How to Prevent Sweat Stains? 24 Tips to Save Your Day and Clothes
Getting sweat stains on your clothes is both uncomfortable & ugly – for sure. But we all deal with it! Sweating is the natural process that our bodies use to stay cool.
It’s really hard to deal with sweat stains, but it turns out that a few simple tricks that can prevent sweat stains from ruining your day and your clothes!
I’ll give you my tips on how you can prevent sweat stains from happening in the first place. And in case it’s too late, we’ll see how to hide these sweat stains and fix them.
Here is the deal: I have a condition called hyperhidrosis, which means I sweat excessively. So over the years, I’ve learned quite a few things about how to deal with my condition, and am excited to share them with you!
So if you’re tired of sweat stains ruining your day and ruining your clothes, you’ll love that list!
How to stop sweat stains on shirts and other clothes?
1. Stick to natural fabrics that are more breathable
Cotton, bamboo, linen, or denim are breathable fabrics, so they will make you sweat less than synthetic fabrics like nylon or polyester. Natural fabrics absorb sweat, so a cotton undershirt will prevent sweat from going to the outer shirt.
Shop cotton t-shirts on Amazon here
2. Wear black and white
To effectively hide sweat stains, choose solid black or pure white clothing, as these colors conceal armpit, back, and butt sweat marks the best. Ensure that black garments are deep black, not light or greyish and that white items are bright white, not ivory or cream. The effectiveness also depends on the fabric used, but you can always stick to the thumb rule to check it.
3. Wear patterns to hide sweat stains
At some point, you may get tired of wearing black & white. So what can you wear to avoid showing sweat? You can try patterns. Patterns are great at keeping sweat from showing. Patterns can be plaid, floral, geometric, animal, etc. Learn more about the do’s and don’t of patterns.
Shop Plaid Shirts on Amazon here
4. Put clothes through a Sweat-Test before you buy them
You are not sure whether sweat stains will show through that new outfit? Lick your finger! When I’m shopping and I’m not sure whether the fabric/color of a new piece of clothing will show sweat, I discreetly lick my finger and put it on the fabric, at my armpits or back level. That way, I know right away how much sweat stains will show through it before I even buy it.
5. Wear yoga pants to hide crotch sweat stains
To hide butt sweat and be comfy, wear black yoga pants (you don’t even need to be into yoga, ah!). Because they are usually made of some nylon/spandex synthetic blends they won’t prevent you from sweating, but at least crotch sweat stains won’t show through! Discover more tips on how to stop butt sweat on chairs.
Shop Yoga Pants on Amazon here
6. Wait a bit after your shower before getting dressed
To avoid sweating into your clothes after a shower, end with cooler water to lower your body temperature. This also benefits blood circulation and skin health. Ventilate the bathroom post-shower and wait before dressing. Use this time for coffee, hair care, or skin care. Dress only when completely dry and acclimated to room temperature.
7. Wear loose outfits to prevent pits sweat stains
You’ve probably already noticed that when you wear a t-shirt that’s tight under your armpits you sweat more, and then you get that uncomfortable wet fabric under your armpits all day, right? That’s why you may want to go sleepless and try wearing t-shirts with low-cut underarms. Wearing the right cut will prevent you from sweating through your shirt and will make it easier for you to wipe your armpits if they sweat too much. You can also try wearing loose jackets, loose dresses, etc.
Shop low-cut t-shirts on Amazon here
8. Try sweat pads to absorb armpits’ sweat
Sweat absorbent pads come in different forms: they can be sweat shields that you stick to your armpits, or that you stick to your shirts, or that you sew onto your shirts, or that you strap to your armpits. They can be reusable, or single-use. So plenty of options to try here! Some people even go to DIY route, and stick panty liners to their t-shirts.
