often seen showing off rock hard upper arms[/caption]
Ellie Goulding displays her toned arms in Venice[/caption]
A woman using a £16.99 sticky tape called ‘the Instalift’[/caption]
It might not have been a permanent fix but it did look like she had a new pair of arms.
Clicking through to the Instalift site, I read how the tape could be used anywhere on the body including thighs, bingo wings or “anywhere sculpting is desired”.
I couldn’t click to buy and part with my cash quickly enough.
I watched in intrigue as a woman, aged around 45, used a £16.99 sticky tape called ‘the Instalift’ to banish her wings
However, they’re manufactured in the US and with delivery to the UK taking more than a week – just as the mercury was rising in the UK and with BBQs beckoning – I began searching for alternatives.
A quick Google search brought up a different brand called Skinnies and women on Youtube and TikTok swore by those too.
I found a pack of ten strips on Amazon for £4.99 and they arrived the next day. Hurrah!
As I unboxed them they reminded me of large transparent plasters and after watching TikTok videos to get the hang of how to apply them, I peeled off the backing paper.
Next, I placed the tape under my under arm just by my arm pit before hoisting it up and over the ‘wing’. It acted as a kind of winch for the fat.
It felt tight as I let the warmth of my hand help the adhesive to stick. Then I repeated the process on my other arm.
‘Barely visible’
Then, I pulled a capped sleeve dress over the top – one I’d never normally dare wear, purely because I was too self conscious.
I held my arms up to check the results and lo and behold, my wings had virtually vanished. I lifted my arms sideways – no flab there either.
My arms were distinctly slimmer and because the tape is so see-through and I could hide the joins under the sleeve of my dress, it was barely visible.
I was amazed. The tape would be ideal for someone wanting a quick fix for ‘Ozempic arms’, a commonly reported side effect of weight loss injections where the skin on the upper arms sags.
Next, I tried it with other items of clothing – a vest, T-shirts and different dresses.
It was a little trickier to use with a vest because with two thin straps and not enough extra material to conceal the tape, it could be seen – far from ideal.
And, when it came to peeling off the tape, it wasn’t an easy job. The adhesive’s staying power was that of an extra strong glue so it felt like I was removing a thousand plasters all at once.
My eyes watered during the 5 minutes it took me to pick away gently at the edges, and I felt relieved the removal was over.
My verdict? The tape is perfect if you have a dress you want to wear for a special occasion, especially if it has capped sleeves to obscure the joins.
It’s equally as good if you wanted to take some really great photos on holiday or for your social media: the tape is so transparent it doesn’t show up on camera at all.
However, it wouldn’t look so good with a sleeveless or strappy dress – you might look as though you’re wrapped in clingfilm.
The tape would be ideal for someone wanting a quick fix for ‘Ozempic arms’, a commonly reported side effect of weight loss injections where the skin on the upper arms sags
The tape was a bit tricky to get right the first time but with a few attempts I managed to definitely improve the look of my arms.
But it did feel tight after an hour or so and it was a relief to peel it off.
Would I wear the tape regularly? Probably not. It was too fiddly for my liking but if I ever wanted taut and toned arms for a very special occasion I wouldn’t rule it out.