Antiperspirant Makes You Sweat More

A lot of people say that antiperspirant makes you sweat more.

This hasn’t been the case for me, but I wanted to share an email from a reader who said using antiperspirant actually made him sweat more.

Be sure to check out my Top 9 Sweat Management Solutions article. It contains information about sweat blocking undershirts, sweat proof underwear, various antiperspirant & sweat-reducing options, and much more.

Using Antiperspirant: Sweating Issues?

Hi Tug,

I like your site and will be using it to find the perfect lightweight XL pajama shirt.

However, I noticed a lot of guys are having sweating issues. In fact, I used to be one of them. I had to bring extra shirts with me wherever I went, until I made 4 changes in my life.


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I changed the soap I shower with (I used to use Dove and Old Spice body wash). Also, I wash only the “sweatiest areas” (e.g. armpits) with an exfoliating cloth/loofah and my face/ears.

I stopped using antiperspirant and drug store deodorant (no Old Spice, Right Guard, Adidas, Axe, etc.) Finally, I trim my body hair regularly with an adjustable electric shaver.

You see, everything you get at the drug store clogs pores and tries to stop a lot of sweat from coming out. But what happens is that when it wears off – you sweat more.

It’s like putting a band-aid on a crack on the hoover dam, eventually it’s all going to start coming out and fast.

We have to sweat, we can just do it in less quantities.

Tip #1: Try Switching Soaps

First thing, change the soap you use.

Switch to natural soaps with ingredients you understand. I like Grandpa’s Shea Butter Soap a lot.

Granpa's Shea Butter Soap

Even “Dove” contains tons of chemicals. Remember, they are owned by Clorox (I know they have nice commercials but they also want to make a profit).

Also avoid “Sodium laureth sulfate”, “Sodium Lauryl Sulfate” and “propylene glycol” in everything, these first two are foaming agents which we can also find in car washes.

Also, natural soaps clean better and smell much better, they are about one or two dollars more but worth it. You can get them online or in special “natural” sections of stores.

It will change how you sweat. You can find a lot of natural shea butter soaps on Amazon here.

Tip #2: Don’t Wash Everywhere

Secondly, our bodies have natural lipids that clean itself. But when we use body washes or soap up out entire body, we kill off these natural cleaning agents.

This causes our skin to dry out.

You can learn more about this from the episode: Adam Ruins Hygiene (Adam Ruins Everything, Season 1, Episode 6). You can buy or rent it on YouTube here.

When washing, just focus on the “crevices” (groin, under arms, ears etc.) of our bodies.

Tip #3: Quit Using Deodorant & Antiperspirant

After my body adjusted in about a week or two, I was noticing that most days I didn’t need deodorant (or antiperspirant), and this was quite shocking.

I now almost never need antiperspirant.

In the summer or in the winter (when I have on layers) I lightly use some crystal rock deodorant spray I got at Bed Bath and Beyond. You can also buy it on Amazon.

Either use the Crystal Mineral Deodorant Spray or other natural deodorants. Just look up any big words in the ingredients first — “natural” isn’t always natural.

Also, you may want avoid rock deodorant and roll-ons because they can grow bacteria. If you do use them, just be sure to use them immediately after you shower, to minimize the possibility of bacteria growth.

You won’t believe it until you try it.

Tip #4: Manscape / Trim Down Body Hair

Lastly, I adjusted my shaver to the second closest setting and trimmed all my body hair.

This allows the natural soap and natural deodorant to actually reach the skin and do their job. Still, I almost never use deodorant antiperspirants.

Please try this out before you just apply dangerous ineffective chemicals to your body and body hair.

Here is an article about other problems with antiperspirant.


Does Antiperspirant Make You Sweat More?

I did a quick Google search (link), and it looks like others are having the exact same issue. Here’s a thread on Reddit that discusses it as well.

What about you?

If using antiperspirant makes you sweat more, tell me all about in the comments section below. Also, let me know what you did to address it.


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17 thoughts on “Antiperspirant Makes You Sweat More”

  1. Heck yes! Antiperspirant made me smelly and sweaty.

    If I forgot to apply it right after a shower, I would smell like a cheese steak within an hour.

