I’ve waxed lyrical about Wonderbra’s Ultimate Strapless on more than one occasion, but after a good six months of my questions about an apparent increased occurrence of allergic reactions in wearers being ignored, I’m forced to rethink my recommendations. My former reviews will now link to this post, and I will no longer recommend the Ultimate Strapless.

It started when a friend said that her replacement Ultimate Strapless had caused blistering underneath the silicon strips. The blistering was painful and left marks. I wrote about it and reached out to Wonderbra to ask if the silicon recipe had changed: that my friend had worn and loved one US before without any trouble. No reply.

It wasn’t just my friend though. Here are some complaints taken from messages to me AND messages left unanswered on the Wonderbra Facebook page.

“I absolutely LOVED the wonderbra ultimate strapless, and it was fine. Then I got new ones and it leaves me rashes and blisters in the shape of a bra (exactly where the non slip silicone is), so I’m sure it’s a new highly allergic formula of silicone. Such a pity, it was by far the best bra ever.” S, B4J reader.

“I have worn this bra all day today and just havnt felt right but couldn’t put my finger on what it was. My back begin to ache I just though I was tired. Whilst I was washing up my back felt as if the bra was scratching me so I took it off and took a look in the mirror to my horror my back is all blistered and my front is raised and has a rash where the silicon has been on my skin. I searched on google and came across this thread.” G, B4J reader.

“the Ultimate Strapless caused my skin to blister on my ribs where the band goes and I now have scars!!!!” E, Wonderbra UK fan.

“I wore the bra all day yesterday and when I took it off I had a row of very raised blisters containing fluid at quite a high pressure, on either side of my ribcage where the cups meet the back of the bra. My doctor confirmed today that the blisters are not the result of the bra rubbing me and are very likely to be an allergic reaction to one of the materials in the gel strips. They are likely to take at least several days to go down and as a result I’m now unable to wear a bra at all.” K, Wonderbra UK fan.

So what do you say Wonderbra? Has the silicon recipe changed or is it a series of bad batches? And most importantly, how can purchasers experiencing allergic reactions contact you directly for refunds?

Readers, I’ll keep you posted.