# Really sweaty after getting out of the shower **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 12, 2005, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-sweaty-after-getting-out-of-the-shower/307951 "2005-06-12T06:11:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2005, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-sweaty-after-getting-out-of-the-shower/307951/1 "2005-06-12T06:11:30Z")
I’ve noticed that once I take a shower, I sweat very easily and profusely for the “first time,” and then go back to my normal sweatiness afterwards. That is, if I were to get up and go out without taking a shower, I would sweat at my “normal rate.” If I take a shower, I sweat at a much more and much sooner than the aforementioned normal rate. Any thougths on why this might be? I’m sure the people at work would rather I kept taking showers, but I’d rather not sweat so damn much. ---
**Author:** ![pace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c2a13f/32.png) [@pace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pace)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2005, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-sweaty-after-getting-out-of-the-shower/307951/2 "2005-06-12T06:38:44Z")
1: Could be moisture condensed on the skin–not sweat. 2: High temperature for too long a period, or 3: If you scrub too vigorously, your shower experience becomes a real “workout” resulting in sweat ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2005, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-sweaty-after-getting-out-of-the-shower/307951/3 "2005-06-12T07:27:15Z")
Got a vent in the bathroom to remove steam? ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2005, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-sweaty-after-getting-out-of-the-shower/307951/4 "2005-06-12T11:55:48Z")
Happens to me too. While I can’t rule it out, I don’t think it’s exertion or moisture in the air – I shower with the door open, leave the bathroom as soon as I’m dry, and certainly don’t take strenuous showers. And yet, for at least 10-15 minutes after I leave the bathroom I sweat. I always assumed it was that my body was attempting to replace the skin’s oils and such that the soap removed. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-sweaty-after-getting-out-of-the-shower/307951/5 "2005-06-12T14:31:33Z")
Try turning the water heat down during the last few minutes of the shower. This will help cool you off before getting out. ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2005, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-sweaty-after-getting-out-of-the-shower/307951/6 "2005-06-12T15:21:48Z")
Hm. Will try turning the temp. down before getting out and report results. ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2005, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-sweaty-after-getting-out-of-the-shower/307951/7 "2005-06-12T16:11:00Z")
Oh, I should add, it’s certainly not condensed moisture on the skin. I generally don’t start sweating until I get outside or into one of the relatively hot rooms in the apartment. I thought about \*\*Digital’s \*\* idea re: replacing oils, but I’ve also noticed that if I just wash off and don’t use soap, I don’t sweat nearly as badly as I do if I use soap. I wonder if perhaps something’s happening to my pores and the sweating is an attempt to open them up again. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2005, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-sweaty-after-getting-out-of-the-shower/307951/8 "2005-06-12T23:00:14Z")
To remedy this situation, I just towel dry with a good thirsty cotton towel and then air dry naked under the ceiling fan before getting dressed. Works well, except when the weather is overly muggy. Or else move to an arid climate. ---
**Author:** ![Studs\_Murphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@Studs\_Murphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Studs_Murphy)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-sweaty-after-getting-out-of-the-shower/307951/9 "2005-06-13T03:38:40Z")
I think turning the water temperature down is the key as the pores close then. It’s also best to do this if you shower before going out on a cold day. If you turn it down gradually until the water is quite cool, you will probably find it quite pleasant. Also, if you rub yourself so hard that you could be mistaken for trying to take a layer of skin off, don’t be surprised if the exertion works up a sweat. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-sweaty-after-getting-out-of-the-shower/307951/10 "2005-06-13T11:24:41Z")
In addition to using cool water at the end of your shower, you can set up a fan in your room (not the bathroom) and sit in front of that for a few minutes after the shower. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-sweaty-after-getting-out-of-the-shower/307951/11 "2005-06-13T12:10:50Z")
Your shower is too damn hot! It is a shower! It is to clean you. It is NOT a sauna, which is to relax you. If you are sweating in the shower then the shower is too bloody hot! Turn the temp DOWN and scrub more. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-sweaty-after-getting-out-of-the-shower/307951/12 "2005-06-13T12:44:59Z")
> [@calm kiwi](#): > > Your shower is too damn hot! > > It is a shower! It is to clean you. It is NOT a sauna, which is to relax you. > > If you are sweating in the shower then the shower is too bloody hot! > > Turn the temp DOWN and scrub more. Just for clarity, as I’m sure you’re not the only one thinking this: > [@Chairman Pow](#): > > Oh, I should add, it’s certainly not condensed moisture on the skin. I generally don’t start sweating until I get outside or into one of the relatively hot rooms in the apartment. I grant you that turning down the temperature at the end of a shower may help alleviate the issue, but it’s _not_ that he (or I) are sweating _in_ the shower. At least, not as far as I can tell. ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-sweaty-after-getting-out-of-the-shower/307951/13 "2005-06-14T01:59:19Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > In addition to using cool water at the end of your shower, you can set up a fan in your room (not the bathroom) and sit in front of that for a few minutes after the shower. Already do. Once I get away from it, I’m sweating like I’m meeting a girl’s parents for the first time. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-sweaty-after-getting-out-of-the-shower/307951/14 "2005-06-14T21:50:23Z")
I’m sweaty period, and yeah, moreso when I get out of the shower in the summer. I think the skin explanations are bunk - what’s on the surface of the skin does not influence oil production (this is a myth that’s sometimes propagated by cosmetics companies - after all, putting moisturizer on your skin should make acne-prone people _less_ oily by this bizarro logic.) Oils and such are regulated entirely by your hormones; the skin does not secrete more to make up for what’s lost. Nor do pores actually open and shut the way some people imagine. I’m pretty sure it’s just a body temperature thing in my case; my WAG is that one gets used to taking hot showers (quite nice on cold winter mornings) and so you become accustomed to water hot enough to raise your body temperature a degree or two. When you’re already on the warm side, even a (perceptually) coolish shower is still warm enough to make you even warmer, so you end up sweating when you get out. At least for me, it’s helped to make sure to turn the shower as cool as I can comfortably stand in the summer.