Shop sweat pads on Amazon here
9. Get a few sweat-proof undershirts
You may be afraid that the sweat pads won’t be comfortable or that they may fall off. So what else can you do to avoid sweating through your shirt? You can get a sweat-proof t-shirt that’s got the sweat pads built-in! The pad areas show on the designs of these t-shirts, so they are better used as undershirts. Just make sure the outer shirt is a bit larger so that the sweat absorbed by the undershirt does not transfer over the outer shirt. That will hide your pit sweat nicely. There are a few sweat-proof t-shirt brands available online: Thompson Tee (both men and women) Ejis (men only) and DewDrop (women only).
The DewDrop Crop Top and The DewDrop Scoop Neck T-shirt allow you to drip with confidence. They have the same great features as the DewDrop scoop neck, minus the extra fabric around the midsection. They allow you to stay a little cooler with style. They are high density, high absorbency, high stretch, ultra-soft, sustainable, with no pilling.
The armpit has a 3-layer pad as a waterproof shield, the inner layer is anti-bacterial silver fabric which helps to control odor and keep wearers fresher throughout the day. Made from a sustainable fabric Lenzing Modal.
Wear as your favorite regular top or as an undershirt. Feel confident wearing your favorite shirt without underarm sweat holding you back.
Shop sweat-proof undershirts on Amazon here
10. Trim/Shave
This one is one of my favorite tips. It’s simple, yet so effective. We sweat less when we are shaved or trimmed, and I also find it doesn’t smell as bad. I guess because all that sweat and bacteria don’t get stuck in hairs! So really, whether it’s your armpits, back, or bottoms that sweat, just shave or trim these hairy areas and you’ll feel the difference right away!
11. Learn when to use a deodorant or antiperspirant
The main active ingredient of classic deodorants is aluminum. That’s what blocks the underarm sweat ducts. But aluminum mixed with the salt naturally present in sweat is what causes yellow stains on t-shirts. Tricky, right? Even if it is not fully clear whether aluminum is harmful or not, aluminum has a bad reputation and oncologists recommend against it, so that must mean something?
Ideally, you will want to avoid aluminum deodorants first because that’s potentially dangerous, and second because they will create yellow stains on your clothing. But aluminum-free deodorants are not very effective (I’ve tried a few brands so far, and still no luck). They don’t stop you from sweating, they basically just hide the smell. So usually, what I do is that I wear an aluminum-free deodorant most days, when I’m working from home and I know I won’t sweat too much, or when I don’t care if I do. I also make sure I wear aluminum-free when I’m wearing white to avoid the yellow stains. I keep antiperspirant for ‘special occasions’: I am going to an event and want to avoid sweating too much for example.
If you apply antiperspirant, make sure you apply it at night when you sweat less. According to Consumer Reports and Antiperspirant companies, that gives it time to penetrate through the sweat glands and block them.
12. Avoid your sweaty triggers
We all have things that make us sweat more. For most, that will be spicy food. For some, like me, that will be acidic food and caffeine. Keep track of what food, drinks, or situations make you sweat more and avoid them!
13. Stay hydrated to regulate sweat
The International Hyperhidrosis Society recommends you drink water early in the day and often. Sweat regulates the body temperature. And when you sweat, you lose some water, so make sure you stay hydrated.
14. Wear breathable underwear to prevent sweat
Stopping sweat from showing through your clothing starts with wearing the right underwear. Whether you deal with boob sweat or butt sweat, make sure you go for cotton underwear (they absorb the sweat but they are breathable and reduce the risk of fungus infection) or that you try sweat-wicking underwear.
Shop Sweat-wicking underwear on Amazon here
15. Sweat-proof your work environment
We spend a lot of time at home and work, so make sure your environment is sweat-proof. First, make sure the room is well-ventilated. Open the windows as often as you can. Use the A/C if needed. Turn a fan towards you. If you’re working from home, avoid having your desk by a sunny window which will make you sweat more. Place your workstation away from the sun, and where you can feel the breeze from open windows. If you are still sweating at your desk, you can try using a cooling seat cushion, or even change your chair for a mesh chair so you can breathe through your seat instead of sweating in a leather chair (make sure the seat section is in mesh too)!
