How to sweat less?

June 15, 2007 7:42 AM

I'm never enjoyed the heat, but this summer I'm sweating like a pig! Bearing in mind that I'm already down to the bare minimum of clothing, and taking exercise (I am marginally overweight), is there anything I can do to make my body more in tune with summer?
posted by anonymous to health & fitness (27 comments total)

Shave your head (if you can get away with it). I love having no hair on the dome in the summer.
posted by allkindsoftime at 7:57 AM on June 15, 2007

You might find something helpful in one of these threads.
posted by waterlily at 7:59 AM on June 15, 2007

I find that when I am exercising regularly I sweat more even at times when I am not exercising. Exercise just tends to make one more likely to sweat generally. So, you could stop exercising. However, that would be a terrible idea. Sweating is cool. It is good for you. My advice would be to come to terms with being sweaty. I like it. It makes me feel like I could slip away from someone if they tried to grab me.
posted by ND¢ at 8:00 AM on June 15, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Witchhazel toner is very nice during the summer, it refreshes the skin without drying it out and it cools you down slightly as it evaporates.
posted by estronaut at 8:05 AM on June 15, 2007

If you can't shave your head as suggested above, keeping the hair off your neck might help. I wear my hear in ponytails/clips most of the summer and it definitely helps. It also allows me to put a cold washcloth on my neck if I need to cool down.

Also, natural fibers - cotton, etc.
posted by cabingirl at 8:26 AM on June 15, 2007

Drink plenty of ice water.
posted by fish tick at 8:30 AM on June 15, 2007

Eat less. I get chilly during extended periods of reduced calorie consumption.
posted by NortonDC at 8:36 AM on June 15, 2007

If you're talking about sweating, I personally recommend Mitchum, 'So strong you can skip a day'. I have found that is the only stuff that works. (They have changed their formula recently though, and I'm not impressed. It's not as effective and feels to me, and my armpits, different somehow - just not as effective)
Also, at every opportunity get running water on the back of your neck. It will cool you down immeasurably.
posted by tellurian at 8:40 AM on June 15, 2007

Oh yeah, chewing ice keeps me cool and it is super fun!
posted by ND¢ at 8:42 AM on June 15, 2007

Frozen grapes are yummier!
posted by phatkitten at 8:51 AM on June 15, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

Eating spicy foods keeps me cool (well, there's a brief flush of heat followed by hours of self-cooling).

Re chewing ice: tremendous fun but bad for your teeth, as I've learned the expensive way. But on the plus side, I've put a few kids of my dentists through college.
posted by jamaro at 9:02 AM on June 15, 2007

You might also want to get your thyroid checked out. Your thyroid controls your metabolism, including how your body reacts to temperature changes. An inefficient thyroid can cause excess sweating.
posted by softlord at 9:05 AM on June 15, 2007

Now that I've got my advice in.
Where are you?
I'm never enjoyed the heat, but this summer I'm sweating like a pig!
Have you moved to a different climate? Alaska or Arabia or Africa?
Bearing in mind that I'm already down to the bare minimum of clothing
Are you having to wear the hijab or a bikini or an animal skin?
Is there anything I can do to make my body more in tune with summer?
Summer where? In Africa, Arabia or Alaska?
posted by tellurian at 9:06 AM on June 15, 2007

During the hottest part of the summer, I usually take two showers a day. These two showers usually end up being much shorter than my usual morning shower. I just hop in, get clean quickly, and then start notching the temperature down until it's so cold I can hardly stand it. Really soak your torso with the cool water. For some reason the effect helps me throughout the day, not just right after the shower.
posted by peep at 9:31 AM on June 15, 2007

Instead of a shower, try soaking in a tepid (not cold!) bath with 1/2 box of baking soda mixed in. Very refreshing.
posted by Carol Anne at 9:43 AM on June 15, 2007

If I put something cool like ice or an cold drink on my wrists, it helps regulate my temperature.

And I have done the opposite in the winter - run warm/hot water on my wrists and I stop shiverring!
posted by spec80 at 10:09 AM on June 15, 2007

Live somewhere dry.
posted by blue_beetle at 10:13 AM on June 15, 2007

Here's your answer.
posted by tellurian at 10:19 AM on June 15, 2007

In addition to eating more spicy food, I've heard that cultures in warmer climates tend to drink warmer beverages as opposed to icy cold beverages. This is of course counter to what you might expect, but you could try a hot coffee or tea or something and see what that does for you.
posted by willnot at 10:37 AM on June 15, 2007

I hate to suggest this, but if you avoid any air conditioning for a month or so you will acclimate to to the heat. This is a miserable process, and may not be possible if your place of work has A/C.
posted by procrastination at 10:53 AM on June 15, 2007

Walk slowly, move slowly. I like to rinse my forearms in cool water throughout the day and rinse my face in cool water, too. If you're just lounging around, a nice wet washcloth is refreshing on the face. Remember, also, that having a fan blow on you when the air it's blowing is too hot (like in the 90s) does more harm than good.
posted by MrFongGoesToLunch at 11:14 AM on June 15, 2007

I have to agree with what peep said above. I find in the hot summer days if I take a hot -- or even just warm -- shower, I will be particularly sweaty for several hours afterwards, even if I'm not very active. It's like my body has to work double-time to dissipate its normal heat on top of all the extra heat it gained from the shower. So, try the "start warm but gradually reduce the temperature until it's bordering-on-uncomfortably-cold" procedure in your normal shower routine.
posted by Rhomboid at 12:24 PM on June 15, 2007

I am also a fan of rinsing my forearms -- more specifically, I run cool or cold water over my wrists for a few minutes, which seems to cool down my whole system.
posted by redfoxtail at 1:36 PM on June 15, 2007

After you shower, pat yourself down with baby powder... it'll make you feel dryer and absorb at least some sweat.
posted by IndigoRain at 1:39 PM on June 15, 2007

Get your thyroid checked if you're running way hotter than usual.
posted by barometer at 1:43 PM on June 15, 2007

Seconding rinsing your wrists in cold water. I learned this trick a few years ago and it instantly cools me down - i've heard it's because the skin is very thin over the blood vessels, so you're able to cool down the blood (although that might be codswallop). It also helps to dab cool water behind your ears.

Here's a list of ways to keep cool without air conditioning that looks useful too.
posted by ukdanae at 2:49 PM on June 15, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

I had assumed that if you shave your head, you'll sweat more since the sweat won't be able to hide in your hair and it'll just go straight down the rest of your body?
posted by electriccynic at 1:28 PM on June 16, 2007