    I got really sick with my MS two years ago and was in the hospital for a few weeks…I basically detoxed during that time.

    I smell wicked for a few days and then after I detoxed all the poison chemicals from my body.

    I hardly sweat at all anymore and a simple natural deodorant keeps me fresh.

    I’m a firm believer that anti perspirant Is total nasty poison

    Reply
  2. I always had major underarm sweat issues in high school and college.

    Tried every brand of anti-perspirant out there including prescription. Finally on the advice of a buddy i changed to deodorant only and the sweating STOPPED.

    Have never had a problem since.

    Was using Toms natural deodorant, but now just use original old spice. Wont touch antiperspirant again.

    Reply
    • heya ben, thanks for stopping by and sharing that info!

      i’ve not fully stopped using antiperspirant, but pretty close.

      i use a 7-day antiperspirant about one time every 5 weeks, and use crystal rock deodorant for odor protection.

      seems like it’s a good combination for me so far (:

      Reply
  3. I switched to plain old deodorant with no antipersirant, and I’ve found that I don’t sweat much at all, it seems to dry me up instantly right when I apply it.

    Its been amazing, and I’ve struggled with underarm sweat since high school.

    Reply
    • heya dervis, what brand of non-antiperspirant deodorant do you use?

      i currently use clubman spray deodorant, and i’m pretty happy with it.

      clubman sprays on clean, dries pretty fast, has no residue, and has a clean + masculine scent.

      that said, i’d be open to trying other products, as long as they are not gel or stick based that may transfer marks to my shirts.

      Reply
  4. I came across this article because I just got a new job where I sweat atrocious amounts.

    I distinctly remember back in school that I frequently forgot to use deodorant/antiperspirant and the most I remember suffering was ridicule from my family members. I recall my friends suffering constant pitstains when I didn’t.

    Now I’m using antiperspirant every day and my shirts serve the single function of storing all of this excess sweat I never had before.

    I’m thinking of going back on this obsession since I feel like I’ve tried everything and it doesn’t matter what shirt I wear.

    Reply
    • heya spencer — good to hear from you buddy and thanks for sharing your thoughts here!

      it’s definitely worth a try, at least for a couple weeks to see if not wearing antiperspirant will help you sweat less.

      personally speaking, i stopped using regular over-the-counter antiperspirant 1-2 years ago.

      instead, i’ve been wearing 7-day antiperspirant that you put on at night. then i use clubman deodorant (link) each day to keep me smelling fresh.

      i don’t sweat all that much in my underarm area, but the antiperspirant does help keep me dry and comfortable.

      maybe you can try a couple things:

      1. stop using antiperspirant altogether, and only use a natural soap or mild deodorant like clubman for a couple weeks and see what happens

      2. if the 2 week test doesn’t work out, then maybe you could try using a 7-day antiperspirant instead, and combine that with some form of mild deodorant like clubman

      i will say that ever since i’ve been trimming my underarm hair, i feel a lot cleaner and i think i also sweat less in that area too.

      would love for you to keep me/us posted on your experiment and let us know what happens (:

      thanks again!

      Reply
  5. i have excessive sweat in my hands and feet. It is so embarrassing.

    I would like to know about some natural ways to cure it. please do help me.

    Reply
    • swetha – i don’t know of any natural way to cure excessive sweating in the hands and feet.

      there are a couple different options to help manage hyperhidrosis in hands (palmar hyperhidrosis), but they aren’t natural.

      you can use:
      1. antiperspirant wipes
      or
      2. iontophoresis machine

      for #2, you can find some cheap (inexpensive) ones on ebay.

      hope it helps!

      Reply
  6. I actually haven’t used anti-persperant in a long, long time. Multiple years.

    I naturally don’t sweat much, but, well, under particular circumstances, I can.

    So, I started using some of my brother’s antiperspirant, and lo and behold, my armpits have started sweating a lot more.

    Seems like they stink a lot more than normal, as well.

    I hadn’t been using it, because I hadn’t really needed to. I rarely sweat, and if I did, I took a shower, say after a workout or something.

    In Japan, they do the same thing. They don’t use deodorant or antiperspirant, at all.

    I think it’s actually considered rude, if you use scented deodorant.

