How to Stop Excessive Armpit Sweating

Before you go buy more of the same old deodorant at the store, you need to think a bit about what exactly your problem is, to get the right product for the job. For some people, the biggest problem with sweaty pits is body odor, while for others the biggest problem is unsightly sweat stains and the resulting embarrassment.

• If you struggle from body odor and sweat stains, you need to use an approach that addresses these problems individually. Applying deodorant will do nothing to stop your armpits from sweating though it will mask the odor.
• You can’t stop your body from perspiring completely without medical procedures, which are typically only performed in extreme cases. If your body stopped excreting salts and toxins through the skin, you would die.

2. Buy an appropriate product for your problem.

Depending on your problem, you may either need commercial deodorant, antiperspirants, or a hybrid product, or you may need to talk to your doctor about more powerful prescription anti-perspirant products on the market.

• If you’ve got a problem with body odor, you need to use deodorant that uses gentle, natural ingredients that will mask the odor, and practice other good hygiene practices that will remedy the problem. Read the section for general hygiene tips.
• If you’ve got a problem with sweat stains, most commercial anti-perspirants that use aluminum chloride hexahydrate are effective at controlling the amount of sweat that your underarms produce.

3. Shower more regularly.

Controlling underarm sweat requires more than just products and remedies. Keeping your body clean and dry is essential to controlling your underarm sweat throughout the day. If you struggle with it, it’s a good idea to shower your body, or at least your underarms, at least once and as many as two times a day to keep it in check.

• During the summer time, if you live in a humid climate, try to keep a little time between a hot shower and getting dressed, if you struggle with underarm sweat. Let yourself completely dry and let your body cool down before you put clothes on, or you may immediately start sweating.

4. Wash your shirts after every use.

Especially if you’ve sweated in a shirt, it’s essential that you thoroughly wash your clothes between wearings. Again, underarm body odor is not caused by sweat, exactly, it’s caused by the bacteria left from dried sweat, which produces an unpleasant odor.

• If you don’t wash sweat from clothes, the bacteria from the sweat you leave builds up over time, making the smell worse. It’s very important to change clothes regularly and keep them clean.
• If you really sweat a lot, change your shirt more often, even if it’s in the middle of the day. If you know you might get sweaty at work, keep a pressed shirt if your bag, ready to go if necessary.

5. Wear undershirts.

Clean white t-shirts can do a lot to absorb extra sweat, keeping it away from your outer shirt layer. If you’re a big sweater, consider layering your clothes so that the sweat won’t come through to your outer shirt as easily.

• Like your outer shirts, it’s also important to keep these washed and clean regularly to avoid unpleasant smells.

6. Shave your armpits.

If you have a big sweating problem, it’s sometimes true that shaving your armpits can help, somewhat. While shaving your pits won’t make your armpits cooler, or produce less sweat, it will keep the sweat from collecting in your armpits, which can make the sweat stains more pronounced, and the odor more prevalent.

• It’s important to know that body hair, including armpit and even facial hair, actually helps to cool your body in hot temperatures collecting the sweat you secrete, which cools as it evaporates. Shaving body hair might make the sweat less present in your armpits, but it might also make your body sweat slightly more.

7. Change your diet.

Strong-smelling foods and some food families will affect the way your sweat smells, according to recent studies. If you already tend toward sweatiness, it’s important to be aware of dietary issues that might be making it worse.

• Onions, garlic, and other foods in the alliaceous family will cause sulfurous, pungent sweat upon drying. Some spices, like asafetida, cumin, and curry powder will likewise be detectable in the underarms, as well as cruciferous vegetables like cabbage or broccoli.
• Diets high in red meat, dairy, or alcohol produce distinctive-smelling sweat that many people become acclimated to over time.
• Capsaicin, found in hot peppers, will stimulate the nerve receptors in your mouth in the same way that actual heat does, tricking your body into thinking that you’re hot. Your hypothalamus will send out a signal to sweat.

8. Exercise to lower your body-mass index (BMI).

If you have more mass on your body, your body will sweat more to keep itself cool. If you’re really struggling with underarm sweat, it may be something you can remedy by incorporating cardiovascular exercise into your routine and losing some weight. Get all your sweating out with exercise.

• The best and quickest way to lose weight is to increase your physical activity and decrease the number of calories you consume in a day to a stable level. try to incorporate leaner proteins, like legumes, lean chicken, and eggs to replace fried foods, dairy, and red meat, and increase the number of whole grains and vegetables in your diet.
• Stay well hydrated throughout the day and try to start exercising small. Start going on long walks in the morning and at night, then showering to remove the sweat from your body and cool down.