Yoga pants and leggings are the best items that a woman can wear while exercising, as they provide comfort and stretchiness. However, there is always the risk of camel toe looming, so we figured that you would need this guide on how to prevent camel toe in yoga pants & leggings.
We will also let you know what a camel toe is and the cause behind its appearance.
What Is Camel Toe?
Camel toe refers to when the labia majora becomes visibly outlined while wearing tightly fitted activewear. The main examples of this issue are tights, leggings, shorts, swimwear, etc. In short, any clothing type that envelopes your body tightly can lead to this issue.
The origin of the name comes from the fact that the visible part of the labia looks similar to a camel’s toe. However, there are other names for it, such as crotch cleavage, which is more precise for a nether-region phenomenon but too unappealing.
It’s not constrained to females, though, as men can also encounter this problem. We call them moose knuckles.
This issue is not just embarrassing and unsightly, but also very uncomfortable for your lady parts. You don’t need to feel too embarrassed, though, as practically all women have experienced camel toe at least once in their life. In fact, there are many instances of female celebrities caught with this issue on live camera.
What Causes Camel Toe?
1. Going Commando
One of the major causes for camel toe comes from women wearing tightly-fitted clothes without wearing any panties underneath. After all, the panties serve as a layer of protection, hiding your girly parts from the outside world.
Wearing panties means that they can cover the shape of your labia, even when your clothes’ fabric gets wedged in awkward positions. We know that it’s not at all comfortable to wear panties underneath most activewear, but they are very good at preventing camel toe.
Some people choose to go commando because they are afraid of visible panties lines. However, that is still much better than having to deal with your labia’s shape showing itself to the world.
2. Improper Fit
Activewear in general and leggings, in particular, tend to be very unforgiving for people not fit for them. One of their worst punishments is causing camel toe whenever you do any exercise in them.
The reason for this issue comes from the overstretching of the fabric. It will dig into your crevices like upper glues, hips, behind the knees, and, of course, the crotch. This problem is especially noticeable in loose yoga leggings, which ride up your back and front.
Whenever you try on leggings from a new brand, remember to practice downward dog or squatting. Doing so ensures that the leggings will not squeeze the wrong places when you do real exercises.
3. Wearing Leggings That Have Front Seams
A major cause for problems like camel toe in tight-fitting pants comes from the stitching, especially poorly placed seams. A front seam will worsen the risk of camel toe forming, even if you wear a proper legging fit.
It will latch onto the only crevice that it can, your labia, and stay there, no matter how hard you try to fix it. That is why we recommend never saving too much on your legging budget.
4. Shaving Vagina Before Wearing Leggings
It’s undeniable that a shaved vagina will always be more physically attractive and comfortable. At the same time, you will also get rid of the pubic hair, which acts as a barrier between your labia and the leggings’ fabric. That is why the risk of camel toe will become more apparent.
How To Prevent Camel Toe In Yoga Pants & Leggings
Now that we know exactly what camel toe is and how it happens let’s delve into the methods we can use to prevent it. There are also some tips on dealing with camel toes in leggings once it happens.
As there are many options, please think carefully and pick only the ones that feel the most doable and reasonable for you. The most convenient method will always reign supreme in this kind of situation.
1. Using Flat Front Panel Leggings
Leggings that have flat front panels do not have any front seam. As such, there is no chance for the fabric to ride up your crotch. If you are a fan of going commando to evade visible panty lines, you will love this type of leggings.
They are also incredibly comfortable to wear, as they can stretch quite a bit without getting any permanent damage. That is why they can serve as perfect workout items.
Some popular brands offer front panel leggings: K-Deer, Bandier, Boody, EQNX MVMT, Girlfriend Collective, SPANX, and Ultracor. All of these have accrued enough trust in their customer base with high-quality products.
This commitment is vital, as leggings will come into contact with your skin, so low-quality products just won’t fly.
2. Using A Panty Liner
People wearing panties alongside leggings rarely know about the magic that panty liners can create. If you can pick out the right fit, it won’t only make the camel toe go away but also the visible panty lines.
Still, you must be careful while picking. Our recommendation is either a thong panty liner or the usual full-size liner. This method also carries the added bonus of prolonging your underwear’s service life. It prevents leakage, pH bleaching, and staining, after all.
We do want to note that this method is not at all friendly to the environment. It will also become an expensive investment if you wear tight pants regularly.
3. Size Up The Activewear
As we have mentioned, the main cause for camel toe is the tightness of your clothing. This method takes care of this issue at its core by sizing up your clothes.
As long as the pants don’t become too loose, sizing up can lessen the risk of wedging. This will lead to a lower risk of camel toe forming, even if you perform hard exercises.
If sizing up doesn’t work, you should try a new brand of activewear to see whether there is any difference.
