Does Shaving Under Your Arms Reduce Sweat – Body Odor Tips


Does Shaving Under Your Arms Reduce Sweat? Shaving under your arms is not going to reduce the amount of sweat that is produced. The eccrine and apocrine glands secrete liquids that are consumed by bacteria, causing body odor. These glands are located underneath the arms. Shaving does not affect the production of these solutions by glands.

Eccrine Glands are Found Where?

The eccrine sweat glands are found all over the body.  They are there to regulate your body temperature.  In other words, you can actually sweat on every inch of your body.  Nevertheless, the concentration of this gland is higher in certain parts of your body.  For instance, the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet.

We all have become stressed and have noticed that our palms start to sweat.  Your brain is telling the eccrine glands to secrete sweat and since these body parts have a lot of these glands, they tend to sweat more than other areas.

These glands are not at a high concentration level under the arms, but they are present.  As you exercise or are stressed out, the eccrine glands will push out a sticky solution that bacteria will digest and cause body odor.  There are other glands under the arms that also contribute to the amount of sweat that accumulates.  The apocrine glands are located in your armpits.

The Function of the Apocrine Sweat Gland

Your armpits are sheltered which allows the temperature to raise easily.  If you were to walk around with your arms high in the air all of the time, you would sweat less underneath your arms.  However, this activity is not practical unless you have a job swinging from tree branches.

The apocrine sweat glands are present in areas where there are numerous hair follicles.  The underarms are full of hair follicles and thus there a ton of apocrine sweat glands under your arms. Nevertheless, even if you shave your armpits, the follicles are still going to be there along with the sweat glands.  Some people feel that they will reduce the amount of sweating that occurs by shaving, but this is not true.

The apocrine glands in conjunction with the eccrine glands cool the area under your arms by sweating.  The stench happens because the bacteria that is present consumes this solution. The by-product released by bacteria is the smelly odor that most people hate.

Why Do I Sweat More After I Shave My Armpits?

You may feel as if you are sweating more just after shaving your armpits, but actually, this is not occurring. You are sweating just as much as before.

When you have non-shaved armpits, the sweat droplets can stick to the hairs.  When they cling to hairs, they are less likely to soak into your clothing.  We have all noticed people, especially in a gym setting, that have big wet stains underneath their arms.  They are in most cases, wearing super tight t-shirts when this happens.  The sweat sticks right away to the fabric and it starts to show.

Is there a way to prevent sweat stains from happening? You could try changing your deodorant to a brand that absorbs more sweat.  If you are shaving your armpits, it will become easier to apply a sweat absorbing deodorant correctly.

Here is another possible solution: I have noticed that Amazon sells shirts that extra padding underneath the arms, that will also prevent sweat from showing through your clothing. I recommend the t-shirts by T Thompson Tee (link to Amazon).

Reduction of Body Odor Due to Shaving

You can reduce body odor indirectly by shaving underneath your arms.  When the deodorant that you are using has a clear path to your skin, it will work better.   If you have a mass of hair in your armpits, the deodorant will rub off onto the hairs and also on the skin.  In other words, the deodorant will be rendered less effective.

Should all of us shave under our arms in order to apply antiperspirant? No, it is a personal choice.  I do not shave under my arms and my deodorant still works fine.  It depends on your chemical make-up.  If you are finding it difficult to buy products that work well on you personally for reducing body odor, you may want to shave under your arms to see if you will achieve better results with antiperspirant products. The deodorant that I recommend is the Gillette Endurance (click for pricing on Amazon),

Does Shaving Under Your Arms Increase Itchiness

Just after shaving your armpits, the skin will become smooth and stubble-free.  Nevertheless, after a few days, stubble will begin to sprout and some itchiness will occur.  The amount of discomfort is not going to unbearable.  Armpit hair is not very coarse.  It is actually fluffy in nature.  It is not as if strong whiskers are growing under your arms.

Also, the skin under your arms does not move around a lot even if you are physically active during the day.  Arm movement is not being restricted by the skin under your arms.  In other words, there will not be a lot of friction created. Since there is not a lot of rubbing occurring, shaving your armpits is not going to worsen the situation.

If you are experiencing some discomfort, it could because of a product that you are using on your armpits after shaving. Another reason for itchiness could be that you are using harsh soaps and other chemicals.  The skin is more sensitive in your armpits because you had just shaved off the dead skins.  Try not the add too much soap for a day or so until the skin has repaired itself.  Also, make sure that you always use mild deodorant since it will cause fewer irritations.

Something to keep in mind is that after a few days, most of the itchiness due to the shaving will disappear.  For instance, the burning feeling due to deodorant will subside.  Plus, the hairs under your arms will no longer be stubble-like, which means that there will be less of a prickly sensation.

Does Waxing Under your Arms Reduce Body Odor

If you were to shave or wax under your arms, you will be able to clean the skin easily.  If there is a lot of hair in your armpits, it is much hard to wash the surface of the skin. The hair will block excess to the skin. Nevertheless, you will still sweat as much which means that it does not directly eliminate the production of body odor.

Waxing under your arms is going to make it even easier to clean under your arms, versus just shaving your pits.  I am not a big fan of waxing because of the involvement of heat and the yacking out of hair from the hair follicles.  If you are ok with a little pain, then it might be a good plan for you personally.  I recommend the Natural Sugar Waxing Kit by VidaSleek (click to see current pricing on Amazon).

The biggest benefit of waxing is that you will not need to shave under your arms for a long period of time.  You may not have to touch your armpits with a razor for as long as two weeks.  If you were to just shave your armpits using a multi-blade razor, you will have to inspect the area daily and perhaps start to shave after a few days.  In other words, there is a lot more maintenance involved with shaving versus waxing.

Regarding the follicles, waxing is going to rid them of the hairs. Of course, the follicles will push out more hairs, but for a short time, there will not be hair present.  Nevertheless, the follicles will continue to secrete sweat.  Bacteria will feed on the sweat. The waste from the bacteria is what causes the odor.

However, since waxing allows you to clean thoroughly the skin under your arms, you are going to be able to wash off most of the bacteria.  If you do not wax or shave your armpits, there will be bacteria that are clinging to the strands of hair and also around the entry points of each follicle.

Good luck with your goal of reducing your production of sweat. Nevertheless, focus on eliminating the bacteria that is present under your arms, and you notice a reduction in your level of body odor.

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