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11 Feb '16

Why sweating is important

Posted by Dovedale Ltd.

Sweating often gets a bad rap, but this natural process shouldn’t be seen as embarrassing or dirty. Sweating is an important function that keeps our bodies healthy in a number of ways:

 

Regulating temperature

Sweating is your body’s way of cooling down when it gets too hot. That’s why you sweat when you exercise, or when the weather is very warm. As your body temperature rises, the nervous system stimulates your eccrine glands; these release sweat comprised mostly of water and sodium, which helps to cool you down.

The amount that a person sweats is indicated by a number of factors: two of these are fitness level and weight. Somebody who is very fit will sweat more readily than a less fit person, because their body has become more effective at cooling itself. This rapid cooling allows them to exercise for longer. Conversely, somebody who weighs more is also likely to sweat more, because their body is using more energy to function and requires more cooling down than somebody of a healthier weight.

 

Detoxing

Our daily lives expose us to a lot of toxins, chemicals and heavy metals, both in the food that we eat and the air that we breathe. One of the key ways that our body releases these toxins is through our sweat. If our bodies aren’t able to reduce the amount of toxins they contain we can begin to suffer from toxic overload, which can result in health problems like fatigue, acne, muscle pain and more.

Sweating also helps to clear your lymphatic system, which is important for maintaining your immune system. Too many toxins in the lymph nodes can lead them to become infected, which can compromise your immune system and leave your susceptible to poor health.

 

Cleaning pores

As well as detoxing the body from the inside, sweating can help clean your body outside too. Regardless of the amount of cleaning, cleansing or toning that you do, it isn’t possible to wash away every bit of dirt and grime in your pores. Sweating is the best kind of deep cleanse you can get, opening the pores and cleaning away the grime to help your skin become clean and clear.

 

Fighting bacteria and viruses

Research has shown that sweat is a natural antimicrobial, fighting germs so that they can’t enter your body. The Dermcidin found in your sweat works to reduce the amount of bacteria on your skin, helping to lower the risk of infection. Sweat also helps fight off viruses and bacteria already inside your body by killing those that can’t survive above 37oC.

 

So how can you maximise all of these great benefits? Pretty much any form of intense exercise will cause you to sweat, especially if doing so in warm weather. Saunas will also increase your core body temperature, heating you from the inside out and resulting in a deeper, more cleansing sweat. You should also avoid using antiperspirants which stop your body from releasing sweat.

Unlike antiperspirants, Trust anti-odorant lets your body sweat while combating the unpleasant smell associated with body odour. It also only needs to be applied once every 3 to 6 days, leaving you to get on with your life without worrying about odour.

 

 

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28 Jan '16

The Difference Between Deodorants and Antiperspirants

Posted by Dovedale Ltd.

The words antiperspirant and deodorant are often used quite interchangeably, but they are different products that work in different ways. Here’s a run-down of the differences to help you decide which product is right for you.

 

Antiperspirant

An antiperspirant works to fight body odour by stopping you from sweating. To see why sweating is often associated with odour, read our post here. Antiperspirants work by blocking the sweat glands: the active ingredients (usually Aluminium and Zirconium) dissolve in the sweat on your skin and create a gel which temporarily plugs the glands, reducing the amount of sweat that reaches your skin. Without sweat on the skin the bacteria that live there cannot create the unpleasant odour associated with BO. The antiperspirant gel plug is washed away when you shower or bathe, so antiperspirant needs to be used on a daily basis.

 

Deodorant

Unlike antiperspirant, deodorant doesn’t stop you from sweating. However, it does combat the smell of body odour by reducing the odour-causing bacteria that live on your skin. Sweat in itself is practically odourless – the smell of BO is created by the process of bacteria on the skin breaking down sweat. The active ingredients in deodorant (like Triclosan) make underarms too acidic or salty for these bacteria to live, and without bacteria no BO smell is produced. Most deodorants need to be applied at least once daily. Once their effect wears off you’ll do best to wash the underarm thoroughly before reapplying deodorant, as there is no point in applying deodorant to an already odourous armpit.

