As larger, hairier, more muscular beings than women, men tend to sweat a lot more. While women don’t usually have to consider this bodily process in relation to their wardrobe, for many men, sweat is more than an unpleasant sensation -- it can actually ruin clothes. And what’s the point of shelling out big bucks for a dress shirt you love if it’s going to be stained with sweat a month into summer?
Luckily, we’re here to help you learn how to sweat-proof your clothes just as temperatures are starting to rise, so you can go ahead and buy that designer shirt you had your eye on. To begin with, sweat-proof your clothes with a good, heavy-duty antiperspirant during the summer months. If you don’t like the idea of a commercial antiperspirant, use a rock crystal, available at most health or natural food stores. Rock crystals naturally protect against bacteria and therefore neutralize odor from sweat. It is effective for up to 24 hours and the sticks last forever. You can also apply rock crystal sticks to any part of your body that tends to sweat a lot.
For more tips on how to sweat-proof your clothes and keep yourself looking clean and smelling fresh in the months ahead, read on.
Consider specially formulated products
If you sweat more than most people, consider products designed to combat this problem. These products include sweat block pads, which are cloths that have been presoaked in industrial-strength antiperspirant. Once every seven days, apply these pads to your underarms to help prevent sweating. Alternately, or in case the sweat block pads don’t completely do the trick, get a hold of some underarm sweat pads. These have a sticky side that adheres to your skin, forming a physical barrier between your sweat and clothing.
Choose the right shoes
In attempting to sweat-proof your clothes, don’t wear canvas shoes as these will make your feet sweat like crazy and your shoes smell like you live in a swamp. Instead, wear leather shoes or sandals if you can, as they breathe more and therefore decrease foot sweat and odor. Once you’ve purchased appropriate footwear, you’ll also need to treat them properly. Consider slipping a moisture-absorbing insole into your shoes to further reduce bacteria and odor.
Try to rotate your shoes as well so that you’re not wearing the same pair every day. Doing so gives your shoes a chance to air out, as long as you don’t bury them in the bottom of your gym bag or closet that is. Although you should avoid wearing the same shoes day after day, do change your socks daily to avoid contracting a fungal infection that thrives in moist, sweaty and bacteria-ridden conditions. Lastly, every now and again, give the inside of your shoes a quick spray with a shoe deodorizer or use an OTC foot powder to help absorb sweat.
Soak your clothes
If you sweat a lot during the day, soak your shirt in extremely cold water as soon as you get home, and apply a stain remover to the armpits. One trick to really get stains out is to turn your shirt inside out and apply the stain remover to the inside of your shirt. This works better than applying a stain-removing product to the outside of your shirt because you’re trying to lift the stain out of the fabric, not rub it further into the fibers. Leave the product on for a few minutes and launder your shirt as soon as possible, or at least rinse it in ice cold water again. If your shirt is white, bleach it every now and again or, alternately, throw in a teaspoon of cream of tartar (available in the baking aisle at your grocery store) with your regular laundry detergent to help keep your whites white.
Wear moisture-wicking undershirts
Although it might sound crazy to be layering when it’s hot out, smart layering can actually help sweat-proof your clothes and reduce the not-so-fun effects of sweating. Your best bet is to layer a sports undershirt underneath a T-shirt. When you have no option but to wear a dress shirt, choose a sports undershirt in a solid color that won’t be too noticeable. Sport clothes are specifically designed to wick moisture away from your body and they also dry off quickly so you’ll never feel like you’re soaking in sweat. As well, many sports shirts incorporate mesh, meaning that your skin will breathe better, and they’re often treated to be antimicrobial, so it’s harder for odor-forming bacteria to build up on your body. When you want to sweat-proof your clothing, try Under Armour -- one brand that makes particularly good sports undershirts.
Find another use for fabric softener
When learning how to sweat-proof your clothes, make sure your clothes have that just-laundered smell all the time by dispersing a few fabric softener sheets throughout your closet and your drawers. Make sure you don’t put them directly on your clothes, however, as you wouldn’t want any surprise stains on your favorite shirt. While they won’t sweat-proof your clothes per se, they will certainly make them smell better, thereby helping to make odor less noticeable when it occurs. Check the sheets about once a month and change any that seem to have lost their potency.
Choose natural-fiber clothing and wear light colors
On particularly hot days, go for fabrics like cotton, silk, linen or light wool instead of polyester or other synthetics and blended fabrics. Natural fibers allow your skin to breathe more, meaning you’ll sweat less. When the mercury really rises, even if you plan to wear cotton or linen, pick feather-light pieces and choose shirts that are slightly larger than the size you usually wear to encourage air circulation and sweat evaporation. When it comes to colors, white or pale pastels will deflect more of the sun’s rays, so you’ll feel the heat less in these softer shades.
no sweat!
Sweating is a natural process and it’s hard to stop this bodily function entirely. However, if it bothers you or you feel like perfectly decent clothes are being ruined because of it, implementing a few of these tips should go a long way to helping you keep your cool all summer long.
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