Slim, trim, and slender arms look great with any outfit. And even though we don't all have the luxury of sporting tight, toned guns on a regular basis, arm-sculpting shapewear can do the job in a pinch. Here's our 2021 guide to build your arm shaper collection.
But First, What Is Arm-Sculpting Shapewear?
Arm-sculpting shapewear—also known as arm shapers and arm shaper sleeves—is a type of shaper garment that compresses the upper arms to make them look tighter and slimmer.
Slimming arm sleeves shapewear come as bands that cover a fourth up to two-thirds of the upper arm with various compression levels.
What Can Sculpting / Slimming Arm Shaper Do?
As the name suggests, arm shapers sculpt the arms by tucking in sagging flesh, excess fat, and unsightly bulges around the triceps, biceps, and brachialis area.
They can be used both as a temporary slimming solution and a long-term trimmer.
If you start to lose weight, the arm shapewear can minimize the appearance of saggy, loose skin. It can increase sweat and blood circulation around the same area and improve muscle tone if you go for strong compression.
Just remember that you won't see permanent slimming results from an arm shaper unless you already have an ongoing weight-loss plan (i.e., a recommended diet and exercise routine) that you're committed to.
With that said, here are our top tips and recommendations for sculpting arm shapewear.
Shapewear For Arms For Casual, Everyday Use
There is arm-sculpting shapewear that you can use even when your focus is not to keep your arms toned and slim. Say you're lounging around the house—cleaning it, doing light at-home exercises, or maybe even napping. Or you're out and about but not actively exercising—a leisurely walk, or a quick trip to the grocery store. You can easily add an arm compression garment to your routine.
You can strap on these simple armbands to help tighten loose skin as part of your shapewear solutions to keep your muscles compressed as you go about your day. You can opt for extra-firm compression or adjust your compression levels.
We recommend getting arm shapers that are adjustable so that you can customize the fit and not worry about them rolling off. Go for a shapewear piece that only covers half or a third of your upper arm. This makes it manageable, and less likely to get in the way of your other activities.
Our Pick: NeoSweat® Arm Sculptors
- Pocket insert to hold phone and/or cards (great for running errands, leisurely walks, light jogs). Talk about comfortable shapewear and pockets!
- High-performance Neoprene fabric for moderate sweat
For Formal Dress And/Or Black Tie Events
For situations where you need to get gowned and glammed up, go with arm compression sleeves that are thin and breathable, but still capable of incredible compression. There are quite a few shapewear styles that will be the perfect choice here.
Shapers made of thick material with Velcro straps and pocket inserts can cause awkward lumps and bumps beneath all kinds of fabric (cotton, silk, cashmere, etc.). This may become a source of concern – and eventually distraction – for you throughout the entire event. Not a fun way to spend the day (or night).
We recommend getting a full body shaper with built-in arm sculptors instead. Bodysuit shapers are already great picks for when you want overall body smoothing and tightening. Bodysuits are one cohesive piece. This minimizes the risk of extra flesh peeking or spilling out from gaps between separate shaper garments. It's also quicker to pull on one large shaper than it is to don several individual pieces at a time.
Get a bodysuit shaper that comes with arm sleeve shapewear to create an all-over sleek, streamlined silhouette.
Our Pick: AirSlim® Extreme Body Shaper
- High-quality compression keeps your arms taut and your tummy flat even after eating
- Includes elegant shoulder sculpting that enhances a sexy silhouette (even in long-sleeved turtlenecks)
- Can even be worn postpartum or post-liposuction surgery for extra stability and promoted tissue recovery
Situation-Specific Arm Shapers
Want a little extra burn while you're working out? No problem. Got a month to get rid of bat wings so you can rock a sexy little halter? Totally doable. Slammed with responsibilities (even while working from home) and can't really get any extra activity in, but still want tight arms?
Yes, there are arms shapers for exactly that!
We know that there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution—to anything! Everybody's situation, circumstances, and needs are different. So here are some extra tips on choosing arm-sculpting shapers that you could use in certain situations.
If the goal is to eventually trim the arms, size down.
Many brands tend to manufacture arm shapers with extra leeway. Ergo, we recommend getting a size smaller than your usual shapewear garment size in your sleeves for weight loss (i.e., get an S if you're an M, get an L if you're an XL or XXL, etc.). This will increase the heat and compression around the arm skin. Check out our NeoSweat® Combo High Waist Thigh Eraser Butt Lifter with Arm Trimmers set for a great deal! 
Always get ones that are size adjustable for a custom fit.
There are some arm shapers that resemble arm warmers or tube socks with elastic material (with the toes cut off). You can pull these on and up until they rest around your upper arm. The problem with this style is that it may, eventually, become too loose for you. This can be due to (a) you eventually losing fat in that area and/or (b) the shaper losing its elasticity as it's rolled on and off.
A versatile option of arm shapers that come with hooks or Velcro straps that you can make it as tight or as loose as you need it to be works better. The arm shapers in this NeoSweat® Combo Thigh Eraser/Booty Sculptor with Arm Trimmers set, for instance, have a sticker design that lets you customize the size.
Multipurpose and functional shapers are great investments.
Some shaper styles target two or more areas, like waist cinchers with built-in arm shapers or shaper shorts that can lift the butt, flatten the belly, and cinch the waist. These are great investment pieces overall. This AirSlim® 3 In 1 Shaping Tank Shapewear gives you better posture. How great is that?
