On average, each person sweats about a quart of fluid a day, mostly without noticing it. Conditioned by advertising and custom, he or she tries to prevent others from noticing it either. Most of the sweat emerges from the body's 2-5-million eccrine glands, the purpose being to regulate body temperature through evaporation, and to keep friction surfaces, such as the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet moist. The sweat coming from the eccrine glands is colorless, odorless, and low in organic material. Another kind of sweat flows from the less numerous apocrine glands, which become active after puberty. These scent glands are stimulated by fear, sexual excitement, pain, and other emotional stresses, and may once have served some social function. A third type of sweat comes from the sebaceous glands deep beneath the skin. These secrete an oily substance that lubricates the skin. The cause of body odor is not so much the sweat or the oil, but the action of resident bacteria on these secretions after they form on the skin. Deodorant soaps and other types of deodorants try to slow bacterial action. Antiperspirants inhibit the rate of perspiration. Deodorants and antiperspirants may vary in their usefulness to individual people and, of course, neither of them are a good substitute for a bath or shower. Before sprays, roll-ons, and moistened pads were on the market, people depended on perfumes, talcum powder, and bicarbonate of soda to mask unavoidable body odor. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, some women began to believe that a faint body odor was attractive to men. This became known as bouquet de corsage. However, today, people have generally gone back to considering it to repugnant - hence we have deodorants.
Speaking of repugnant, and leave it to the Brits to do this, A British debt collection agency decided to do an experiment with pheromones and perspiration. They had a group of bad debts that they just couldn't get payment from. They had the male employees rub the final notices on their groin, then sent the bills out as usual. Reportedly, all the delinquent bills were paid. The result was attributed to pheromones in the perspiration amounting to a "primal threat", but, as far as I know, the experiment hasn't been repeated. Although, who knows, perhaps ALL the bills sent are now sent out with attendant pheromones....
My wife sweats excessively, by my way of thinking. Has since childhood. Not over the entire body, but rather her palms and the rest of her hands, but less-so. Her hands are moist when I am feeling perfectly comfortable, temperature-wise. However, I have never found her sweaty palms to be offensive, when being touched in any way........quite the opposite, sometimes! OTOH, she contends it is I, who is offensive! Frank
Oh my god! For the last two Sundays I have the unfortunate experience of being surrounded by offensive odors at the flea market just in passing by.
I'm don't sweat too much, never have. I could go without using deodorant but I do put it on wether I need it or not but usually when I'm out or around people. I'll go a few days when at home without.
Yep, Nancy. I am in the same boat. Even at temps up here, I have to wear a headband to keep my eyes clear.
I sweat when exerting myself or when it's hot & humid out, but not under normal daily circumstances. I use deodorant but have never used antiperspirant...it seems like an a unnatural thing to do. If my body needs to sweat, then sweat it shall. Maybe if I sweated profusely to the point of embarrassment, I'd feel differently. This reminds me of the "when in the past would you have liked to have lived"conversations. My immediate thoughts rarely go to historical eras, they always go to the hygiene of the day. If I were suddenly transported to then from now, the transition would be rough. I would likely offend people with my reactions.
I sweat like crazy. During martial arts classes, I had to literally wipe the floor where I was standing when doing our exercises because I made the floor wet and slippery.