Odor Bad. Sweating Good!

 Updated by PiperWai Team: 3/1/2021

Sweat is oftentimes synonymously with odor. It makes sense because when you sweat, you usually smell – but it’s not the sweat itself that’s causing odor, however. It’s the bacteria that naturally appears in certain sweat glands that’s giving you that rank smell.  

Those sweat glands are complicated parts of your body. There are two kinds: eccrine glands and apocrine glands. Eccrine glands are found all over the body and are most dense on your hands and feet (PiperWai also works great on these areas, btw), while apocrine glands are found in hair follicles like the ones right under your arms, near your groin and your inner ear.

There are similarities and differences between the two. Both sweat glands react based on a person’s environment. It’s the eccrine glands that are responsible for the cool-you-down sweat you’re used to when it’s stifling out or during strenuous exercise. Apocrine glands are the culprit behind “stress sweat.” These glands lay dormant until puberty, are caused by emotional reaction and are the reason we have body odor. That’s because the sweat coming from these glands has fat molecules that bacteria attaches to as the sweat travels up the hair follicle to the skin surface. So, it’s not the sweat that’s causing the stink – it’s the naturally occurring bacteria on the body that likes to eat up the fat molecules. Unlike eccrine glands, which are 99 percent water, apocrine glands are 80 percent water and 20 percent lipid and proteins. (Where the fat molecules come from.)

So yes, odor does happen when you sweat, but it’s not because of sweat. Unfortunately, we’ve been trained by antiperspirant products to associate sweating with odor. Antiperspirant marketing shames us about our own sweat, which is a completely natural and normal bodily response to various environments. Why clog your pores when all you need is a little safe and natural odor neutralization? 

As a natural deodorant company, it’s our responsibility to educate people about sweating, body odor and how they are different from each other. When you use PiperWai, the formula works with your body, not against it, like traditional antiperspirants do. Instead of clogging pores with aluminum or covering up smells with too-heavy fragrances, we rely on natural ingredients like activated charcoal, coconut oil, magnesium, 11 essential oils and more good, found-in-nature stuff to neutralize odor.

A little sweat is natural and is not the bad guy. You want your pores to be able to breathe, and the best way to do that is to neutralize the bacteria that’s on the hunt for some delicious fat molecules. Of course, the best way to do so is with a little PiperWai.