No product can solve all your problems, but it would be great if there was one to treat hyperhidrosis. Many antiperspirants, medications, and natural remedies claim to do just that but determining which do—and don’t—stop excessive sweating can be frustrating. To save you the time and money, we investigated the best products to reduce sweating, plus the ones to avoid.
Products to Reduce Sweating: A First-Timer’s Guide
Do products to reduce sweating actually work? Here’s the 411 on antiperspirants, deodorant, supplements, hyperhidrosis medications, and more.
Jan 16, 2025
Written by
Angela Myers
Understanding Sweating and Its Causes
Before diving into which products help with heavy sweating, let’s take a step back: Why do we sweat at all? For our ancestors, sweating was built-in air conditioning and an alarm system when danger was near. Today, each of us has two to four million sweat glands that help control our body temperature and cool us down when we’re too hot. The autonomic nervous system also triggers the sweat glands when we feel excessive emotions, like stress or anxiety as part of the fight or flight response to perceived danger.
It may not always seem like it, but sweat can be helpful—especially if it’s a hot day and you’re away from air conditioning. Where sweat crosses the line is when we sweat excessively. Excessive sweat, medically referred to as hyperhidrosis, can be due to a variety of factors.
Primary hyperhidrosis isn’t linked to a specific condition, though genetics may play a role. Secondary hyperhidrosis is caused by underlying medical conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, or hormonal changes, like those experienced in menopause.
Common Triggers for Excessive Sweating
Even if you have hyperhidrosis, sweat doesn’t (typically) happen for no reason. Enter: Stress triggers, a term to refer to the internal or external cues that signal to the sweat glands that it’s time to do their thing.
Sweat triggers fall into a few main categories:
Dietary triggers: Spicy foods, alcohol, and hot food and drinks can trigger perspiration.
Emotional factors: Internal cues, such as feeling stressed, may spark sweat.
Medical and hormonal triggers: The culprit for secondary hyperhidrosis is usually a medical condition or hormonal change.
Lifestyle factors: Physical activity, warmer weather, and other factors can trigger sweat.
While these four groups are the most common, hyperhidrosis triggers are personal. The above examples may or may not trigger your sweat—and something we failed to mention could be a trigger for you too.
Types of Products to Reduce Sweating
So we’ve established what hyperhidrosis is, but are there actually products that prevent excessive sweating? The answer is a definite yes. In fact, over 77% of those with hyperhidrosis report an improved quality of life after finding the right product or treatment. The key word there is right. The most likely products to fit that adjective are natural remedies, over-the-counter antiperspirants, and prescription strength options.
Over-the-Counter Antiperspirants
True or false: deodorant and antiperspirants are the same. If you answered false, you are correct. While they both may help with body odor, the two products have different names for a reason. Only antiperspirant can reduce sweat because it contains aluminum salts. Aluminum-based compounds obstruct the sweat glands, reducing the amount of sweat they produce.
Antiperspirants are ideal for mild to moderate sweating, though some clinical strength antiperspirants may work for moderate to severe sweating. Keep in mind that to purchase a prescription antiperspirant, you may need an Rx from a healthcare provider.
To get the most out of an antiperspirant, consider these helpful tips:
Apply at night
Don’t apply on irritated skin
A thin layer of antiperspirant is enough to prevent excessive sweating
Reapply as needed
It’s also possible to get antiperspirant wipes, which can be applied in more targeted areas than sprays. Let’s say, for example, you have heavy sweating in the groin. Antiperspirant wipes may better address the problem than a spray.
Prescription-Strength Solutions
While antiperspirants work for many, if you continue to sweat when using them, you may need to go professional, or should we say prescriptive. Prescription-strength options include:
Prescription antiperspirants: Remember those antiperspirants we just discussed? These are the same thing, but with a stronger effect.
Iontophoresis: This machine sends electrical currents to sweat-prone areas via a pad placed in water. While this sounds a bit Frankenstein-esque, iontophoresis machines effectively reduce sweat and are safe to use.
