If you’ve spent much time researching ways to prevent body odor and sweat stains, you’re likely familiar with moisture-wicking t-shirts. What you might not know, however, is how -and why- they work. Today, we’re taking you behind the scenes to discover how anti-sweat fabrics work!
Moisture-Wicking Fabrics Use Dual-Action to Keep Body Odor at Bay
Body and armpit sweat is a multi-faceted threat. It causes discomfort, unsightly stains, and unpleasant odor. To combat this, moisture-wicking shirts use a multipronged approach, targeting bacteria and moisture. The dual actions are; 1. Reducing bacterial growth, and; 2. Wicking-away sweat.
Reduce Bacterial Growth
Sweat, in and of itself, is not smelly. It’s made up of odorless chemicals that, when acted upon by bacteria, are transformed into the chemicals that cause body odor. As such, the best way to reduce body odor is to reduce bacterial growth.
Although invisible to the naked eye, your skin is an ecosystem for microorganisms like bacteria. Some are good, some are bad, and all are natural. Unfortunately, some of the most common bacteria, such as staphylococcus hominus, which commonly lives in our armpits are odor-causing. Fighting body odor means controlling this ecosystem.
Under normal fabrics, bacteria can thrive. Traditional fabrics breathe poorly, creating a dark, moist environment where bacteria can easily multiply.
Moisture-wicking shirts, however, use breathable fabrics in targeted areas (like the armpits). This decreases sweating and increases airflow, making it harder for odor-causing bacteria to live and grow.
Wick-Away Sweat
Sweat-wicking fabrics quickly absorb sweat and disperse it for rapid evaporation. This rapid response not only fights armpit stains, but helps to discretely remove sweat before bacteria can act on it and cause foul body odors.
The rapid removal of moisture helps to prevent both sweat and bacteria from setting into shirts. Once bacteria sets into a shirt it gets worse with every use, even after washing. This leads to smellier shirts that you have to throw out more often.
Special washing techniques to get rid of sweat stains can help, but they are never as effective as prevention. If you want to stop odor-causing bacteria from setting in, the best body odor-resistant shirts are moisture-wicking.
As with breathability, sweat-wicking technology also helps to prevent odor-causing bacteria. While breathability has a passive effect in neutralizing bacteria, wicking away moisture actively discourages the conditions required for bacterial growth. They help you stay dry, comfortable, and odor-free.
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Neat Apparel uses advanced fabric technology for comfortable clothing that controls sweat and odor. Shop the best sweat and odor resistant shirts and undershirts today!