 

Health impacts

While not sweating sounds great, there have been some concerns raised about the health impacts of using antiperspirants. Sweating is a natural and healthy bodily function: it helps us to regulate our temperature and to remove harmful atmospheric toxins like arsenic and mercury from our systems. Reducing the amount of sweat that is released inhibits these vital functions.

Deodorant - while leaving you to sweat au-naturel - inhibits the odour often associated with perspiration, so your body can do its thing while you do yours.

Trust Anti-odorant allows your body to sweat naturally while inhibiting the odour-causing bacteria. However, unlike other deodorants, Trust is active for 3 to 6 days and can withstand showering, sports and bathing, so you only need to apply it once every few days for a reliable long-lasting effect. Trust is also free of aluminium and other harmful chemicals that are used in antiperspirants, and it contains natural and herbal ingredients that are kind to your skin.

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20 Jan '16

How to get rid of body odour

Posted by Dovedale Ltd.

It’s a fact: everybody sweats. Perspiration is your body’s way of keeping cool, and sweating is an important sign that your body is working as it should. But while sweat in itself isn’t generally a problem, it can lead to body odour.

Sweat is mostly just salt and water, so it doesn’t really produce its own smell. The smell associated with perspiration comes from bacteria that live on the skin breaking down the sweat - this process creates the unpleasant odour of BO.

So as sweat-eating bacteria cause body odour, the best way to reduce BO is by reducing the amount of sweat and the amount of bacteria on your skin. These tips will help you do just that, making sure you stay clean, cool and smelling fresh as a daisy.

  • Shower every day. This will remove sweat that is on your skin as well as the amount of bacteria that live there. If you are someone who sweats a lot, or if the weather is particularly hot or muggy, you may need to wash more frequently. Wash with soap, paying particular attention to the areas that sweat the most - your armpits and feet.
  • Wash your clothes well and regularly, and put on fresh clothing every day. Yesterday’s clothes can retain sweat and bacteria which will smell bad regardless of how clean your body is.
  • Wear natural fibres like wool and cotton. This will allow your skin to breathe, meaning that the sweat on your skin will evaporate more quickly. Synthetic fibres, on the other hand, will keep sweat close to your skin and give the bacteria more time to break it down.
  • Some foods may make your sweat smell, so watch out for spicy foods like curry or garlic as well as alcohol and caffeine, nicotine and red meats. A healthy balanced diet free from high levels of artificial colourings and sugar will help too.
  • Shaved underarms will allow sweat to evaporate more quickly and give bacteria less of an opportunity to break down perspiration, so removing underarm hair can help to reduce the chance of experiencing BO.
  • Use deodorant after washing to reduce the amount of bacteria on your skin. Trust anti-odorant reduces the effect of bacteria for between 3 and 6 days, eliminating BO so that you can get on with your normal routine without worrying about unpleasant odours. And because it is effective for so long, you only need to use it once every few days instead of daily.

There are a number of reasons why some people are more susceptible to BO than others, but these tips should help to reduce or even eliminate body odour entirely.

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28 Dec '15

Why do feet smell?

Posted by Dovedale Ltd.

Why do feet smell?

Have you ever noticed that even the cleanest, most hygienic person can suffer from smelly feet? Or that no matter how many times you air out those old trainers, you can still smell them a mile off? Ever wondered why? 

Smelly shoes or stinky feet can be very embarrassing, and for people who suffer from it, it can seem like a hopeless situation. After all, there are only so many times in a day that you can wash! But once you know what causes foot odour you are one step closer to reducing it, or even removing it for good.

Why do my feet smell?

The cause of foot odour is simple: not just sweat, but rather the bacteria that eat sweat.

