# Leave sweat or towel off?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-sweat-or-towel-off/184526>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 26, 2003, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-sweat-or-towel-off/184526 "2003-06-26T15:05:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![sdkubota](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@sdkubota](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sdkubota)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-sweat-or-towel-off/184526/1 "2003-06-26T15:05:58Z")

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Which will better help you keep cool while working out – toweling off sweat, or leaving it on?

ie, Does the sweat actually need to undergo the process of evaporation in order to cool the body or is there some value to helping more sweat make it to the surface by getting rid of what’s already there?

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**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-sweat-or-towel-off/184526/2 "2003-06-26T15:12:21Z")

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Sweat only cools you off if it evaporates. The evaporating water molecules carry off energy with them in the form of heat. On the other hand, if the layer of sweat is too thick, it will begin to insulate you, preventing effective cooling.

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**Author:** ![sdkubota](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@sdkubota](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sdkubota)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-sweat-or-towel-off/184526/3 "2003-06-26T15:22:51Z")

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A follow-on question then, if I may.

At what point can it be assumed that the layer of sweat is insulating? (it may be difficult to tell whether you’re feeling warmer because of the insulating sweat or simply because you just ran another mile)

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**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-sweat-or-towel-off/184526/4 "2003-06-26T16:15:31Z")

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I usually leave it on and let it do it’s thing except for around my eyes.