Sweating is natural. Although some of us do it more than others, whenever perspiration transpires, it's simply our body's way of cooling our system down whenever our body temp begins to rise. While some people believe that sweat can also rid us of toxins, many health professionals say that is basically a myth; that things like alcohol, mercury and other stuff that can ultimately "pollute" our system typically leave us via our kidneys and liver.
Anyway, since summertime is the season when it is the hottest outside, of course, this means that we're going to sweat more than usual. And while this is a reality that is basically unavoidable, there are a few things that we all can do to keep us from dripping in our clothes or simply feeling ickier than we want to. Are you ready to be cool and drier — at least drier than you were last year — this summer? Here are 12 ways to make that happen.
1. Wear Natural Fabrics
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When it's super hot outdoors, most of us would like nothing more than to tear off all of our clothes. Since that's not the um, smartest thing to do, make sure that you put on clothing that is made out of material that's considered to be a breathable fabric. That way, you'll be able to get some good ventilation going on, so that you're not feeling all hot 'n sticky. As far as breathable fabrics go, (organic) cotton, polyester, rayon, nylon and linen all make the list.
2. Take Your Drawers Off
Even though you'll need to put some clothes on when you're in public, if you want to go commando, no one has to know that but you. And here's the thing — when your "girl" (wink) isn't trapped up in tight panties, that makes it easier for any sweat that may be going on down there to evaporate more quickly. This ultimately means less moisture, less odor and oh, less chaffing too. If going throughout your day with no drawers on happens to be a no-no for you, make sure that the panties you do wear are a lighter hue and that you opt for cotton fabric the most. Again, because of the breathable factor thing.
3. Eat Less Spicy Foods
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For the most part, when it comes to this particular point, it's peppers that you should scale back on. The reason why is because they have a chemical in them called capsaicin. While on one hand, it's able to do things like speed up your metabolism, keep your insulin levels balanced and even relieve a low-grade level of topical pain, peppers also trigger nerves in your body that produce a warming effect; one that can sho 'nuf cause you to sweat if you eat too many spicy foods. So, you might want to push the plate back…just a little bit.
4. Drink Less Caffeinated Drinks Too
I know. Some of y'all probably feel like you would just die if you didn't have a tall glass of iced Coke, Pepsi or even — wait for it — sweet tea.
The reason why you've gotta watch this though is caffeine is a stimulant, right? Well, when you consume it, one thing that it does is stimulate your nervous system which can get your body all excited which can lead to excessive sweating.
If this seems far-fetched, try going a couple of days without any caffeine and see if you feel a little drier because of it. I'd be surprised if you didn't.
5. Do Stay Hydrated, Though
blackCAT/Getty ImagesOn the flip side, definitely make sure that you get a lot of non-caffeinated fluids into your system. Aside from the fact that it will keep you from becoming dehydrated, remember that a big part of the reason why we sweat when we're hot is it's our body's natural way of cooling our system down. The more fluids you take in, the easier it is for your internal cooling system to work properly. Of course, water is the best route to take; however, green tea can be beneficial too. While it does have some caffeine in it, the benefits help to offset that on a few levels. Aside from the fact that it's loaded with antioxidants and bioactive compounds, the high amount of Vitamin B and magnesium that's in this particular kind of tea will actually help to constrict your sweat glands which means less sweating. Iced green tea, anyone?
6. Add Some Apple Cider Vinegar to Your Regimen
Definitely something that everyone should have in their possession is a couple of bottles of apple cider vinegar (the kind that has "the mother" in it because that means it's as unfiltered and unrefined as possible, so that you are able to get the most out of it). As far as your skin goes, apple cider vinegar is dope because it's high in anti-inflammatory properties and it has acetic acid and alpha hydroxy acid in it too. These things work together to unclog pores, balance pH levels and exfoliate your skin. Since apple cider vinegar is also a strong astringent, applying it to places like your underarms can safely close pores and reduce sweating. As a bonus, if you put it directly on your armpits, it can lighten the skin (if it happens to be dark under there) over time. Just make sure to dilute it with one-third amount of water. Apple cider vinegar can be pretty potent and could irritate your skin if it's applied "full throttle".
7. Apply a Mixture of Baking Soda and Cornstarch
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OK, so let's talk about baking soda and cornstarch, as it directly relates to your skin, for a moment.
As far as baking soda goes, it contains powerful anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties that are great when it comes to soothing skin irritation, reducing pimples and even speeding up the healing process of bug bites. Plus, since it has an alkaline base, baking soda is also able to fight the bacteria that's found in sweat and decrease the odor that oftentimes comes from it. Cornstarch is great for soothing sunburn, relieving itchy skin and absorbing body odor. In fact, that's why both baking soda and cornstarch are top ingredients in a lot of deodorants.
