Is Sweating Bad for Your Skin?

Don’t let ‘em see you sweat — or do. The act of sweating is basically your body showing off how smart and self-sufficient it is (we’ll get into why in a moment). That said, somewhere along the line, sweating earned a bad rep for its effect on skin — namely, for causing acne. But like we said, your body is pretty darn smart — and it turns out this commonly-accepted cause-and-effect isn’t so cut and dry. 

Now that we’ve got your attention, read on for everything you ever wanted to know about the why, how, and benefits of sweating — plus what it means for your skin.

Meet the experts:

Why do we sweat?

“[Sweat] serves an important function of effectively cooling our body,” says Melanie Palm, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and the founder of Art of Skin MD in San Diego. (That’s why we perspire when our body warms due to, for example, nervousness or exercise.) “Sweat is secreted by glands in our skin, covering the surface with moisture. The sweat evaporates, cooling our skin and bringing down our skin temperature,” she explains. 

According to the International Hyperhidrosis Society, there are approximately two to four million sweat glands all over our bodies, the majority of which are eccrine glands and excrete a clear, odorless fluid. But the glands found in the armpits and genital area are different: apocrine glands excrete a thicker fluid that — upon contact with bacteria found on the skin — results in body odor.

But sweat in and of itself is pretty benign: it’s made up of 99 percent water and trace amounts of salt and fat.

Are there any benefits to sweating?

Like Dr. Palm said, the job of sweat is to prevent our bodies from becoming overheated. But over the years, sweating has become known as a means to “detoxify” the body — which, Dr. Palm, says is an all-too common fallacy.