Excessive underarm sweating — or axillary hyperhidrosis — is a medical condition that affects approximately 5% of Americans. But the true number of those affected is likely much higher. This is partly because hyperhidrosis sufferers often feel embarrassed about their condition (sometimes even experiencing anxiety because of it), which can lead to avoiding the topic of hyperhidrosis with friends, family, or medical professionals.
And despite how common — and how debilitating — axillary hyperhidrosis is, it’s hard to find a hyperhidrosis treatment that actually works, which can be discouraging.
To make it worse: there is conflicting information online about how to best treat your hyperhidrosis.
Today’s post helps cut through the confusion and provides you with only proven science-backed solutions. Specifically, this post covers four different axillary hyperhidrosis treatments that are effective at helping you achieve dryness in your underarms.
Try Duradry’s 3-step solution that actually works to stop excessive sweating. Use Duradry PM at bedtime, Duradry AM in the morning, and Duradry Wash to deep clean and prepare your skin for total protection against hyperhidrosis. Get started for just $20.
1. Botulinum Toxin (Botox Injections)
You’ve likely heard of Botox being used to eliminate wrinkles, but Botox injections are also an FDA-approved treatment for axillary hyperhidrosis.
Botox is used for cosmetic dermatology and axillary hyperhidrosis because, as a poisonous neurotoxin, it paralyzes what it touches. In this case, it literally paralyzes your sympathetic nerves so they can’t secrete the chemical that activates your sweat glands.
However, there are significant disadvantages to using Botox to treat hyperhidrosis.
- Botox sessions are painful. Typically, you’re getting anywhere from 25-50 injections into each of your underarms during a session. This is very painful (trust me, I’ve had it done).
- Botox’s effects are temporary. After the injections, you can expect your Botox-treated armpits to stay dry for about 4-6 months. After that, you need to book a follow-up session, which means another painful 25-50 injections.
- Botox is expensive. Botox injections generally cost between $800 and $1,000 per session. Since the results are temporary, that means you’re paying up to $3,000 a year to keep your underarms dry.
There are also serious side effects that can occur after your Botox sessions, such as difficulty breathing and blurred vision, that we cover in a comprehensive post on treating excessive sweating with Botox.
As I said above, I’ve personally had Botox injections. I’ve suffered from axillary hyperhidrosis since I was a teenager, and have tried several different treatments throughout my life. But no matter what I tried — from dozens of antiperspirant brands to Botox injections — I couldn’t find an effective treatment that was affordable and pain-free.
That’s why I decided to create my own and bring it to market.
After looking into the science of how axillary hyperhidrosis works — and researching the best quality ingredients designed to successfully plug your pores and prevent excessive sweating — my team and I developed Duradry’s 3-step system.
I’m proud to report that 97% of our customers who use Duradry’s 3-step system report full dryness within one week.
Below, I cover how Duradry works as a treatment for axillary hyperhidrosis.
2. Duradry’s Topical System for Achieving Full Dryness
Duradry uses three different topical, easy-to-apply products that work together to help you achieve dry underarms within a week.
Step One: Duradry PM
Duradry PM is an unscented gel that you apply to your underarms before you go to bed*.
It’s an antiperspirant that uses Aluminum Chloride Hexahydrate (one of the most effective topical treatments for excessive sweating) but Durady PM belongs in a different category than any over-the-counter antiperspirant you’ve likely used before.
What makes Duradry PM different from other clinical strength antiperspirants or even “prescription-only brands” is threefold.
- We use the highest-quality active ingredients: When we looked into why so many extra-strength antiperspirants were unsatisfactory, we found that many of the ingredients available on the market weren’t high quality. When an ingredient isn’t pure, particles in the solution can separate — which in turn changes the active ingredients into a solid when they shouldn’t be, rendering them ineffective. After a lot of searching, we found a fantastic supplier in Europe who met the high standards we required.
- We use the perfect concentration of ingredients: Unlike prescription-only antiperspirants (like Drysol) we cap our concentration of Aluminum Chloride at 15%. We do this because studies show a 15% concentration is just as effective as 20% with two added benefits: (1) you don’t need a prescription for 15%, and (2) there’s less risk of side effects like skin irritation or developing a rash.
- We use the right mixture of ingredients: Some antiperspirant brands rely only on Aluminum Chloride or other aluminum-based ingredients, but we also use Salicylic Acid in Duradry PM. Research has shown Salicylic Acid helps boost the effectiveness of Aluminum Chloride. Plus, Salicylic Acid works as a natural moisturizer to keep your skin from getting dry and flaky.
*Note: By applying Duradry PM before you go to bed, you let its active ingredients work more effectively while your body is less active.
Step Two: Duradry AM
Duradry AM is our antiperspirant-deodorant stick that can be used daily.
It uses Aluminum Zirconium Trichlorohydrex Glycine Superfine Powder (20%) to treat axillary hyperhidrosis and trap unwanted odors.
Duradry AM is a cream stick that comes with a pleasant, gender-neutral scent.