16. Reduce stress to reduce sweat
Stress and anxiety cause what’s called ‘stress sweat’. It’s usually pretty sudden and tough to prevent (for example, you are not comfortable with public speaking and have to give a presentation in front of lots of people). It all comes down to stress management, which means something to each of us. Things that can help: going for a walk, doing breathing exercises, trying meditation, listening to soothing relaxing music, exercising, and chatting with a loved one.
How to hide sweat stains when they are happening?
Even when you do your best to avoid sweat stains from showing through your clothes, there can always be some sweaty accidents. You can anticipate tough! Here are a few tips on how to prepare and hide sweat stains as they’re happening!
17. Bring a cardigan everywhere to hide sweat stains
This is the older trick in the book. Wherever you go, bring a jacket, blazer, or cardigan with you. That way, when sweat stains have already appeared on your clothes, put your cardigan on to hide them. That quickly hides back sweat or underarm sweat.
18. Wear layers to hide sweat
Instead of adding layers, you can also remove layers. Assume you are wearing a grey sweater on top of a white shirt. You are wearing profusely, and the sweat has gone through both layers. Now you have sweat patches on your grey sweater. Well, wearing layers enables you to remove the grey sweater that shows stains and only wear your white shirt that is wet but won’t show stains. And that gives you a chance to dry both out before you put the sweater back on. Layers are a great way to adapt to your body’s changing temperatures and to adapt to your sweat levels.
19. Get a nice set of handkerchiefs to absorb the sweat
Sneaking to the bathroom to dry your armpits, forefront, hands, back, or anything else with tissues is a mess. Tissues tear apart and you end up with pieces of tissues all over. And using your clothes will just add sweat stains to them, so that doesn’t help. That’s why I recommend you get fabric handkerchiefs. They are easy to carry around, they are cute, and they are eco-friendly. Get several ones, so you always have one handy while the other ones are in the washing machine.
Shop Handkerchiefs on Amazon here
20. Carry a change of clothes with you
If you sweat too much through your clothes, they will be damp and you feel very uncomfortable in them. The smell will also stick if you keep the clothes on all day. If that happens often, you may want to carry a change of clothes with you. Leave an extra change of clothes in your car, at your office, etc.
21. Get a sweat-emergency bag
Along with the extra change of clothes, you may want to add a few other items in your bag in case of a sweat emergency: some wipes, some deodorant, and some powder.
How to remove sweat stains from clothes?
22. Clean as fast as you can
If your t-shirt is damp at the end of the day, don’t let it sit for days in the laundry bag until laundry day. Clean it right away or the stain will stick in.
23. DIY cleaning method to remove yellow stains
The first thing you want to do to clean these yellow stains on your white t-shirts is to try an eco-friendly method with baking soda, dishwashing soap, and hydrogen peroxide. The dishwashing soap is optional. You can rub the mixture onto the stains with your fingers or an old toothbrush. Let it sit for at least a few hours before you throw it in the washing machine.
24. Use Oxiclean to remove yellow stains
If you don’t want to do it yourself, you can try Oxiclean which you should be able to find in most US supermarkets or online. But it’s basically the same ingredients as the DIY method, so I’d recommend the more cost-effective DIY option.
Conclusion
As you can see there are a bunch of ways to prevent, hide, and fix sweat stains! Since we can’t avoid them, might as well use these tricks!
If you’re sweating from specific areas, I also wrote articles on:
But if you sweat excessively, that seems to be more than other people do, and if it impacts your daily routine and your mood, then you should speak to a doctor. It only takes 30 minutes to chat with a doctor, and it can change everything! You may be having an underlying condition that’s causing all that extra sweat (maybe hyperhidrosis like me, maybe menopause, diabetes, etc. who knows!). So when in doubt, check with a doctor. Better safe than sorry!
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