To get rid of some of the sweat and odor underneath your arms, mix two tablespoons of baking soda with two tablespoons of cornstarch, three tablespoons of coconut oil and a couple of drops of your favorite essential oil scent. Mix it all up until it turns into a thick paste; then apply directly. It's a natural remedy that will help to keep you dry for hours on end.
8. Try a Lil’ Bit of Salt and Lime Juice
Hey, it might sound crazy, but a lot of people are huge fans of this combo. Since sea salt is able to absorb the sweat that comes out of your pores and lime juice has a natural acid in it that is able to reduce excessive sweating, applying both the sweaty spots (avoid your genital region or anywhere you may have a cut; it could sting like nobody's business!), can cause you to sweat (and smell) a lot less.
9. Workout in the Mornings or Evenings
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This is probably the most "duh" tip out of all of the ones that I've shared. Still, it's kind of amazing how many people will opt to workout during their lunch break when that happens to be the peak of the day as far as heat goes. If you want to sweat less while you're outdoors, try exercising early in the morning or during the evening hours. The sun will not be so high, so you won't be as hot.
10. Pick Up a Cool-Midst Humidifier
Vaporizers are something that many people who sweat a lot tend to have in their possession. That's because vaporizers add steam to the air which can keep your skin moist and you feeling comfortable. If you want to sweat less, though, get a cool-mist humidifier. It does just what it says — adds a cool temperature midst into the air that's around you. Places like Walmart and Target carry them at a pretty affordable price.
11. Reduce Your Anxiety
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Hyperhidrosis is a medical term for people who sweat excessively. The interesting thing about this particular condition is that it can be a side effect of anxiety (especially social anxiety). So, if for some reason you're restless, anxious, nervous, irritated or agitated and you're noticing that you're also sweating quite a bit, even if you're indoors, your anxiety levels could be why. An article that could help you out a bit is "Feeling Anxious? These 12 All-Natural Hacks Can Calm You."
12. See Your Doctor
It really can't be said enough that sweating is natural. However, if you feel like you are sweating more than normal or that you can't seem to stop, no matter what you do, it can never hurt to make an appointment with your physician. If they do determine that you've got hyperhidrosis, they might decide to put you on a mild antidepressant, give you a deodorant that requires a prescription or put you on a Botox regimen (which will block the nerves that trigger sweating), so that you can feel more relaxed and get back out to enjoying your summer season to the fullest!
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While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
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The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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I remember calling my grandmother, who has since transitioned, and hearing the passion in her voice when she explained how she’d never thought she’d see something like this happen and how much it meant to her. As I reflect, I realize it’s a combination of memories like this that undoubtedly encouraged my will to vote.
However, as an adult, my reasoning behind the practice has developed. It’s no longer just about “the right thing to do.” I feel a responsibility to myself and my future to know the issues, how they impact me, and make a difference for others.
In the times we’re in, there's so much “news” everywhere. It’s hard to distinguish fact from opinion and bias from beliefs. This is why it was such a pleasure speaking with Jara Butler, Chief Impact Officer of Supermajority. Supermajority is an organization focused on making women the most powerful voting bloc in the country. During this authentic and informal conversation, we talked about so much.
I learned about her time working with the Obama campaign and how she masterfully worked in multiple industries, and we shared some of our favorite female rap moments. However, in the snapshot you’ll read, we focused on the issues. Jara walked xoNecole through what’s most affecting women of color in this election and what we can do to be more aware. Whether you’re a politics girlie or like me, just trying to gain more insight, hopefully this convo connects with you.
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xoNecole: Let’s just jump right in. What are some of the most popular issues that you hear Black women discussing related to this election?
Jara Butler: Our sister organization, the Supermajority Education Fund, recently did some research specifically looking at young women in the age group 18 to 35, and young Black women identified their economic well-being as a priority. Right now, we're in a place where a lot of us, especially young Black women, are finding that meeting those basic needs are harder and harder.
Secondly, is Project 2025. I think Black women see it as not just something that could happen, but actively happening. For example, we’ve all been watching the case with the Fearless fund, and how it's been targeted. We know Black women are very entrepreneurial. We can go back to Madam C.J. Walker and others who have opened the door for all of us to achieve. But if those barriers are in place, we're just not going to be able to meet that.
Lastly, Repro is a very big issue. But I think looking at it holistically and not just about abortion is important. Black women are more likely to talk about this from a perspective of our reproductive health care and the lack of access due to medical racism. As a Black woman myself, who's over 40, a lot of the changes that I am making in my life are because I have to do everything I can to put myself in a position, because I know no matter what my economic status is, if I walk into a medical office, there's a good chance I'm gonna face medical discrimination. Breast cancer screenings, colon cancer screening, ovarian cancer screening, cervical cancer screenings - all of those are part of that network of reproductive health.
xoN: Another issue I’d love your insight into is our missing girls. I think it's so unbelievable how much this is swept under the rug. There are so many stories about Black women that are continuing to go missing; I don’t understand how that’s not a bigger conversation. Is this something that can be pursued on the government level and what can we do to bring more attention to this issue?
