Don’t Sweat It
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Sweat can be more than just an embarrassing beauty blunder. When it strikes at the wrong time (as it almost always does), it can send out the wrong signals. After all, it’s hard to appear calm and commanding while mopping your brow with your shirtsleeve. Even though it’s often unwarranted, people tend to equate sweating with a bad case of the jitters or a signal that someone is in over her head. In other words, not exactly the first impression you want to make. So what’s a girl to do short of migrating north for the season? Here are a few tips and tricks to help keep you high and dry.
Channel your inner Scout. Create your own sweat emergency kit to keep in your bag at all times. Be sure to include oil-absorbing blotting papers, a small packet of tissues or a cloth handkerchief, and a collapsible Chinese paper fan. It’s easier than fanning yourself with a flip-flop and much more stylish.
Prepare your pits. Underarm stains don’t just strike pocket-protector-wearing, math-tutor types. The women cursed with this issue will try anything—even sticking panty liners under their arms! The solution? First, wash with an antibacterial soap every morning, and apply antiperspirant straightaway (I swear by Kiehl’s Superbly Efficient Anti-Perspirant & Deodorant Cream ($11.50 for a 1.7-oz. tube; www.kiehls.com). Also, Garment Guard ($10.95 for a pack of five; www.garmentguard.com) is an old-school solution available at your local fabric store. They create a physical barrier between the culprit and your favorite top.
Keep your girls from glistening. Oh, the joys of being a woman! The uniquely humiliating experience of glancing down and seeing two expanding puddles under your breasts is one you won’t soon forget. If you suffer from a little something I call “the Cleavage River,” you’re not alone. The mere mention of this phenomenon provoked knowing groans from every woman I mentioned it to. Again, the answer is a preemptive strike. First, try dousing yourself with an absorbent powder like Shower to Shower (around $4; drugstores) before getting dressed in the morning. Still not enough? Apply a little antiperspirant to the area (choose one formulated for sensitive skin). If you have an important meeting or a job interview and just can’t take a chance, wear a sleeveless shell or similarly lightweight top and carry your suit jacket with you. Don’t put it on until the last second—it will conceal any possible disasters.
Enlist your doctor’s help. Hyperhidrosis, the clinical term for extreme sweating, is a frustrating, chronic condition. Certain Dri antiperspirant (around $5; drugstores), which is applied at bedtime as needed, is one of the strongest products available without a prescription. Or ask your doctor about anti-cholinergic drugs, which work by blocking the neurotransmitter responsible for sweat production. In really dire cases, endoscopic surgery can remove nerve endings that stimulate underarm sweat glands. The outpatient procedure cures the site-specific problem, though sweat may increase in other areas. Recently, the FDA approved the use of Botox to treat excessive underarm sweat. Results last three to six months. A substance that can smooth your face and stop you from sweating? Now, that’s science at its best.