Waist trainers are not meant to be comfortable. And if you are comfy in one, then know they’re not doing what they were designed to do.

Like a corset, waist trainers are meant to cinch, tighten, and compress your midsection. Is a slim and sexy waist worth the pain of wearing a device that could possibly reduce circulation, hamper breathing, and squish your internal organs into an unnatural position?

Here’s what experts say about corsets and waist trainers

After the launch of Kardashian’s Skims, it didn’t take long for droves of health conscience fans to bombard the pop culture icon with negative feedback. Though, she made an insane amount of money just minutes after her Skims launch.

Experts from across the nation have cautioned women against wearing these tortuous devices for the sake of an hourglass figure:

may push organs into an unnatural position causing reducing performance
can deprive the body of oxygen and negatively affect the ability to breath
waist trainers may restrict the lymphatic system and can cause digestive issues
The American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (ABCS) warns against any body-shaping craze that is tight-fitting. Waist trainers are devices that mold the body into an hourglass shape — basically a reinvention of the corset contraption. The ABCs believes you could actually be suffocating your body, because “waist training can deprive your body of oxygen, reducing lung capacity by an estimated 30-60%.”

You might find celebrities like Jessica Alba and Amber Rose boasting about their redesigned shapes while wearing waist trainers, but doctors around the world have are presented with patients suffering from severe skin chafing, acid reflux, breathing difficulties, bruising, and numbness of oxygen-deprived limbs.

While Kardashian’s Skims nearly sold out and raked in $2 million in mere minutes, a closer look is needed on the psychological desire to appear skinny, even while you may be harming yourself. After all, once you remove the waist trainer, breathe freely, and soak in the physical relief, you’re still left with the same body you had hours before.