The Scientist: Kati Bakes, an R&D scientist for Secret antiperspirant
The Answer: Everyone gets sweaty pits, that’s just a given, but each of us has at least that one extra, special part of the body that tends to get damper than the rest. Some of the most common are your forehead, back, palms, head and back. There are between 2 and 4 million sweat glands all over your body, in varying densities. There are always a lot concentrated in the underarm. And if you happen to have a lot on your back or on your head, then you’re going to sweat more there than you do in other places. It’s a hot, drippy numbers game. On the plus side, the glands in these areas don’t produce the kind of sweat that stinks, so, you know, you got that going for you.
And let’s not forget about under-boob sweat and damp derrière, aka swass. Where you have skin touching skin, heat gets trapped, ramping up the temperature and putting sweat glands into overdrive. Add that to the funnel effect of cleavage and you’ve got perfect conditions for not-so-sexy sweat marks. There’s not much you can do about it that you’re not probably doing already. Baby powder is your friend. For a less messy equivalent, try DownUnder Comfort from Emily & Tony, which goes on like a cream but dries like a powder. Despite the name (around the YB office we call it “ball cream”), it can be used up and over, too, like along the bra line and on your back.
READ MORE: How to Stop Excessive Sweating
