Sweat and skin

If athletes across the planet share any one experience in common, it's sweating. We all know how the beginning of a workout feels. Breathing starts to pick up and the heart starts to pump harder as the body adjusts from couch potato to athletic badass. What soon follows is sweat. Generally, it is first felt at the hairline, the top of the forehead.

Many athletes blame their skin trouble on sweat, but is the sweat itself really to blame? Let's explore.

The two types of sweat glands

There are two types of sweat glands, as well as two types of sweating. The forehead sweat you feel when you first start that workout is the product of eccrine glands. Eccrine glands are also found in the armpits, palms of the hand, and soles of the feet. The feet have the most concentrated number of sweat glands in the whole body, with an astounding 250,000 sweat glands per foot!

The second type of sweat gland is the apocrine sweat gland. The apocrine sweat glands are primarily located in the armpits and groin.

The two types of sweat glands are both triggered by different stimuli, and they also secrete sweat of different textures. The eccrine glands are triggered by exercise, and they typically have a watery texture and no odor. The apocrine sweat glands are triggered by emotional causes - such as fear or nervousness - and their texture is milkier, since it also contains fats and proteins. This milky apocrine sweat is also responsible for creating body odor.

What is sweat?

Sweat is 99% water. If you're an athlete, this is why hydration is so important. Proper hydration, in fact, is the single easiest way to reliably boost athletic performance. It's important to stay ahead of the sweating, which means an athlete should begin re-hydrating the body before they start their workout.

Sweat also contains electrolytes, mostly sodium and chloride. This is why sweat tastes salty. It also contains lactic acid and urea in small amounts, as well as proteins and some lipids (fats).

Why does the body sweat?

Sweat is controlled by the body's nervous system. Sweating is the body's genius way to regulate body temperature. Exercise creates excess heat in the body, which triggers the body's nervous system to respond. In order to avoid overheating, the eccrine glands will produce sweat by secreting water through the skin. As the water evaporates off the skin, the heat also evaporates with it. Obviously, this process removes heat slowly and subtly, but it is effective enough to keep the body going.

The nervous system also responds to emotional stress. When a person feels nervous, frightened, or anxious, the apocrine glands activate. The sweat produced by these glands is thicker than the sweat produced by the eccrine glands. This sweat is thicker because it also contains proteins and lipids (fats). Bacteria thrive on these proteins and lipids, which is what creates body odor.

Of course, sweat is not always self-induced by exercise. It can also occur when it's too hot outside. But whether the heat is generated externally or internally, sweat plays the same role. By bringing blood vessels to the surface, the body can discharge some of its heat. And when the sweat evaporates off the surface of the skin, it takes some of the body's excess heat with it.

Benefits of sweat to the skin

Despite the fact that many athletes blame sweat for their skin troubles, sweat actually delivers many benefits to the skin. When the body produces sweat to try and cool off, it also increases circulation to the top layers of the skin. This is why your cheeks look red and flushed. The blood vessels rise to the surface in order to let off excess heat through the surface. This brings fresh blood and increased circulation to the skin's tissues, which help cleanse and refresh the skin.

Sweat also contains lactic acid and urea, both of which are mildly acidic. This acidity triggers an extremely mild exfoliating effect. Exfoliation is the process of removing dead skin cells from the surface, and it can be done chemically (with lactic acid and other acids) or it can be mechanical (such as with a scrub or glove). Sweat's lightly acidic composition aids the skin's natural exfoliation process, which leaves the skin looking clear and glowing.

Sweat also removes metabolic byproducts from the body. These byproducts are often labeled as toxins, but the primary detoxifying organs in the body are the liver and the kidneys. The metabolic byproducts are the same as the exfoliating acids mentioned above - urea and lactate (lactic acid). These two byproducts are beneficial to the skin.

Benefits of sweat to the body as whole

When you exercise enough to sweat, you improve almost every metric of health, as a whole. It increases cardiovascular capacity, slows brain degeneration, helps regulate sleep and the circadian rhythm, as well as keeps bone density strong. Sweating through a tough workout also builds resilience and uplifts mood. It can help you process difficult emotions, as well as create energy when you're otherwise tired. But you already know all of this, because you are an athlete!

Managing sweat

At Mil Usos, instead of blocking sweat with antiperspirants, we believe it's best to just let the body sweat as it naturally would. As jiu jitsu athletes, we fully appreciate just how sweaty an athlete can be. We also know how embarrassing it can be. Excess sweat in the armpits, hands, and even the forehead can feel isolating for both male and female athletes who feel they sweat more than the norm.

To fix this, we encourage athletes to not care about what their sweat stains look like. Other athletes certainly will not judge. But we know this is easier said than done. Dark clothing will hide sweat stains better than light-colored clothing. If you are a runner, you can wear a light-colored trail hat to reflect light and help keep the head cool. Hats and headbands also help absorb sweat before the sweat drops fall into your eyes.

