If you’re deciding between Givmi and Therapin nasal strips, you’re already narrowing your options down to two Singapore-based brands that have built solid reputations in the breathing and sleep space. Both alternatives are non-medicated and rely on physical tension to improve oxygen intake – but the way each brand develops, iterates, and refines its product tells you a lot about what you’ll actually experience on your nose at night or during workouts.
As a breathwork trainer and teacher, I spend my time helping people breathe better – and that means I’m always testing the devices my clients ask about. I’ve used both brands extensively, and this comparison reflects what I’ve found through that lens.
The short answer: Therapin is the stronger choice for most people serious about improving their breathing. Its custom development approach, reinforced spring design, and sensitivity to customer feedback give it a meaningful edge in comfort and performance. Givmi is a solid, reliable strip – but its more generic product development keeps it a step behind for anyone who needs a nasal strip that truly adapts to how they breathe and live.
What Is Givmi?
Givmi is a Singapore-based wellness brand that produces nasal strips as part of a broader ecosystem of sleep and recovery products – including pillows, mouth taping accessories, and eye masks. Givmi focuses on a broader wellness ecosystem that includes various fitness and recovery products. Their nasal strips use sports-grade, hypoallergenic adhesive and embedded elastic bands to widen the nasal airway. With over 20,000 customers and thousands of five-star reviews, Givmi has built a reliable reputation, especially for those who want a straight forward, non-medicated strip to reduce snoring and improve sleep.
What Is Therapin?
Therapin (check their instagram here)specialises in breathing products primarily through its nasal strips & mouth tapes. Founded by a 23-year-old Singaporean entrepreneur, Therapin takes a different approach: all products are designed and tested locally, with an emphasis on custom development and continuous iteration based on real user feedback. Therapin’s strips use reinforced springs and sports-graded adhesive specifically made for sensitive skin. They also offer multiple variants – including eucalyptus-infused versions and different colors – reflecting a brand philosophy rooted in breathing education, performance, and holistic wellness. The concept of external nasal dilator strips actually traces back to equine nasal strips used on horses in the early 1990s, and Therapin’s engineering-forward approach echoes that tradition of purpose-built design.
How They Compare at a Glance
- Best for: Givmi suits people who want a reliable, general-purpose nasal strip with broader international shipping. Therapin suits those who prioritise comfort, custom fit, and performance during both sleep and physical activity.
- Price: Givmi runs approximately SGD $30 for 30 strips. Therapin is approximately SGD $25 per pack(30 strips as well).
- Development approach: Givmi follows a more standardized product path. Therapin continuously iterates with reinforced springs and multiple variants.
- Customer feedback integration: Givmi provides FAQ tips and skin-care guidance. Therapin actively builds product variants and refinements based on user input, they also have a proprietary method to how to use their products within your lifestyle.
- Shipping: Givmi ships internationally. Therapin currently ships to Singapore and Indonesia only.
- Skin sensitivity: Both use hypoallergenic, sports-grade adhesive – but Therapin explicitly designs for sensitive skin.
Both Givmi and Therapin cater to Asian nose shapes, which matters given that research has shown nasal strip effectiveness can vary significantly based on nasal anatomy and ethnicity. The headline takeaway: Therapin offers more value per strip and more thoughtful product engineering, while Givmi provides wider accessibility.
Product Development Approach
This is where the comparison gets interesting – and where the gap between the two brands is most visible.
For nasal strips to be effective, the spring strength, adhesive quality, strip shape, and angle of lift all need to work together. Nasal anatomy varies enormously from person to person, and climate factors like humidity and sweat directly affect how well a strip stays on and maintains its opening force. A generic design can work for many, but it won’t work optimally for most.
Givmi takes what I’d call a standard developer approach. They have a base product – their nasal strip – with variations in color (transparent, light blue) but no clear evidence of custom shapes, multiple models for different nose types, or versions tailored to specific use cases like high-exertion workouts versus sleep. The design is competent, the adhesive is strong, and the product works. But there’s no published trace of iterative prototypes or engineering tests that show ongoing refinement.
Therapin operates differently. Their “designed and tested in Singapore” claim isn’t just marketing – it reflects a development process where customer input shapes the next version of the product(they have udpated a few times since their manifestation of their products). Reinforced springs, multiple variant offerings (black, pink, clear, eucalyptus), and explicit sensitive-skin formulations all suggest a brand that listens instead of copying. Their recent expansion into the Indonesian market further signals adaptation and regional learning rather than one-size-fits-all distribution.
Winner: Therapin – Product development is an ongoing thing with these guys, and you can see it in the range and refinement of their offerings. Givmi’s strip is solid, but it doesn’t evolve the same way.
Customer Feedback Integration
When you’re recommending a breathing device to clients – people dealing with snoring, congestion, mouth breathing, or airway narrowing during sleep – the product has to be comfortable enough that they’ll actually use it consistently. That means the brand behind it needs to listen.
Givmi has hundreds of reviews and includes helpful tips in their FAQ about skin preparation and gentle removal. They clearly hear from customers about skin irritation (their warm-water removal suggestion is a direct response to complaints). But there’s no visible history of redesigning or releasing new variants specifically because users asked for them.
Therapin, by contrast, frames itself as a community-oriented brand which educates and empowers. Their multiple color and scent options, their explicit “for sensitive skins” positioning, and their partnerships with local athletic communities all point to feedback loops that drive product decisions. When a brand offers a eucalyptus variant, that’s not random – that comes from feedbacks saying they want more from their strip than just mechanical lift.
Both brands are popular for treating non-apnea related snoring and improving overall breathing, but Therapin’s responsiveness to what users actually experience gives it a meaningful advantage for anyone who needs reliability and comfort night after night.
