Taking a shower on a hot day seems like a refreshing idea.
You spent a long summer day outside. You come home to a warm, stuffy house and decide to cool off with a shower. You feel clean for two seconds before stepping out of the shower into the now damp bathroom and you ask yourself: is this shower water or is this sweat?
Don’t worry – we’ve all been there.
Sweating right after you get out of the shower is a pretty grim feeling, but it’s also very common.
The hot weather, coupled with a hot shower and increased humidity, will raise our body temperature — leaving us feeling tacky almost immediately after we go outside.
‘In the summer months we see a lot of people with annoying excessive sweating. Sometimes this has to do with increased body temperature from exercise or a hot environment, but it can also be due to other conditions,” says Dr. Abha Gulati, Dermatologist Consultant at The Harley Street Dermatology Clinictells Metro.co.uk.
Here are some tips to avoid sweating after a shower.
Before you take a shower
Make sure to wait a while after a workout or a walk.
If you take a shower right away, you’re not giving your body time to cool down.
Thompson Tee experts recommend waiting at least 30 minutes after your workout to hop in the shower so your skin is completely dry before washing.
During your shower
Avoid extreme water temperatures. Having very cold or hot showers will disrupt the body’s heat signals.
According to Thompson Teea hot shower makes your body hotter, but a cold shower can also be a bad idea because it makes your body think it’s cold and doesn’t have to activate our cooling mechanism—sweat.
When you get out of a cold shower and into a warm room, your body will try to cool down to compensate for the dramatic temperature change, and this will actually cause sweating.
So, instead of taking a hot or cold shower, try taking a lukewarm or cooler shower.
“Cool showers are a good strategy to help with sweaty sweats in hot weather,” says Abha.
“And be sure to shower a little longer to make sure your body temperature is lowered enough to stop the sweating.”
Complete
It’s all about going slow. Towards the end of the shower, try turning the heating down gradually to cool your body.
While you shouldn’t go to freezing temperatures, slowly turning down the heating at 10-second intervals will help lower your body temperature.
Run this cooler water through your hair to cool your head as well.
Out of the shower
When it comes to drying off, Abha explains: ‘Rubbing vigorously with towels can cause friction and increased body heat, which exacerbate sweating, but can also cause excessive dryness and irritation of the skin.
“I would recommend tapping the skin gently with a light towel to dry or investing in one of the many bathrobes on the market to avoid chafing.”
Your bathroom
Abha explains that ‘good ventilation in the bathroom also helps to control room temperature’.
Good ventilation also helps to reduce humidity and prevent mold growth in the bathroom.
Try to keep your windows open for as long as possible after you shower to get rid of the steam and condensation from the shower.
After you’re done washing, try to leave the bathroom right away and get dressed in a cooler room.
But if you still sweat when you’re not exercising or in a hot environment, you may have a condition called hyperhidrosis, Abha says.
“This can be idiopathic (primary) of unknown cause or due to medical causes, such as endocrine or heart related,” they explain.
“You should see a doctor if it’s accompanied by other symptoms such as palpitations, dizziness, chest pain or weight loss. There are several treatments for primary hyperhidrosis that you can discuss with your primary care physician or dermatologist.’
Do you have a story to share?
Contact us by email [email protected]†
LAKE : How to deal with a heat wave marriage
LAKE : These are the essentials you need to exercise in a heat wave
LAKE : Here’s how to get the most out of sunny days when you’re stuck at work