4. Using Leggings With Integrated Liners
Panty liners can be a pain to insert and keep unmoving throughout your workout schedule. In this case, how about using leggings that already have integrated liners? This solution also takes care of the pesky visible panty lines and camel toe without requiring you to reach down and fix the liners every minute.
Of course, as it takes some skills to integrate the liners properly into the leggings, the cost becomes higher. This is the reason you can only find this type of leggings in high-end brands. They also require a lot more material, so buying one can cost a lot more than you would think.
Given that budget is not your problem, then check out what Ultracor offers.
5. Using Leggings That Have Gussets
Gussets refer to pieces of material specifically sewn into garments so that they can become stronger or some parts become larger. A prime example of this approach is a button-up shirt’s yoke.
Due to their nature, gussets will add some support to the seams, reducing the stress they need to deal with. As such, the risk of camel toe will go down significantly.
There is no limitation on the shape of a gusset. It can be square, triangle, diamond, or even an H shape.
6. Avoiding Fabrics Prone To Camel Toe
We mentioned above that camel toe tends to happen when the fabric is too stretchy. That is why you can easily see camel toe forming in activewear made of spandex. Polyester and linen are also ingredients that can cause camel toe.
You can look for activewear that doesn’t involve these materials. In fact, you can pick leggings that use a fabric blend to limit the risk. Good ingredients for this mixture consist of rayon, bamboo, lycra, etc.
7. Using Thicker Fabric
Thinner fabric will highlight all the parts of your body, not just the labia. For that reason, most high-end brands like Athleta, Boody, Girlfriend Collective, etc., use thicker material.
The thick fabric has a heavier weight, so they have more difficulty clinging onto your crevices. That is why camel toe is not a problem for people using thicker legging. Nonetheless, you still need to deal with the higher price and less comfort.
8. Using Leggings With Darker Shades
There is a huge difference between lighter and darker shades of leggings display. Anyone who has worn a legging with light color before knows that it shows off every single crease, lump, and bump on your body.
In this case, we suggest sticking with dark colors like hunter green, navy, black, indigo, charcoal gray, etc., for your leggings. They won’t stop the camel toe from forming, but they will camouflage it from the eyes of onlookers.
9. Using Leggings With Patterns
This method is a step up from using darker leggings, as it also focuses on disguising the camel toe. Nevertheless, the difference this time is that you need to be extremely careful while picking the pattern.
An example is printed patterns on white fabric, stretching and becoming see-through. We recommend wearing leggings with patterns printed against or knitted into dark fabrics.
10. Wearing Long Sweater/Tank Top Over The Legging
A quick fix for camel toe is to simply throw a long top onto your body. It will mask your nether region, so no one can see your camel toe. It does have some drawbacks, though.
One of them is the fact that this cover can only stay in place if you don’t perform any exercise. For instance, squatting will lead to the top getting pulled up, revealing your nether region again.
11. Using Nosho Or Cuchini Concealers
This solution relies on the same principle as the panty liners, but you can reuse the Cuchini pads this time. As such, it has all the advantages of a party liner without its high cost.
You do need to keep in mind that Cuchini is OSFA (One-Size-Fits-All). So, you must rely on the genetic lottery, as some women don’t have the right body shape to fit it.
You also have to use adhesives to prevent the pad from moving around. This method is not that friendly to people with sensitive skin.
12. Using A Period Panty
We all know just how useful period panties are, as they usually have a long service life. Nonetheless, few people know that period panties’ synthetic leak-proof layer can serve like a panty liner.
For this reason, period panties can hide your camel toe completely. The only downside is that you may feel uncomfortable exercising in this type.
13. Using Camelflage Underwears
Camelflage is a wordplay on “camouflage” and “camel”, showing this company’s focus on dealing with camel toes. True to this name, it has a special tech in its panties, involving a rubber layer within the panties that will hide any camel toe. Once you slip into it, you will never have to worry about camel toe again.
14. No String Panty
Sometimes, panties can cause camel toes, especially when they have strings. Hence, we suggest these panties which have no string. You will be using an adhesive to keep them sticking to your backside and crotch.
As a result, there is absolutely no string running up and causing yoga pants camel toe. That said, you should remember that they can only serve as a stop-gap.
15. Using Cycling Underwear
All cycling underwear have a pad in the crotch region to absorb the user’s sweat. This pad can also stop camel toe yoga pants from forming, as it serves as a layer of protection between the outer fabric and your labia.
See more: How To Wear Yoga Pants Or Leggings Without Underwear Lines?
Conclusion
With this guide on how to prevent camel toe in yoga pants & leggings, we have brought to you 15 options. We do not recommend sticking to only one, but mix and match multiple together for your own perfect solution.
For instance, you can pick dark-color leggings that have a front panel. These working together will erase all visibility of your camel toe.
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