Sweat is good! It cools the body, hydrates skin, and can protect you from infection. So why does it get such a bad rap? Check out our 6 fast facts about the science of sweat and why we think you should embrace sweat in 2020!

1. There are two primary types of sweat glands in the body, Eccrine glands and Apocrine glands. The most prevalent gland is the eccrine gland. Humans have roughly 2-4 million eccrine glands that are found almost everywhere on the body and respond to both thermal and emotion stimuli. Their highest density is in the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. The sweat that comes from the eccrine glands is mostly water with some salt.
2. Apocrine glands, on the other hand, are located primarily in the underarm, breast, face, scalp, and perineum. They are larger than eccrine glands. The sweat produced from these glands is usually triggered by an emotional response and is commonly referred to as “stress sweat”. It is hypothesized that the body has historically produced this sweat as a pheromone or a “fight or flight” signal. The sweat from apocrine glands is also more thick because it contains proteins, sugars, and ammonia.
3. The primary reason you sweat is to regulate your temperature. When your body temperature rises, the nerves in your skin sense the temperature change and send a signal to your brain to trigger a cooling response. Your body then releases water (sweat!) which evaporates and creates a cooling response to bring your temperature down. You may notice that you sweat more in humid conditions as the sweat cannot evaporate quickly, so your body keeps releasing it in an attempt to lower your temperature.  
4. Skin health is a secondary benefit of sweating. Sweat has been linked to skin hydration, skin barrier equilibrium, and defense against skin infections through its delivery of water, natural moisturizing factors, and antimicrobial peptides to the skin's surface. It is even thought that sweating is an important therapeutic method for improving atopic dermatitis and other skin dryness conditions!
5. You may have heard that men sweat more than women, but actually, when you take into account body mass and surface area, that isn’t true. Men and women actually sweat equally. Bonus fact – Each & Every designs every variant to be gender neutral!  
6. The majority of deodorants in the US are actually antiperspirants that plug your pores with aluminum to prevent you from sweating. Antiperspirants are categorized and regulated by the US government as drugs because they change your body’s natural process and the regulation requires that the only ingredient that can be used to prevent sweating is aluminum. This is why there is no “aluminum-free” antiperspirant.  

At Each & Every, we believe in embracing sweat and giving you products that you can feel good about using. Sweating provides so many awesome benefits, so we do not use aluminum to block it – instead we use minerals (like dead sea salt) to keep odor under control and tapioca starch to help you feel drier, so you can be worry-free!