Jara: We have this list of majority rules on our website, and my favorite one is: that our government represents us. I think that we have to continue to apply pressure to our government to meet our needs. And again, women are the majority of voters. Black women, especially, are the most reliable voting bloc across all groups, and our interests right now are not being met. So yes, there is something that we can do, but I also am a big proponent of us having these conversations.
My great-grandmother was enslaved, my grandmother was born into Jim Crow, and I watched my mother face economic insecurity. I say that because, as a Black community, we have to have an internal conversation to talk about these issues, and we have to do it upfront. I think we have to get into a position of realizing that we do have power, and how we activate that power.
Our power comes from being Black folks because Black people organizing has been enough to shake up and scare people. There were laws that prevented us from congregating together, even at church, because they knew what would happen when we got together. We have to get back into that. It's not that we are not doing it, but the urgency needs to be greater. And finally, we have to get away from depending on one individual to take us there. It's gonna take all of us.
"Our power comes from being Black folks because Black people organizing has been enough to shake up and scare people. There were laws that prevented us from congregating together, even at church, because they knew what would happen when we got together. We have to get back into that. It's not that we are not doing it, but the urgency needs to be greater."
xoN: I agree completely. Now, when we started, you mentioned money. So let’s talk about it. So many of us are starting businesses and getting degrees, and I love to see it. But everyone seems to still be having a lot of the same issues around finances. What are some of the underlying reasons behind this debt that we're dealing with, and how can voting influence these challenges without getting into the individual candidates?
Jara: Hello! Let’s talk about the money! Black women have been told that if we want to move ahead, we have to have that master's degree. We have to be twice as good. So we met that measure, right? But in order to do that, we have to pay for it. Up until about the 1970s college was absolutely affordable. You could work one job and pay for college with some money left over. That has changed.
Realistically, student loans are a barrier. They are a barrier to access housing. They impact our credit, and really and truthfully, depending on how much your loans are, they could affect you paying rent. It basically creates a cycle of debt. And I have real problems with people who say, get a degree in something that's going to make money. It’s about your skills, and if you have the skills, you should be able to earn a living. That covers that.
But the fact is that student loan debt continues to increase, and there have been attempts, more than once, to try to relieve some of that pressure. The reality is that this is a squeeze. It is a conundrum, and we see efforts by the current White House administration to try to alleviate those things, even when they are stopped.
But truly, Congress needs to step in and support this, but I would take it a step further. We should be considering and looking at what it would look like if we had free community colleges. Because what we have now is two generations of borrowers, because older millennials’ children are beginning to age. Black women have the highest degree of second-degree secondary education, but we carry like 1.7 trillion in debt or something like that. I can't remember the exact number, but basically, the majority of the student loan debt is ours.
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xoN: Speaking of college, obviously there’s a lot of discussion around affirmative action in the schools and the undergoing changes. How important is it to consider this topic, and are there any new laws or policies being proposed around this that we should be aware of?
Jara: Oh my goodness, affirmative action is one of the things that we saw that our sister site, the Supermajority Education Fund, found last year as a number two issue for young women. I actually hypothesized that it was a real thing, and it was. And the reason for that is that affirmative action as a whole has been something that benefited white women more than any other group.
However, what is happening is that we’re using the word DEI in a way that is derogatory. I’ve heard people refer to it as: “didn't even earn it.” And as a Black woman who attended an amazing school, I remember being in class and having someone make that comment, knowing my grades were higher than theirs.
The fact of the matter is that we would not need these policies if we lived in an equal and equitable society. It doesn't do us any harm for us to face the facts that this country was built off the backs of enslaved people and the blood of indigenous people, and off the sweat and the tears of immigrants. But because we are unwilling to face that, we now are demonizing programs that are actually meant to create some symbol of balance.
xoN: Finally, I’ll close with this, what can we do to provide information to young people, and how do we combat all of the less than researched info?
Jara: One thing I encourage is to look at the source. At Supermajority, our social channels are information-based. We strive to provide up-to-date accurate information that is digestible to all. Media literacy is something I believe in, and unfortunately, it is something that we have a responsibility to continue to share with the community at large. So much of our world is centered on immediate info, a lie spreads faster than the truth.
We just saw that with the Olympic women's boxers, and we have to ask ourselves often: is this information accurate? Who is telling the story? Most importantly, how am I an original contributor? Not everything said needs to be shared, and not every thought needs to be public.
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