Can shaving your underarms help reduce perspiration?

The summer music festival had reached its sixth hour. The cool morning breezes had vanished, replaced by the oppressive afternoon heat that clung to the park's rolling landscape.

Sleeveless attendees cheered with raised arms, their underarms mostly free of hair.

If this was a battle against body hair, victory seemed assured.

But why? For most women, smooth underarms are primarily a matter of aesthetics rather than health. However, some may think it reduces sweating. Is there any truth to this?

Humans possess two main types of sweat glands: eccrine and apocrine glands. Both are located beneath the skin, but their similarities end there.

Eccrine glands are spread across most of the body and act as a natural cooling system. When your body overheats, these glands release a mostly odorless mixture of water and salt onto the skin, which evaporates to cool you down.

Apocrine glands are found in areas dense with hair follicles, such as the groin and axilla (armpit). These glands respond to hormonal shifts and emotional stress, secreting a milky fluid composed of water, proteins, and fatty acids directly into hair follicles.

While the fluids from eccrine and apocrine glands start odorless, they develop a distinct smell when broken down by skin bacteria. Apocrine glands release their fluid into hair follicles, where it mixes with eccrine gland secretions. Bacteria on the skin consume this mixture, and as they process the proteins and fatty acids, body odor is produced [source: Mayo Clinic].

Does having less hair result in reduced sweating? Discover the answer on the following page.

Shaving, Sweating and Smell

Shaving your armpits won’t reduce sweating since it doesn’t impact the sweat-producing glands.

The apocrine glands responsible for sweat production are located beneath the skin, not within the hair. These glands will keep producing sweat even if the hair is shaved to skin level. Sweat will still exit through the hair follicles, even if there are fewer openings due to shorter or shaved hair [source: Mayo Clinic].

Shaving underarm hair, however, can help minimize body odor [source: Willacy]. Hair’s porous nature allows it to absorb smells easily. Whether you’ve been near a campfire or in a smoky room, you’ve likely noticed how quickly hair picks up scents. Underarm hair also traps moisture, creating a damp environment where odor-causing bacteria thrive. Shaving can make you feel drier, giving the illusion of reduced sweating.

If you plan to shave your underarms, start by soaking the hair in warm water to soften the follicles and make shaving smoother. Exfoliate to clear away deodorant residue or dead skin, then apply a shaving gel or cream to protect and lubricate the skin. For underarms, use a razor with a flexible, pivoting head and multiple blades, even if it’s disposable.

Before shaving, raise your arm to touch the back of your neck. This flattens the underarm area, reducing the risk of cuts. Since underarm hair grows in various directions, shave upward, downward, and sideways before rinsing off the shaving cream. Avoid applying deodorant right after shaving, as it can cause irritation. Let the area air dry first [source: SheFinds].

The practice of removing body hair isn’t new—it dates back over 2,000 years.

Our Storied History of Hair Removal

Historians trace the origins of hair removal to ancient Egypt, where smooth skin symbolized sophistication. Both men and women employed beeswax, pumice stones, and seashell tweezers in their quest for hairless bodies. This tradition continued in ancient Greece and Rome, where hairlessness indicated affluence. By the Middle Ages, women, inspired by Queen Elizabeth I, used vinegar and ammonia-soaked bandages for facial hair removal, with the ammonia sourced from their pet cats’ urine [source: Barringer].

The modern underarm razor began to emerge in the early 20th century, long after the straight razor’s invention. In 1915, Gillette introduced the Milady Decolleté, the first razor designed specifically for women’s hair removal. The trend of underarm shaving gained momentum due to sheer fabrics, shorter hemlines, and aggressive advertising by Gillette, alongside endorsements from magazines like Ladies' Home Journal and Harper's Bazaar.

Despite a brief embrace of underarm hair as a feminist statement in the 1970s, later generations enthusiastically returned to shaving. Today, underarm hair is removed through shaving, threading, tweezing, sugaring, waxing, and laser treatments [source: Harrison].

While women have a long-standing tradition of underarm hair removal, it’s a newer trend among men. Once limited to bodybuilders and swimmers, male underarm shaving is now increasingly popular.

Although shaving doesn’t reduce sweating for men, it might boost their social appeal. A study found that women preferred the scent of shaved male underarms over unshaven ones, describing it as more attractive and less intense. This preference was most noticeable with newer hair growth, around six to 10 weeks old [source: Kohoutova].