You can also help your body manage its core temperature by drinking cold water (as opposed to room temperature water). Interestingly, running cold tap water over your hands at the sink will not only bring down your core temperature, it will also allow you to workout longer.

Athletes need to stay hydrated. The need for intentional hydration really cannot be overstated. Hydration should be an all-day task, and electrolytes can make a huge difference. Many electrolyte brands will lead you to believe that your electrolytes should always be sugar-free, but it really depends on your level of activity. By spiking blood sugar, you can actually improve your body's ability to absorb electrolytes. And for endurance athletes, re-fueling is a must. Whatever you decide, make sure your decision is suitable for your sport.

Sweat and skin trouble

Sweat can cause trouble for the skin when it mixes with makeup, oil, sunscreen, or other topical personal care products. Sweat can also mix with dirt and pollution, which irritates the skin. This mixing can also clog the pores. The clogged pores become infected and create pimples. This is often referred to as "sweat acne" or "workout acne." We recommend regular exfoliation with the Scuff Love Exfoliating Glove to help remove impurities from the skin that can mix with sweat and cause trouble. Women can also wash their face with a gentle cleanser like the Char Goals Everything Bar Cleanser so that mixing sweat with makeup doesn't sabotage their skin.

Sweat can also change the pH of the skin, which can cause unwanted skin trouble. The skin is naturally acidic. Light sweat is also acidic and does not tend to cause much trouble. But extended workout with lots of sweat produces sweat that is more alkaline. This can throw the skin out of balance.

For sun protection, we recommend that athletes use as much protective clothing as possible. Sunscreen is also good, but since it can mix with sweat and cause trouble, clothing protection is better. For summer, use hats and lightweight, moisture-wicking clothing with sleeves. You can also time your workouts to be either early or late in the day to avoid over-exposure to the sun.

In high contact sports such as jiu jitsu, judo, and wrestling, sweat becomes a vehicle for passing skin infection. In order to perform these sports, athletes must touch each other, which means they share their sweat. Sweat is also left behind on the mats and on clothing. If a training partner is carrying an active infection, then they will pass this infection along to other training partners. These sorts of infection have an incubation period before they imbed into the skin. It's important to shower as quickly as possible so that the infection can hopefully be washed off the skin before the infection attaches. We recommend using the Char Goals Everything Bar Cleanser since it will wash the skin without breaking down the skin barrier. If you do develop an infection from training, you should stay off the mats and wait for the infection to clear out of respect to your training partners.

Sweat trapped by clothing creates warm incubation spaces for other types of infection. Sweaty feet that are kept in shoes without airing out properly can cause athletes' foot. Athletes' foot is annoying at best. The feet feel itchy or even a burning sensation that can feel unbearable. Other areas that stay wet with sweat for too long include the groin, the bra line, and the armpits. We recommend the athlete shower and change into clean clothes after working out to avoid unwanted itching and break outs.

Sweat can also contribute to chafing by increasing friction between the skin and wet clothing. The friction breaks down the skin barrier and causes redness, swelling, and blisters. If the blisters pop, an athlete can be left with an open wound and even bleeding. To help combat chafing, we recommend moisture-wicking clothing and specialized socks (avoid cotton!). You can also use an anti-chafing product to lubricate the surface of the skin, but make sure the product won't clog your pores when mixed with sweat. Many anti-chafe products are based on petrolatum, which is a petroleum-derived ingredient. Petrolatum is terrible for the skin. We recommend our Total Cranarchy Multi-Use Balm, which uses a base of nourishing plant oils and powerful antimicrobial botanicals. It not only lubricates the surface of the skin to avoid chafing and blisters, but it also feels very lightweight and keeps the skin healthy and resilient.

Proper skincare for sweaty athletes

We recommend that sweaty athletes honor their body's natural sweat patterns as much as possible. That means skipping the antiperspirants and letting armpits fly their sweaty colors. Truly, nobody cares. We promise.

If you have many topical products on your skin before your workout (such as makeup), then you'll want to remove it before you start sweating. But more importantly, take a shower and wash the skin after you work out. Most "workout acne" or "sweat acne" is the result of allowing sweat to sit on the skin for too long once the exercise is complete. Wet clothing incubates bacterial infection. And the mixed topical products will clog the pores. 

We recommend a gentle cleanser that will not disrupt the skin barrier, such as our Char Goals Everything Bar Cleanser. The activated charcoal is a gentle and effective way to deep clean the skin without irritation. Regular exfoliation will eliminate the dead skin cells that can also mix with sweat and clog pores. Our Scuff Love Exfoliation Glove can be used once or twice a week to do exactly this. And finally, we recommend a non-comedogenic moisturizer that will deeply repair the skin barrier, such as our Total Cranarchy Multi-Use Balm. This balm was intentionally designed for athletes' skin, and it contains safe antimicrobials like glyceryl laurate, green tea, bakuchiol, and licorice. These antimicrobials will help balance the skin after a tough workout. Even if it is applied prior to a sweaty workout, it will not clog the pores or feel heavy.

Author: Rebecca Williams, Founder