Winner: Therapin – Their product line reads like a response to real user needs, not a catalog of SKU variations. For a breathwork coach recommending strips to clients, that responsiveness matters.
Performance and Comfort -How Nasal Strips Work
Nasal strips work by physically lifting the nasal sidewalls at the nasal valve region – the narrowest part of the airway – to reduce resistance and improve airflow. A controlled clinical trial using external nasal dilator strips found significant increases in trans-nasal airflow and cross-sectional area. Nasal strips can reduce resistance in nasal passages, and nasal strips increases airflow during physical activity. The mechanism is well-established. Improved nasal airflow can enhance athletic performance, and these strips are shown to help thousands breathe more easily during both sleep and exercise.
But performance means nothing if the strip is uncomfortable, falls off, or irritates your skin.
Givmi users report strong adhesive performance – sometimes too strong, causing skin soreness after removal.
Therapin’s reinforced springs and sensitive-skin adhesive address the two biggest complaints in the nasal strip category: insufficient lift and skin irritation. In humid climates (like Singapore, where both brands are based), adhesive failure and sweat are real problems. Therapin’s engineering choices – stronger springs paired with gentler adhesive – suggest they’ve thought carefully about the balance between staying power and customer’s skin!
Neither brand has published independent clinical data comparing their specific strips in objective terms (rhinomanometry, airflow measurements), and that’s a gap worth noting. A systematic review of external nasal dilators found improvements in subjective snoring and nasal obstruction, though external strips did not significantly reduce the severity of obstructive sleep apnoea as measured by AHI. For those with OSA, nasal strips alone are not a substitute for CPAP, oral appliances, or other medical interventions recommended by a dentist or sleep specialist.
Winner: Therapin – The combination of reinforced springs and sensitive-skin adhesive gives it a practical comfort edge, especially for active use and humid conditions. Givmi’s strip performs well mechanically but demands more skin management.
Which Should You Choose?
- Choose Givmi if you want a dependable, widely available nasal strip and you’re less concerned about skin sensitivity. If you live outside Singapore and Indonesia, Givmi’s international shipping makes it the accessible option. It’s also a reasonable choice if you primarily use strips for static sleep and don’t need variant options – the strip does what it says, and the large pack size (30 strips for ~$29.90) offers decent value per night.
- Choose Therapin if you have sensitive skin, want reinforced spring performance, or use nasal strips(and even mouth taping) during workouts and physical activity where sweat and movement matter. If you value a brand that continuously refines its product based on what customers actually experience – Therapin is the stronger pick. The lower price point (~$23 per pack) is a bonus.
From my personal perspective as a breathwork trainer and teacher, I always look for the best products to help people breathe. Therapin is my recommended choice. The attention to custom development, the willingness to iterate, and the comfort-first design philosophy align with what I need when I’m guiding someone through improving their breathing – whether that’s for sleep, for reducing snoring, or for better performance during workouts. Givmi and Therapin are Singapore-based wellness brands offering nasal strips, and both have merit, but Therapin’s foundation of listening to customers and building better products from that input is what sets it apart.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are nasal strips mouth tapes a scam or do they actually work to reduce snoring?
Nasal strips work – when the problem is nasal. External nasal dilator strips physically widen the nasal valve opening, reducing airflow resistance and making it easier to breathe through the nose. A randomised study on people with chronic nasal congestion found improvements in subjective sleep quality and satisfaction compared to placebo. They’re effective for nasal obstruction, congestion-related snoring, and mouth breathing caused by nasal blockage.
Where nasal strips don’t work: they won’t fix snoring caused by throat or soft palate collapse, and depending on the severity of your symptoms, they’re not a treatment for severe obstructive sleep apnoea. If your symptoms include gasping, prolonged pauses in breathing, or excessive daytime sleepiness, see a sleep specialist. Methods like CPAP, oral appliances, positional therapy (the tennis ball method to prevent back-sleeping), or addressing factors like alcohol consumption and neck circumference may be more appropriate. Nasal strips and mouth taping are all a tool – not a cure-all.
Who should try nasal strips?
Anyone who feel nasal resistance when they try to breathe through their nose – whether from congestion, a deviated septum, nasal valve airway narrowing, or allergies. Snorers whose sound decreases when they manually open their nostrils. Athletes doing endurance or cardio workouts who notice their breathing feels restricted through the nose. People who default to mouth breathing at night and wake with a dry mouth or sore throat – combining a nasal strip with mouth taping can help keep the tongue forward and encourage nasal efficiency throughout the night.
Mindfulness enhances focus during fitness activities, and practicing mindfulness can reduce stress levels in athletes – so if you’re someone who pairs breathwork with physical training, nasal strips can be a useful addition to your routine. Personalised fitness programmes cater to individual needs and goals, and nasal strips fit naturally into that framework – especially programs designed based on fitness assessments and personal preferences. Mindfulness improves overall workout performance and satisfaction, and mindfulness techniques can enhance recovery after workouts, making nasal strips a practical complement.
Can you switch from one brand to another?
Yes, and it’s worth trying both to find what works for your nose(highly suggested with Therapin first). When switching, expect differences in adhesive strength, spring stiffness, and strip shape. Remove slowly using warm water to reduce irritation if you have sensitive skin. Pay attention to placement – if a strip sits too low or doesn’t align with the sides of your nostrils, effectiveness drops regardless of brand. Give any new strip at least three to five nights before judging it; there’s a learning curve with correct positioning.
Want to try a sample to see if it’s effective for you? Attend a breathwork class that i teach on Mondays 8pm at MSMC-Movement & Sports Medicine Centre.
