NULAYER › Answers › How to wash a shapewear bodysuit
The care label is short: machine wash cold, hang dry. It is short because a shapewear bodysuit is a stretch knit, 78% nylon and 22% spandex, and the one thing a stretch knit needs is to be kept away from heat. As a general rule for any spandex fibre, heat is what breaks down its recovery, the ability to stretch and come back to the same shape. That recovery is the entire point of a smoothing garment. Wash it hot, dry it hot or press it, and it does not tear; it goes slack, a little each time, until the waist panel that used to smooth just sits there.
Cold water and air do not do that. This is general fibre knowledge, not a test we have run on the bodysuit, and it is why the same label appears on most stretch garments you own.
Fasten the hook-and-eye crotch closure before the bodysuit goes in the machine. Open, the hooks catch on the breathable mesh panels, on each other and on anything else in the load. Hooked, the closure lies flat, the same as a bra band does in the wash. Put the bodysuit in a lingerie bag, which keeps the straps from wrapping around the drum and the bonded edges from rubbing against zips and buttons. Cold water, a gentle cycle if your machine has one, and a mild detergent with no bleach in it. Wash it with other light things, not with towels or jeans.
Then hang it. Shake it out, hang it by the waist rather than the straps so the straps are not holding wet fabric, and leave it away from a radiator or direct sun. Do not wring it.
Do not tumble dry. The dryer is the hottest thing the bodysuit will meet, and hang dry is on the label for that reason. Do not bleach; the bodysuit's Beige and Black do not need it and the fibres do not want it. Do not iron. A bonded edge and a spandex knit have no business under a hot plate, and there is nothing to press: the fabric hangs flat on its own. Follow the label and hook the closure, and there is nothing more to it.
Which size: Cold washing and hang drying keep the fit the chart gave you; nothing on this page changes the band you should order.
| Band | US | Bust (in) | Waist (in) |
|---|---|---|---|
| XXS–XS | 0–2 | 30–33.5 | 23–26 |
| S–M | 4–10 | 34–38.5 | 26.5–31 |
| L–XL | 12–14 | 39–41 | 31.5–34.5 |
| 2XL–3XL | 16–20 | 41.5–48 | 35–41.5 |
True to size for most wearers.
Between sizes: the smaller band for maximum smoothing, the larger for all-evening comfort.
No. The label says hang dry. Even a low dryer setting is heat, and heat is what wears out the spandex that gives a smoothing knit its recovery. Hang it instead.
No. The label says machine wash cold. Fasten the crotch closure, use a lingerie bag, and wash it with light things in cold water. Hand washing is fine too, but not required.
After each wear, like underwear; it sits against the skin all evening. Cold water and hang drying are gentle enough that a wash after every wear is the right habit.
Written by the NULAYER team and checked against the garment's tech pack. Last reviewed 2026-09-15. Facts on this page: 78% nylon, 22% spandex; machine wash cold, hang dry; designed and made in our own factory in zhejiang, china.