Our feet sweat a lot. With 250,000 sweat glands, they produce more perspiration per square inch than any other part of our bodies – about one cup every day. People who suffer from the excessive sweating caused by hyperhidrosis will produce even more than this.

Luckily the sweat that our feet produce is not inherently smelly. The sweat glands on your feet - like those on most of your body - are called eccrine glands, and the sweat that they produce is comprised mostly of just salt and water. The other sweat glands that you have are apocrine glands – they are located near hair follicles and appear in abundance on your scalp, underarms and groin area. These produce a thick, oily sweat in times of stress. By contrast, the sweat secreted from apocrine glands is a cooling mechanism, released to reduce your body heat when it gets too high.

While the sweat that your body produces is odourless, it starts to smell when it comes into contact with the bacteria that live on your skin. Different bacteria create gases that produce different smells – some of which really stink! The most common complaints that people suffer are feet that smell like vinegar or cheese, which makes sense as some of the bacteria on your feet are actually the same as those used in the production of the smelliest cheeses.

What about my shoes?

Shoes and socks are the ideal home for bacteria, especially if they are made from synthetic materials and don’t allow for the circulation of air necessary for your feet to breathe. Shoes that you wear often, for long periods of time or while exercising can absorb sweat from your skin and become loaded with bacteria – the worst combination for smelly shoes!

So what can I do about it?

Many treatments for body odour try to tackle or cover up the smell. However, this has variable results and will only ever treat the symptoms - not the cause. Combating the bacteria that cause the smell is a more effective, long lasting and direct method of treating body odour. And that is exactly what Trust does and what makes it so effective and at the same time healthy.

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22 Dec '15

Sweaty Feet

Posted by Dovedale Ltd.

Most of us have probably experienced sweaty feet at one time or another. Perspiration is a normal response to exercise or heat, so you might have noticed that your feet were sweaty after an intense workout or a long hot day in socks and shoes. But for some people, excessive sweating can be a constant problem with or without those triggers. This excessive sweating is a condition known as bromhidrosis.

Bromhidrosis can be characterised by excessive sweating of the feet, palms or armpits. For many sufferers bromhidrosis can severely impact daily life, causing them to avoid social situations and even very light exercise such as walking. It can affect men and women of all ages, but is generally seen more frequently in men and younger people.

Is it serious?

The main symptom of bromhidrosis is excessive sweating and the embarrassment or upset that this can bring. However, in some cases the presence of excess sweat can lead to problems like skin infections, athlete’s foot or blisters.

It is estimated that a small number of people who experience persistent excessive sweating suffer from a medical condition called hyperhidrosis, where overactive sweat glands produce around five times more perspiration than the actually body needs. This is thought to be caused by overactive sweat glands responding to physical, emotional or mental stress. Hyperhidrosis is much more debilitating than bromhidrosis and only affects around 1% of people who suffer excessive sweating.

How can I prevent foot odour?

While bromidrosis can be a very upsetting condition for its sufferers it can be easily treatable, and just a few simple steps will help to reduce or even remove the symptoms of excessive sweating.

Good hygiene is essential to help reduce the effects of bromhidrosis. You should wash your feet regularly with soap and dry them carefully, especially between your toes. Once your feet are dry, apply Trust and continue with your day as normal. Unlike other foot creams or powders Trust tackles the bacteria which create foot odour, fighting the cause of the problem rather than its symptoms. Trust will provide protection for between 3 and 6 days, even after showering, and leave you free to enjoy your daily life - through exercise and hot weather – without worrying about body odour.

Should I seek medical help?

A combination of good foot hygiene and Trust should dramatically improve the symptoms of the condition. However, if Trust does not reduce your symptoms and the condition doesn’t improve within two to three weeks it may be a good idea to see a podiatrist or a GP to check that there are no underlying health concerns. There are some rare conditions that have similar symptoms to bromhidrosis, and a specialist will be able to test for these.

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