PHOTOGRAPH
TRUNK ARCHIVE
beauty
shower three times a day,
wear only black clothes and
avoid slip-on shoes because
my feet slide right out of them.
Sometimes, even holding a
pen is impossible,’ says Kate,
35, who has suffered from
hyperhidrosis since she was a teenager.
Thought to affect fi ve percent of the
population, abnormally excessive sweating
can make summer something to dread.
‘Work meetings are the worst. Even with
air-con, I have to change several times a
day, and I avoid shaking hands with people
because I feel self-conscious,’ adds Kate,
who has been prescribed glycopyrronium
bromide tablets to tackle the problem. ‘They
stop the sweating if you catch it in time,
but they leave me with a dry mouth and
dry eyes all day, so eating certain foods,
like bread, and using my contact lenses
is uncomfortable.’
In extreme cases of hyperhidrosis – thought
to be caused by a problem in the nervous
system – electric-current therapy, surgery
and even Botox® can be effective. Botox
paralyses the sweat glands so that nerve
signals cannot be received and requires 20
to 40 injections per armpit, for example;
but the effects can last up to eight months,
which is a game-changer for sufferers. For
the rest of us, who can lose up to 12 litres a
day in anxiety-induced sweats or excessive
perspiration caused by diet or hormones,
summer can make for an uneasy few
months. ‘Women experience a spike in body
temperature during ovulation, due to an
increase in progesterone levels, which leads
to sweating,’ says dermatologist Dr Joanna
Gach. ‘Similarly, during pregnancy and just
before menstruation, our body temperature
rises, causing us to sweat more.’ A study by
Charles University in Prague found that the
sweat of women ovulating smells sweeter
than when not.
Of course, the core function of sweating
is not to embarrass us on fi rst dates or
in the boardroom; it’s to cool us down.
‘When our temperature rises due to
environments, physical activity or hormones,
our thermoregulatory centre, in the brain’s hypothalamus,
responds by telling our body to secrete sweat to bring our
temperature down,’ says Dr Riccardo Di Cuffa, director and
GP at Your-doctor.co.uk.
So why do some of us have an under-boob area that’s
as wet as a rainforest (or is that just me?), while others
remain bone-dry despite a heatwave? ‘Some people
naturally have a higher distribution of sweat glands
than others,’ explains Dr Adam Friedmann, consultant
dermatologist at The Harley Street Dermatology Clinic.
‘We all sweat in different ways and in different places,according to the genetic distribution of
autonomic nerve fi bres.’
Interestingly, where you sweat also
matters. ‘Emotional sweating brought on
by nervousness or anxiety is targeted to
the palms and soles,’ says dermatologist
Dr Justine Kluk. ‘Whereas sweating on
larger body-surface areas, such as the lower
back and underarms, is more likely to be
a response to exercise, warm weather or
claustrophobic environments.’ And those
little beads on your nose after eating Indian
food? That’ll be the capsaicin – the primary
chemical in chillies that causes your body to
react as if in a very hot environment.
‘Gustatory sweating – triggered by the food
we eat – is indicated by perspiration on the
forehead, upper lip, scalp and neck, occurring
just moments after eating,’ says Justine. ‘This
can be provoked by damage to the nerve that
passes through the parotid (salivary) gland
in people who have had surgery or trauma
to the neck, but it can also be a normal
response to eating hot or spicy food. Other
triggers are citric acid, coffee, chocolate and,
bizarrely, peanut butter – thought to cause a
mild allergic reaction.’ Low blood-sugar levels
can also kick-start a fi ght-or-fl ight response to
produce more adrenalin and therefore sweat.
If you want to keep sweat under control
but it’s not bad enough to have you heading
for the doctor, try avoiding garlic, anything
with excess sodium (such as fast food) and
full-fat milk. Smoking, alcohol and caffeine
should be off-limits too. Nicotine causes our
bodies to release acetylcholine, a chemical
that stimulates sweat glands. Caffeine
triggers the central nervous system to send
‘go’ messages to the sweat glands, while
alcohol leads to vasodilation, a widening of
the blood vessels, which carries heat to the
surface of the skin.
There is an upside to sweat, though:
it’s sexy. Our pheromones – the chemical
signals secreted through our sweat
glands – are powerful, and scientists from
Utrecht University in the Netherlands have
found evidence to suggest that humans
communicate positive emotions, such as
happiness, through the smell of our sweat.
Similarly, research by Rice University in Texas suggests we
can sense fear in other people’s sweat.
Androstadienone, a derivative of testosterone found
in high concentration in male sweat, can infl uence
heterosexual women’s moods and increase their sexual
arousal, according to studies by the University of California,
Berkeley. Research also suggests that we use subtle smell
cues to help select our sexual partners (subconsciously
we’re looking for a mate with a different set of immune
system genes to ours). When it comes to love, it turns out
you really should follow your nose. mcJAN/FEB 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 103
UNDERARM
TACTICS
/@FC56]?:E:G68F:56
E@56@5@C2?E2?5
2?E:A6CDA:C2?EWHAT’S THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
DEODORANT AND
ANTIPERSPIRANT?
Deodorant’s primary focus
is to mask sweat so you
smell fresher. Antiperspirants
contain aluminium salt to
actively prevent sweating.
CAN ANTIPERSPIRANTS
BLOCK PORES?
Antiperspirants that are
aluminium-based do
temporarily plug pores to
stop sweating. They work
better at night when sweat
production is low and the
active ingredient has time
to be absorbed.
IS THIS DANGEROUS?
Nothing has been proven,
but University of Reading’s
Professor Philippa Darbre
says, ‘If sweat can’t get out,
there’s a build-up of toxins
that can’t escape so the
body retains chemicals.’
ARE ANTIPERSPIRANTS
LINKED TO CANCER,
AND SHOULD WE
CONTINUE USING THEM?
Despite studies into
possible links between the
two, the idea has been
largely debunked. Our
exposure to aluminium via
antiperspirants is minimal,
so there’s no need to avoid
them. But some people
prefer to reduce their
exposure to parabens,
which may explain the
organic roll-on trend.