BrainStuff Classics: How Do Antiperspirants Work?

Every day, millions of people safeguard themselves against excessive sweat with a quick roll of antiperspirant. But what does this stuff do, exactly? Learn how it works in this episode of BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works hy brain Stuff.
Lauren voc Obam Here, I've got a classic brain Stuff
episode for you today, How do anti purse Prince Work?
I wrote this one in the way back and it
was performed by our previous host, Christian Saker. Here we go, everyone,

(00:22):
I'm Christian and you you stink? I mean, don't take
it personally. Pretty much everyone stinks, and pretty much everybody
sweats too. There's nothing inherently wrong with these natural body processes,
but in modern society we don't want to be at
the whim of evolution. Who wants to spend all summer
covered in sweat stains or show up at a job
interview looking like you ran two miles to get there.

(00:45):
Sweat can affect the way other people view you. A
study conducted by the International hyper Hydrosis Society explored the
social stigma of sweat, with sixty six percent of respondents
claiming that visible sweat made them think a person was nervous,
while believed those showing excessive sweat to be overweight. If

(01:07):
you want to avoid excessive sweating, or if you're a
naturally heavy sweater, then you probably need an antiperspirant it's
pretty amazing stuff. You just take a quick roll and boom,
your sweat problem is salved. But what is this stuff
and how does it actually work well? First, we have
to make a distinction between deodorant and antiperspirant. Deodorant targets

(01:29):
bacteria under your armpits, making the skin. They're too salty
or acidic to support bacteria responsible for your body odor.
Antiperspirants can cut down on body odor two, but they're
primarily made to keep you from sweating. You have two
types of sweat glands all over your skin, and they're
most concentrated in your under arms. The ekrene glands are

(01:52):
the most numerous. They kick in to cool you off
when you're hot. So when you're exposed to heat, physical exertion, stress,
or nervousness, these sweat glands are stimulated. The cells secrete
a fluid that travels from the coiled portion of the
gland up through the straight duct and out onto the
surface of our skin. These ecrine glands excrete, water, and salt,

(02:17):
and for the record, have nothing to do with your
body odor. The apocrine glands, on the other hand, those
carry secretions of fats and proteins along with your sweat.
Once this hits the exterior surface of your skin, those
fats and proteins react with bacteria to create odors. Antiperspirants

(02:37):
have an active ingredient that gives them sweat blocking power.
Typically it's an aluminum based compound like aluminium chloride or
aluminium chlorohydrate. When this ingredient gets into the duct leading
to each sweat gland, the aluminium ions enter the cells
lining the ecrine gland ducts. As the ions enter, water

(02:59):
passes into the cells with them. As more water enters,
the cells around the duct begin to swell. These cells
can swell enough to squeeze the ducts closed. At that point,
sweat can't get out and you're staying free for a while.
Each cell can only draw in a certain amount of water,

(03:19):
so eventually the concentrations of water outside and inside the
cells reach equilibrium. When this happens, the water inside the
cell begins to pass back out of the cell through osmosis,
and the cells swelling goes down. This is why people
have to reapply antiperspirant. An average over the counter antiperspirant

(03:42):
might have an active ingredient concentration of fifteen. If you've
got a real sweating problem. Doctors can prescribe much stronger
products for you, but will you want to take them?
You see, antiperspirants aren't perfect. Some studies have claimed a
link between breast cancer and antipersper rents, although for now
that link remains inconclusive. There's another concern to people without

(04:06):
fully functioning kidneys should be wary of using antiperspirant. In
the US, the Food and Drug Administration requires a warning
label on all antiperspirants, stating that people with kidney disease
should consult a doctor before using them. If you're not
comfortable using antiperspirant, then hey, no worries, just go for
an aluminum free deodorant. It won't stop the sweat, but

(04:29):
it will knock out that odor. Today's episode was produced
by Tyler Clang. If you miss Christian and want to
hear more from him and check out his new podcast,
super Context, available wherever you get your podcasts, and of
course from lots of boy topics that are so fresh

(04:50):
and so clean clean, visit our home planet, how Stuff
Works dot com.