How do you know if your breasts have finished developing?

Last updated on October 20, 2020

Question:

How do you know if your breasts have finished developing?

What is the average age for breasts to stop growing?

When will the nipples completely form? At what age does this occur?

Answer:

For the average girl, your breasts will reach their adult size and shape about four years after your first menarche (your first period). Generally, this is reached by the time most girls are seventeen or eighteen — age fifteen is the average age to reach your full adult height and shape.

Doctor Tanner developed a system to determine how far a child has progressed during adolescence. They are called the Tanner Stages.

1. Stage one is your shape during childhood. Your chest is flat and you have no pubic hair.
2. In stage two, your breasts begin to bud. The nipples swell and the breasts are tender to the touch. The areola (the dark area around your nipples) begins to widen. Sparse, fine hair appears on your labia majora (the groin area between your legs).
3. During stage three, your milk-producing glands begin to develop and the fat needed to support milk production is laid down in the breasts. This causes the breasts to swell in size so that if you look at yourself in the mirror straight on, the breasts extend beyond the rim of the areola. Your pubic hair becomes curly and coarser in texture. The hair begins to fill in the groin area so that it vaguely resembles an upside-down triangle.
4. In stage four, the breasts change shape, though the size remains roughly the same. Your nipples distinctly protrude and the area of the areola and nipple form a secondary mound on top of the mound of the breast. A girl’s first menarche (period) is usually, but not always, experienced in this stage, but the menarches are not usually regular. The pubic hair forms a full triangle but doesn’t yet extend to the thighs. Underarm hair begins to form during this stage as well.
5. Stage five is your full adult shape. You should be experiencing almost regular menarche. The areola is now shaped with the rest of the breast and only the nipples protrude. Your pubic hair extends a bit to the inner thighs.

By judging which stage you are in, you can determine how much further your breasts will grow. To estimate what stage of development you are in, see the Tanner Stage Calculator for Girls.