Sweat Management (again)
 

I am a have sweater and given a hard effort in the right weather I can put out about 4 pounds of water per hour. I have always had trouble with sweat in my eyes and used to think that I just needed a better sweatband. But the real issue that I have is sweat from my face gets swept up into my eyes by the air circulation under my prescription glasses (I am severely near sighted). It is mostly sweat coming from below and/or just outside of my eyes. For me it is pretty bad as I end up having to 'wipe my eyes' (actually below and to the outside of my eyes) about every 45 seconds on a hot day. And interestingly it is far worse on the left side vs the right side.

I don't recall seeing this discussed and wondered if others also have this problem and how they handled it.

dave

Grow a beard. I saw an interview with Dan Craven around the time of the Olympics, where he was asked about the impact of his beard on him as a cyclist. He said something to the effect of, "It's the secret weapon. It keeps me cool when it's hot, warm when it's cold, I'm faster, and chicks dig it." Paraphrased, of course. And he's absolutely right on at least two of the points-- it keeps me much cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. I reckon it's increased evaporative cooling when it's hot, and just keeping cold air off of my face when it's not.

Worst case scenario... anti-perspirant applied directly to the face? Like how baseball players wear lampblack under their eyes?

pick up a "halo" headband or head sock. They solved the problem for me

I sweat alot and it is very hot and humid here. The best solution I've found is a Halo cycling cap. It channels the sweat away from your face and the cap and bill wick away moisture and allow of a greater surface area for evaporation of sweat. https://store.haloheadband.com/Halo-...-Cap-p/hcc.htm

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0743...S449XPM8&psc=1

Someone here posted this headband from Amazon. I bought it and like it very much. Keeps the sweat off my glasses. It's somewhere between "Danial san" and gym bro in looks but it fits nicely under my helmet.

Halo works great but it doesn't prevent what the OP is talking about, sweat coming from the temples getting into the eyes.

I wear a Halo every ride and still suffer from what the OP describes, only not as bad. A Halo only prevents perspiration from the top of the head, not the temples.

My left eye is worse too.


-Tim-

Same here.

I did a short ride (75 minutes) this morning and then walked the yard with a tank sprayer (weeds) immediately after the ride. So I was still sweating but this time there was no artificial wind (and no sweat dripping down from my forehead as the SweatVac that I was wearing still had that contained). And without the artificial wind to push sweat from my face into my eyes, I was still having lots of sweat issues with my eyes.

So maybe a different size/shape glasses frame would not be helpful here. I may just go back to full cycling gloves in the summertime and just use my fingers to wipe away sweat. Messing with my sweat rag is a real pain.

dave

The back of the thumb doesn't work for you? All my finger-less gloves have a nice soft area that works well for dabbing the sweat away from the eye area.

For me the back of the first finger works best, but I feel like I need a bit more surface area than that.

dave

I sweat quite a bit. The Halo head cap works well to absorb some from the head, but I also need to occasionally wipe my face and eyes too. I picked up one of these and keep it in a jersey pocket and use it to wipe my face. I'll wring it out if it gets soaked and just keep using it. Wash it after the ride and its ready for the next use.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I always have a standard cotton washcloth with me on my hot weather rides. From a wiping perspective it is fine. But given how often I have to do this (going more than 60 seconds without a 'wipe' on a hot day would be unusual) it is a management problem. I typically have it in my hand or I stuff it into the front of my half unzipped jersey. I really want it in my left hand which does little shifting, but I also have grown used to my 'rear view mirror' that hangs of the end of my drop bar on the left. And the washcloth is always blocking that. And I just get tired of stuffing and unstuffing the washcloth out of my jersey front - you would be surprised at how easy it is to inadequately stuff you washcloth and suddenly it is about 400 yards behind you on the road.

I am considering adding some kind of 'necklace' thing and hang the rag off of that and just let it dangle when I am not using it unless a better idea pops out here or elsewhere.

dave

Try a glob of Vaseline on your temples. Some runners say it works or diminishes the problem and there is no harm if it doesn't. I've not tried it.

I find the problem worse at the end of a long hot ride when I don't drink enough and believe the intensity of the burn is proportional to the salt concentration in the sweat. If I hydrate well before and during a ride it burns less or I don't notice it as much.

