Here’s the shortest solution you’ll ever find if you google why you have a sweaty crotch when you work out: it’s normal. Whether you like it or not, your groin area has a copious amount of sweat glands that work overtime when you break a sweat at the gym.
Consider this. You’re used to associating your armpits with sweat because of the sweat glands they contain and because they are a natural body fold. That means your armpits get hotter quicker. The same happens with the backs of your knees on a warm day when you’re sitting with your knees bent and pressed in tightly. Know what else presses in against each other and creates folds? You got it — your vagina.
But let’s break this down further. You’re not the only person who has two legs and natural folds in your pelvic area. Men have the same issue! Yup, men sweat down there too. Male or female, your groin area is a very hot part of your body with folds. When it overheats, all the sweat glands start working overtime to cool the area down.
The Science Behind It
And why does the area smell so much after releasing sweat? Well, there’s the obvious explanation of regular odors mixing with the damp, but it’s also because the sweat glands there are the same as in your armpits! The sweat glands around your groin area are called apocrine glands.
Unlike eccrine glands, which secrete fluid directly unto skin, apocrine glands secrete into hair follicles. So, unlike the sweat you’ll find forming on your palms, the apocrine gland sweat, which is scented, is concentrated in areas with excessive hair follicles, like the groin and armpits.
As ladies, we have more medical worries when we leave the area damp after a sweat sesh. You have to be extra careful not to encourage yeast growth. If you’re a professional sweat machine at the gym, make sure to shower and change into dry clothes immediately after your session.
You can try using a deodorant around the folds of your groin area if you’re especially embarrassed by the sweat, but honestly, everyone’s crotch around you is sweating too, so who cares? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
