Puberty is an annoying, exciting time in your life when everything changes. Body parts evolve, hair grows in new places and hormones released into your bloodstream make you feel all the feels. Excessive sweating during puberty is also common in both boys and girls. But it's one of those changes that's not talked about enough.
Today we're covering everything you need to know about sweating during puberty — why it happens, how to know if you have it how to stop it from taking over your life.
For more information, check out Teen Sweating 101: Your Guide to Tackling Heavy Sweat Like A Champ.
Why You Experience Sweating During Puberty
First, it's important to know that sweating during puberty is 100 percent normal.
There are two types of sweat glands in our bodies – eccrine glands and apocrine glands. Eccrine glands sweat to prevent your body from overheating. Apocrine glands continuously release sweat, but emotional stressors like fear, nervousness and excitement make them sweat even more.
The apocrine glands activate during puberty (all three million of them). You sweat from more places than ever before, and thanks to hormones, you experience a new range of emotions.
Think of it this way: apocrine glands + new emotional stressors = more sweat.
Now that you know about the biology behind sweating during puberty, how can you tell if you're experiencing it?
The 5 Signs of Puberty Sweat
Here are the five signs of puberty sweat.
1. You Sweat in Nerve-Wracking Situations
One of the first signs of puberty sweat is sweating in nerve-wracking or tense situations. You may notice for the first time in your life that you get sweaty during big presentations at school, dances or on dates. It's called stress sweat. And those recently-activated apocrine glands? They're responsible.
More on Stress Sweating During Puberty
You may also notice pit stains on your shirts — wet marks, rings or yellow and white blotches that appear out of nowhere. These are all stress sweat (and therefore puberty) related.
See how to remove yellow pit stains here.
Because stress sweat hits at a moment's notice, dealing with
it can be embarrassing! You may
isolate yourself from your peers or avoid social situations in fear of sweat.
And because sweating during puberty happens in your teen years, bullies might
be an issue too.
The good news is that there are plenty of ways to combat puberty sweat and resources to help you deal. For a complete list of solutions, check out our sweat 101 page on stress sweat.
2. You Sweat for No Reason
When you're a child, exercise and heat are the body's only sweat triggers. You know exactly when you're going to sweat and when you aren't. (Soccer practice = yes, walking to class = no.) But once you hit puberty, things are a little different.
Because the apocrine glands continuously release sweat, sometimes it feels like you're sweating for no reason. Physical tasks that would have never made you sweat as a child suddenly leave you drenched.
When you exert yourself during puberty, you sweat from your eccrine glands and your apocrine glands — which turns into a lot of sweat altogether.
3. Certain Areas Get Sweatier Than Others
Another sign is sweating in specific areas.
There's a high concentration of apocrine sweat glands in your armpits, groin and chest. So, if you notice more sweat in those areas, it could be due to puberty.
4. Your Sweat Starts to Smell
Apocrine gland sweat smells worse than eccrine gland sweat. One way to tell if you're sweating due to puberty is if you detect
an intense, oniony odor.
Why does puberty sweat smell like this? The same apocrine gland proteins that cause yellow pit stains also cause B.O. When you sweat, the bacteria breaks down proteins in your sweat to produce a pungent scent.
5. It's Been About 1 Year Since You Started Puberty
Puberty sweat begins about one year into puberty. It's considered one of the "later signs of puberty." (The average age for girls is 11, while the average age for boys is 12.)
Now that you're aware of the signs of puberty sweat let's talk about six ways to stop it from taking over your life.
6 Ways to Stop Sweating During Puberty from Taking Over Your Life
When you first experience puberty sweat, it can catch you off guard. Here are six ways to navigate sweating in your daily life.
1. Keep Extra Clothes Handy
Your first line of defense is to keep extra clothes handy while sweating during puberty. Because stress sweat tends to occur out of the blue, it's helpful to keep an extra shirt or two in your backpack or locker.
2. Wear Armpit Pads, Garment Guards or Dress Shields
For the times when changing clothes is out of the question and you need to combat pit sweat, use armpit pads, garment guards or dress shields. These are disposable or washable cushions that you pin or adhere to your skin or shirt to soak up armpit sweat.
Wear these whenever you attend a social event, and keep an extra pair in your back pocket, car or purse. That way, if you sweat a lot and need to change them, you can run to the bathroom and swap them. No one will know.
Fair warning: If you choose the adhesive kind of pads, they tend to leave a sticky residue on your skin and shirt. And the ones that attach directly to your skin are painful to remove.
To learn more, check out our Guide to Armpit Dress Shields, Garment Guards and Sweat Pads.
3. Use Prescription-Strength Antiperspirant
Another option is to use a stronger antiperspirant. Antiperspirant is different from deodorant. While deodorant prevents BO, antiperspirant creates a plug in your sweat glands to block sweat. (You can learn more about the difference between deodorant and antiperspirant here.)
Prescription-strength antiperspirant has a higher concentration of aluminum, which can more effectively block sweat. You can get a prescription from your doctor or find clinical-strength antiperspirants at the pharmacy.
Make sure you speak with a doctor and follow all application directions carefully before using prescription antiperspirant.
4. Try Natural Sweat Treatments
Although antiperspirants are safe according to the National Cancer Institute, you may want to choose a natural sweat solution.
Luckily, there are many home remedies for sweat. Potatoes, tea tree oil, lemon and a baking soda corn-starch combination can be used as sweat stoppers. Drinking black tea, green tea, wheatgrass juice and tomato juice also helps squelch sweat. Click here for a complete break-down of natural ways to stop sweat.
5. Talk to Your Doctor About Medications and Anti-Sweat Procedures
Puberty may be what's
causing you to sweat, but sometimes the situation is more serious.
Approximately
365 million people in the world (5% of the population) have hyperhidrosis - or
chronic sweating.
If you think you're sweating too much, talk to your parents and doctor. They can help you explore treatment options like prescription-strength antiperspirant, Botox for underarm sweating, or miraDry (a non-invasive treatment).
Be sure to ask your doctor questions about each of the above treatments. Botox and ETS surgery in particular often come with nasty side effects.
They're also expensive and health insurance doesn't always cover it.
6. Wear a Sweat Proof Undershirt
If you never want to think about sweating during puberty and its effect on your life again, try a sweat proof undershirt like the Thompson Tee.
Made with patented Hydro-Shield technology, this undershirt protects you from the most noticeable and embarrassing side effects of sweating during puberty!
The Thompson Tee comes in men and women's sizes, from extra-small to triple extra-large. Choose from two styles: Slim Fit or Original Fit. The Slim Fit is snug to your body and the Original Fit is a little looser. You can wear it as a T-shirt or as an undershirt underneath your clothes to stop embarrassing pit stains.