Medications: Over-the-counter and prescription medications are available to prevent excessive sweating or treat the underlying medical condition causing the sweat, such as an overactive thyroid.
There’s also other hyperhidrosis treatments that aren’t products per se, but are worthy of noting. The most popular in this camp are surgeries, laser treatment, and botox (the latter does more than just reduce wrinkles; it impacts sweat gland activity too!). Typically, these treatments are reserved for more severe, persistent cases, not recommended right off the bat.
Since prescriptions and other treatments carry more risks and side effects, a healthcare provider must prescribe them. Ideally, the prescribing healthcare provider should be a dermatologist who is familiar with treating hyperhidrosis.
Natural Products
Last but not least are natural solutions. These home remedies span everything from supplements to herbs to magnesium. There’s less evidence to support these products, though many can be used alongside other treatment options and have few side effects.
How to Choose the Right Product
Any product you choose should have a track record of reducing sweat and offering sweat protection. But finding that product sometimes feels like finding a drop of sweat in a swimming pool. To help, here’s what to consider when looking for the right product.
Assessing Your Needs
You have to know yourself before you can find the “one.” This common relationship advice also applies to hyperhidrosis treatment. Before you can decide what products to try, think through:
Where you sweat: A product for axillary hyperhidrosis (sweating in the armpits) may not prevent excessive sweating in the palms.
Sweat severity: Someone with occasional, mild sweating needs a different solution than someone who sweats daily or experiences severe sweat.
What you’ve tried before: Reflect on any treatments or products you’ve already used—and what you did and didn’t like about them.
Skin sensitivity: Before exploring your options, get clear on how your skin’s sensitivity level.
Your preferences: Think about your lifestyle and comfort level. Any products you buy should enhance, not take away from, both.
Comparing Product Types
We get it: Sifting through all the info on products that claim to prevent excessive sweating is a tall order. To make it easier, we summarized the cliff notes in a chart.
Common First-Time Challenges
Let’s say you just bought a new antiperspirant. When you put it on, it causes a rash. Odds are, the antiperspirant brand irritated your skin. Whether it's over-the-counter, natural, or prescription products, you want to test out the product before purchasing.
For antiperspirants and natural remedies, this could look like buying a smaller product size at first or trying a sample. If interested in an iontophoresis machine, a dermatologist or loved one may have one you can try before purchasing. It’s a bit harder for other products (like medication or surgery) to be sampled, but a dermatologist can provide a more in-depth overview of these options.
When testing products, keep in mind it takes time to adapt to stronger formulas. If a medical treatment eliminates armpit sweat but causes some itchiness, you may want to keep with it a while longer and see if your body adapts.
If experiencing the following symptoms, however, stop any treatment immediately and call a healthcare provider:
Face swelling
Wheezing
Itchy skin
Hives
Weak pulse
Lightheadedness
Chest pain
Tips to Maximize Product Effectiveness
Before using any products to reduce sweating, let’s get one thing clear: These products won’t solve hyperhidrosis overnight. While treatment options are effective, they often require consistent use over weeks or months before seeing tangible benefits.
Alongside realistic expectations, there are a few more tips to get the most from your products:
Combine with other treatments: If recommended by a healthcare provider, use products alongside treatments like botox or surgery. Sometimes, products can be combined.
Read the instructions carefully: Before applying a product, make sure you’re clear on how (and how often) to use it.
Combine with lifestyle adjustments: Products work best when combined with lifestyle changes, such as wearing breathable fabrics to avoid sweat stains and stress management practices to reduce nervous sweating.
If in doubt, call a healthcare provider: Treatment goes more smoothly with a dermatologist who understands hyperhidrosis in your corner.
Final Thoughts
So, what’s the best product to reduce sweating? The answer depends on sweat severity, your personal preferences, and what’s causing the sweating to begin with. Since hyperhidrosis manifests differently for everyone, customized treatment plans and product recommendations work best.