    I never thought about it, before, but those companies do the same thing with shampoo.

    The more you use it, the more it strips your hair of natural oils, the more your scalp compensates to generate more and more oil, then you need more and more shampoo [need to give companies more and more money].

    It’s unfortunate that our system is designed like this, where products are made not to solve a problem, but to only temporarily solve a problem, then make it worse in order to make people more reliant on the product.

    I think that’s likely what companies do with various products. Unfortunately, it’s up to the consumer to learn whether or not they want that.

    But it’s so ingrained in our culture, that so long as you use any product, you’re being clean and hygienic.

    I’ll look for some solutions, but for now, I think I’m just gonna wash if I get sweaty or otherwise dirty.

    Reply
  7. I’ve been using anti-perspirant for ages but this is the first time I’m googling ‘anti-perspirant makes me sweat more’ cos it’s true.

    not sure what to do not to stink :)

    Reply
    • heya brano — great question buddy!

      if you were not aware, there are products that are just “deodorants”, that don’t have antiperspirant ingredients in them.

      one of the more popular, all natural items i’ve heard about is called crystal deodorant (link).

      i personally use lucky tiger deodorant (link) on some days and clubman deodorant (link) on others days, and haven’t used underarm antiperspirant in quite a while.

      you could also use body sprays as underarm deodorant, like the ones from axe. they have a pretty nice variety of scents to choose from.

      i also trim my underarm hair on a regular basis to help minimize the potential for bacteria growth & underarm odor. mind you, i don’t shave completely, i just trim the hair very short.

      the one other thing you could try, if you still find you need some sweat-prevention/protection, is a 7-day antiperspirant like sweatblock or kleinerts dry body wipes, and use one of the above deodorants.

      7-day antiperspirants are applied at night and dry while you sleep. the antiperspirant does not wash out, and stays effective for up to 7-days.

      in the morning, just take your shower like normal, and apply the body deodorant to your underarm area.

      the other thing i do from time to time, is use a scented flushable wipe to clean my underarm area after a walk, workout, or hike — then i reapply my lucky tiger or clubman deodorant so i stay smelling clean and fresh all day long (:

      overall, it seems to work for me.

      maybe you can try doing the same and see what happens?

      if you do, be sure to come back here and let me know how it’s going.

      Reply
  8. I used to use antiperspirant – all it ever used to do was stain my shirts, and cause my armpits to break out into a rash.

    I’m so glad that I stopped using antiperspirant; I now use deodorant, and my life is much better for it.

    Reply
    • i have the same issue, antiperspirants make me sweat. every brand, every texture, whether it be gel, white solid, etc…

      BUT i also have a problem with deodorants! they all cause a PAINFUL RED RASH! and again, deodorant of any brand, any format, although i think these only come in those clear solids if im not mistaken. well the sweating stopped! and if the rash wasn’t so painful i would’ve just dealt with it because no one sees it anyway.

      this took me about 7 years to figure out. rotate every 3-4 days between the two. it takes about 5 days for the sweat and rash to appear. so within 5 days switch the stuff and back and forth doesn’t have to be perfect schedule, just cant have either one build up.

      doesn’t seem like anyone else has this issue but i was so happy when i figured it out. happy to share and i hope someone finds it useful. seems almost obvious right? well it worked and works well so if i can save anyone a prescription and 7 years of BS trial and error.

      sweating sucks! and most people i think default to the antiperspirant not needing it because why not cover 2 possible things in one shot. i sweat a lot too! just not under my arms oddly.

      Reply
  9. I agree that modern antiperspirants do more harm than good.

    Not only do you sweat more when it starts wearing off, but it alters the type of bacteria that grow on your skin, so you actually are more smelly.

    I have a similar approach to body odor as your original reader.

    I use natural soaps – for me, this is plain-Jane lye soap, which I have found is actually good for my skin.

    For deodorant, I alternate between rock crystals and Primal Pit Paste, which has baking soda and coconut oil and just a few other natural ingredients.

    It takes a week or two for your body to adjust to using natural deodorants, but I found that after the changes I tend to perspire less and my natural products actually keep B.O. at bay.

    I still sweat… but sweat is natural and trying to block it off completely with chemical compounds is the unnatural approach.

    Reply

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