We include it in our 3-step system because it adds another layer of daily sweat protection that cuts down on body odor while boosting the effectiveness of Duradry PM.
Step Three: Duradry Wash
A major problem with antiperspirants is they don’t come into full contact with your underarms. This can happen if you’re using spray-on antiperspirants or a liquid you need to dab on.
Another issue is that common soap isn’t the best for cleaning residues, oils, and bacteria out of your underarms. So when you apply your antiperspirants in the morning, the active ingredients aren’t normally penetrating your skin’s surface.
To help solve this problem, we include Duradry Wash in our 3-step system.
Duradry Wash is a cleanser you can use daily to thoroughly clean your pores. It’s packed with natural ingredients, removing any bacteria, oils, or residue that may be on your skin from the day before.
This helps Duradry AM and Duradry PM better treat your excessive sweating while allowing the quality ingredients we sourced to find their way to your sweat ducts.
Combined, those three products form our 3-step system that has helped 97% of our customers achieve full dryness within a week.
Try Duradry’s 3-step solution that actually works to stop excessive sweating. Use Duradry PM at bedtime, Duradry AM in the morning, and Duradry Wash to deep clean and prepare your skin for total protection against hyperhidrosis. Get started for just $20.
3. MiraDry’s Thermal Technology
MiraDry is thermal or microwave technology that destroys the majority of the sweat glands in your armpits.
Because of this, MiraDry is considered a long-term solution for axillary hyperhidrosis. (A spokesperson for MiraDry says the procedure reduces your sweat output by 82%, on average.)
But there are some drawbacks to undergoing MiraDry sessions that are worth considering before booking an appointment.
- MiraDry is very expensive. Treatment can cost $3,000 for two sessions (some people require just two sessions while others require three) and it’s unfortunately not covered by health insurance. And while you may be reading this article thinking “I’ll pay whatever to solve my excess sweating problem” it’s important to make sure you’ve exhausted all other options, such as trying proven (and guaranteed) topic solutions like Duradry, before going with an expensive and irreversible option, such as MiraDry.
- MiraDry is a significant procedure to undergo. You’ll need to get local anesthesia before the procedure, so while the procedure itself isn’t painful, getting a shot to numb your armpits is far from pleasant. Plus, you may experience mild to moderate side effects post-operation, such as swollen underarms and muscle weakness that can last a few weeks. (In more rare cases, patients report tingling or numbness that lasted for months after their procedure.)
Another major concern is that when you use MiraDry — or any procedure that destroys your sweat glands — you may trigger compensatory sweat in other parts of your body.
For example, MiraDry may solve your axillary hyperhidrosis but then cause you to develop plantar hyperhidrosis (excessively sweaty feet) or palmar hyperhidrosis (sweaty hands).
MiraDry vs Iontophoresis
There’s another treatment available that’s somewhat similar to MiraDry, though it uses different technology — it’s called iontophoresis. When you go through iontophoresis sessions, a dermatologist or specially-trained healthcare professional uses a low-voltage current on the affected area to stop your excessive sweating.
However, we didn’t include iontophoresis on this list because it’s more commonly (and successfully) used when treating plantar and palmar hyperhidrosis, not axillary hyperhidrosis.
5. Surgery
There are a few different ways surgery can treat your axillary hyperhidrosis, including Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy (going under the knife and having a surgeon cut or clamp the nerves that control your sweat glands) or a form of liposuction called suction curettage where your underarm’s eccrine (sweat glands) are sucked out.
While widely used, surgery is considered the last resort of hyperhidrosis treatment options, to be used only in the most severe cases where no other solutions (from specialized topical treatments like Duradry to procedures like MiraDry) have worked.
One of the reasons for this is that compensatory sweating occurs in roughly 80-90% of cases where a doctor has used excision to remove sweat glands.
That means with surgery, you’re not necessarily solving your axillary hyperhidrosis problem, as much as moving it to a different part of your body.
And with suction curettage, there are other risks to consider. Research shows that out of 10 patients who treated their underarm sweat with liposuction, 4 of them had to get the treatment done again in as little as four months.
Final Thoughts: How to Stop Excessively Sweating Today
All of the treatments in this article are technically effective at treating axillary hyperhidrosis, but some are extreme, painful, expensive, and short-term. Two of them can lead to excessive sweating in other parts of the body. And one of them requires that you go under the knife.
Looking for a better solution, I worked with my team to develop a treatment that can improve your quality of life without asking so much in return.
Duradry’s 3-step system is an affordable, effective, FDA-approved, and pain-free way to treat your excessive sweating problem.
When you sign up for our subscription, you get all three Duradry products sent to your door (in a discreet box) every month. This way you always have what you need to remain dry. You can cancel at any time, and there is no risk because we offer a money-back guarantee.
Try Duradry’s 3-step solution that actually works to stop excessive sweating. Use Duradry PM at bedtime, Duradry AM in the morning, and Duradry Wash to deep clean and prepare your skin for total protection against hyperhidrosis. Get started for just $20.
