Jo and Sarah answer real questions from readers: to put your query, go to beautybible.com
Q. I tend to suffer from excessive perspiration under my arms, which can be very embarrassing. A friend said Botox might help. Is this correct and if so, is it available on the NHS or privately?
A. Most people think of botulinum toxin as a non-surgical smoothing treatment for lines, wrinkles and furrows but Botox, the original drug made by Allergan, is licensed in the UK for treating underarm hyperhidrosis, the medical name for excessive sweating. As you say, this is often distressing and can significantly impact people’s lives. One study of women patients reported that hyperhidrosis led to concerns such as low self-esteem, worries about stained clothes and a sense of not being in control of their own lives.
Sweating is a normal bodily function, which keeps the body at the steady temperature necessary for everything to work properly. Most people sweat more when it’s hot, during exercise and also when they’re stressed or anxious. But some people sweat much more than is needed to control their body temperature, according to the support group Hyperhidrosis UK (hyperhydrosisuk.org). We recommend looking at this website as it provides lots of useful information about possible ways to mitigate the problem.
There are two types of hyperhidrosis, primary and secondary, which may affect one or two areas or large parts of the body. ‘Primary hyperhidrosis has no apparent medical cause and tends to start in adolescence or even childhood. Secondary hyperhidrosis can occur at any point, to men and women equally, as a result of a wide range of medical conditions. These include hormone disturbances like the menopause, also obesity, thyroid disease and diabetes,’ explains Dr Sophie Shotter, an aesthetic doctor. You are also more likely to develop hyperhidrosis if a parent has it.
Botox® is actually the brand name of a type of botulinum toxin made by the pharmaceutical company Allergan; it was the original form of the drug and became the generic name. Dr Sophie Shotter, who is a physician trainer for Allergan, has treated patients with this problem for nearly a decade. She explains that the nerves that make us sweat seem to be more active in people with this problem, which affects some three to five per cent worldwide. Botox® works by blocking the chemical at the end of the nerves, so it turns off the sweat glands at the site where it is injected.
In Dr Shotter’s experience, patients need one session to get a result, which kicks in from two days after. She reviews patients after two weeks. The treatment will need repeating about every six months. ‘Research shows an average 82-87 per cent decrease in sweating,’ she says. ‘Some patients achieve complete dryness with Botox® treatment while others achieve a significant reduction to normal levels.’ Those patients will probably want to use an antiperspirant (deodorant alone only disguises any smell) and Hyperhidrosis UK has a useful list, including prescription products.
Patients report Botox® treatment in the armpit being ‘mildly uncomfortable’, also, as Dr Shotter points out, ‘any procedure with a needle can cause bruising’. Other side effects are very rare with experienced practitioners.
A small number of NHS hospitals offer this treatment but it is mostly only available privately. As with all non-surgical procedures, it’s vital to check that whoever you consult is appropriately qualified and experienced. Hyperhidrosis UK offers a Find a Doctor button hyperhidrosisuk.org/treatment-options/find-a-doctor/, with information from a worldwide database.
Beauty Bible loves…
Alex Steinherr for Primark, £3-£5.
Don’t call Alessandra Steinherr an ‘influencer’. She is, of course – one of the most influential out there. But as the world slowly wakes up to the fact that ‘influencers’ know what makes a good picture, but don’t necessarily know what makes a product great, or why we should be using it, or what it’ll do for us (actually, don’t get us started), the focus is turning again to people who have deep knowledge of their subject. (Hallelujah.)
We like to think that includes us (over 50 years of beauty editing between us), but it certainly applies to Alex, who for many years was Glamour’s beauty editor. (And who we hung out with at many a launch and on many a beauty trip.)
Alex Steinherr for Primark, £3-£5. We don’t know how they do it for the price, honestly. There are some absolutely fantastic products in there, and after a few weeks of playing with them in our own time, here’s what we’d head back to Primark to buy again
She’s now used all her deep wisdom about skincare to create a fantastic range for Primark – nothing over a fiver, beauty-hounds! – and a second wave of products just hit the shelves, designed to help combat the negative effects of pollution on the skin. Hopefully, they’ll have the stock levels sorted this time round, because the first collection sold out before we could even write about it. It’s been restocked now, though.)
We don’t know how they do it for the price, honestly. There are some absolutely fantastic products in there, and after a few weeks of playing with them in our own time, here’s what we’d head back to Primark to buy again. (And believe us, it takes a lot to get us into a Primark store.)
Dual-Texture Exfoliating Pads/£5 – lightly textured, these are infused with a teeny bit of lactic acid, to combat dryness. Sweep over the face for brighter skin (they really do work quickly, and without irritation).
Plump & Glow Plumping Lipgloss/£5 – completely love this lightly-tinted sheer gloss, which isn’t sticky and doesn’t tingle (both pet hates of ours), but leaves lips looking prettily poutier.
Oil-Free Gel Hydrator/£5 – we don’t have oily skin (our complexions are dry), but even we get a sense of comfort from this skin-smoothing gel. If you’ve oily skin, we think you’ll be even happier with it.
Plump & Glow Facial in a Stick/£5 – bloody brilliant. Packed with hyaluronic acid, dragon fruit and cactus fruit extracts, it glides onto the skin to melt away make-up but can also be used as a moisturising stick, or even slathered more generously, we find, as a quenching mask.
Maximum Moisture Sheet Mask/£3 – Alex certainly knows her stuff about Korean skincare, which is heavy on the sheet masks (and if you follow her Instagram @alexsteinherr you’ll see she’s not shy of modeling them). We still prefer to do ours so nobody can see, because sheet masks can be a bit scare-the-horses, but this is the most fantastic, complexion-plumping drink for thirsty skin.
By the way, all the products are suitable for vegans, cruelty-free (we’d expect nothing less) and fragrance-free. Fragrances in inexpensive products, in particular, can be highly divisive – so a smart move of Alex (and we’d expect nothing less) to go down that route.
Get ready to flash those fivers.
And head to Primark now…