5 Tips to Reduce or Conceal Perspiration

It's a natural bodily process you can barely stop: sweating. Yet we're willing to prevent, reduce or conceal unsightly sweat marks as much as possible. How can you do that? GENTS gives you 5 tips!

Warm weather, physical activity or genetic predisposition; there are various reasons why you produce more sweat some days than others. Fortunately, you can easily manage this situation by making the right choices when it comes to fabrics, colours and prints.

1. Natural fabrics versus synthetic fabrics

It's generally advised to wear breathable fabrics if you struggle with excessive sweating. What are breathable fabrics? These are natural fabrics that allow air to pass through more easily, enabling your body to maintain a cool temperature. Examples of natural fabrics include cotton, viscose, linen and (lightweight) wool.

Of course, these natural fabrics also have their drawbacks. Cotton creases easily, linen warps, and wool loses strength when wet and becomes brittle when dry. Another disadvantage of natural fabrics that might make synthetic fabrics a better match for you: natural fibres like cotton retain moisture (and therefore sweat) for much longer.

What are synthetic fabrics? Fabrics such as acrylic, rayon, polyamide, polyester and micro worsted are made from synthetic fibres derived from chemical substances and are therefore called 'synthetic fabrics'. Nowadays there are also 'semi-synthetic fibres'. These are fabrics that have a natural fabric as their base. This fabric is then processed to retain as many good properties as possible. An example of this is polyester viscose.

Conclusion

Always check the label carefully to see what the garment in question is made of. Do you sweat heavily or are you looking for new sportswear? Then synthetic fabrics are a good option. If you mainly sweat because your body gets too warm, GENTS recommends wearing natural fabrics for their breathable effect.

2. Clothing made from animal fibres

There are a couple of fabrics made from animal fibres, namely wool and silk. If you struggle with sweating, you might consider wearing clothing made from these materials. Contrary to what you might expect, these fabrics actually help you get through the day comfortably.

Silk is naturally very breathable. That is, the fabric allows air to pass through well. Wool can also be excellent. Take merino wool, for example. Merino wool comes from merino sheep. These are sheep that live in both cold and warm temperatures. As a result, merino wool consists of fine fibres. These fine fibres create an airy feel and are moisture-regulating.

3. Covering clothing

Especially in summer, we tend to wear as few layers as possible to reduce sweating. In this way, we dress more 'lightly'. To a certain extent that's true, but often we then choose to wear as little clothing as possible, which means a lot of skin is exposed to the sun's heat.

Covering clothing ensures that your skin is barely or not at all exposed to the sun's hot rays. As a result, covering clothing keeps you cooler in the long run and you'll sweat less. This is also precisely why you see people in warm countries such as Africa, Asia and the Middle East wearing long robes and other covering clothing.

4. Dark or light colours?

You simply can't always prevent sweating. By making some smart choices, you can easily camouflage unsightly sweat marks. A good example of this is choosing between dark or light colours for your clothing. When temperatures rise, we tend to opt for light colours. But is that really the best option?

Light colours such as white reflect the sun's rays, while dark colours such as black absorb the heat from the rays. However, we often forget that heat doesn't only come from the sun; your body also generates heat.

When you wear light colours, your body heat is reflected just like sunlight. This keeps your body warm and makes it difficult to cool down. If you wear dark colours, the heat is absorbed and your body cools down faster. Extra bonus: sweat marks are less visible in dark colours.

Conclusion

If you're in the sun for a short period, you can easily wear light colours such as a white t-shirt. However, if you need to sit in the sun for a long time for work or an occasion, we recommend putting together an outfit with dark colours. You'll notice you'll manage much better!

5. Solid colours versus prints

Do you struggle with sweat marks more than average regardless of the season? Then GENTS advises you to go for clothing with prints instead of solid items. Choose, for example, a shirt with a nice print. Prints are excellent for camouflaging sweat marks. In contrast, with solid-coloured garments, those unsightly marks are unfortunately almost immediately visible and difficult to hide.