It took until July for the dog days of Summer to finally arrive, but it’s here!! Waking up to sunshine makes me smile.  But, with hot weather comes perspiration. Admit, you sweat.  We all do.  Some of us have genetic dispositions that mean we only sweat when we’re at the gym or when it’s 95 degrees and we’re sitting on a beach with no umbrella and no breeze.  But I think we’ve all suffered from overactive arm pits at one point or another. Those genetically pre-disposed not to sweat are few and far between.

Sweating allows the body to regulate its temperature.  Evaporation of sweat from the skin surface has a cooling effect due to the latent heat of evaporation of water. Hence, in hot weather, or when the individual’s muscles heat up due to exertion, more sweat is produced. Sweating is increased by nervousness and nausea and decreased by cold.  Ok, so it’s natural but pit stains don’t look so natural when spreading out from underneath a beautiful blouse, dress or shirt.

Aside from resorting to botox injections directly into your armpits, there’s very little one can do to stem the flow of perspiration.  However, my grandmother and many ladies like her back in the day, relied on something called dress shields.  Some were attached to slips and some were arm contraptions that provided a barrier between your skin and your clothing.  While not necessarily glamorous, they worked.

With the ensuing heatwave, two clients in the past week asked me to help them figure out how to prevent pit stains.  Like Hollywood Fashion Tape, dress shields are something you should have in your arsenal just in case.  There should be no shame in your game!  I’m partial to Fashion Forms, but there are a ton of brands on the market.  There is absolutely no need to worry about having pit stains this Summer!