Dry skin is one of my problems too and sweat can burn when the skin around my eyes is dry and/or irritated. Wiping my eyes often doesn't help. Regular use of an industrial strength moisturizer like CeraVe helps.

Anything to stay cool - pouring water down my back or over my head, soaking a skull cap in cold water, etc. Filling bottles with ice at a convenience store is wonderful. Some guys use ice socks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_sock


-Tim-

I was a pretty serious runner for years back in the 70's and 80's and have not heard of the use of vaseline WRT sweat management. However regarding protecting your nipples (I am male) from the friction of a wet tee shirt and lubrication between your thighs to avoid blisters - standard procedure.

FWIW, here is a pic of me (#111) from back in the early 80's running the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, Alabama. While this was early Dec. the high that day was in the low 80's. Note that washcloth in my hands - some habits just never die, I guess.

If vaseline were to work here it would have to be more than just the temples as the area immediately around my eye sweats a good bit. I have read of anti sweat stuff (or even standard antiperspirant) that can be used. Something to try I guess.

dave

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3bf4874777.jpg

^^ super interesting post and thanks for the photo. It's great!

The washcloth made me LoL.

I know hikers who use that really strong roll-on antiperspirant from the drug store on their feet.

Let us know if you find something that works.

FWIW, I ran Boston the year Rosie Ruiz 'won' the female competition ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosie_Ruiz ). She didn't pass me which she would have had she started where she said she did. And back then any time there was a female around you, there was this huge crowd noise swell. Very few women in the race back then. You really noticed that.

dave

I bought one of these GUTR Sweatbands https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BU43IBI a couple of weeks ago because my fabric head bands tend to get soaked after 20-30 minutes, and also I can never keep enough of them laundered for daily runs. I didn't expect much for the price since it's just soft plastic but it really does work pretty well to channel sweat out of my eyes. I'll need wipe my brows every now and again but nothing like as much with a bare head, or a fabric sweat band even.

I sweat gallons too. Any sweat band or sweat cap is going to do nothing for you if it becomes saturated and the wind is not streaming the resulting excess away from your eyes.

I had some problems recently with the sweatVac that I've used for years. I found out that I needed to insure that it was pulled down to just above my eyebrows and have some exposed to the wind. Perhaps that helps evaporate the sweat quicker on the part that's not covered by a helmet.

I wouldn't expect it to do very much for any sweat containment when just walking or milling about. Airflow and evaporation are one of the things it and others need. Perhaps another helmet promoting airflow while biking will help. But for standing, you need a thick sweat band that you can ring out often.

Also, if the sweat is stinging your eyes quite a bit, then you might have some other minor issues going on and might mention it next time you are at your eye doctor for a checkup.

Location ... (3x) , temperate.. it's cool here by the other ocean..

Exercise caution.. IF the anti-perspirant or anti-sweat stuff fails (even a few drops of sweat get thru).. gets mixed in with the sweat and then runs into your eyes, it may not be a fun experience.

https://www.performancebike.com/shop...adband-10-0005 I wear it right atthe top of my eyebrows. Works while I ride, not so much when I stop. Headsweats Classics on top of my head.

Since I am mildly allergic to anti-perspirants (as opposed to deodorant), this one is definitely off my list unless I find a product intended to be used on the face (haven't see that yet although I recall seeing a reference to one once - somewhere).

dave

For quite some time I let myself get a bit side-tracked regarding this problem. Pretty much the only things that you read about this WRT cycling talks about managing "sweat arriving from above" - yielding Halo, Sweat Gutr, etc solutions.

I simply sweat a whole bunch in a partial circle starting below my eyes and extending around and maybe slightly above the outside of both eyes. How many others reading this thread encounter this (or equally useful - how many do not).

Thanks.

dave

Dave, I gotta be honest, all my sweat comes above my eyes and I use a Halo II. The sweat below my eyes gets blown off by the slipstream. I feel it hit my cheeks on the way to the ground.

Based on the feedback above I bought a thin Halo and a Halo cap thingy. I am trying to dodge late onset skin cancer....