How does sweating benefit my skin?

If you exercise enough to break a sweat, you are doing your skin – and for that matter, your whole body – a big favor. Perspiration, in addition to cooling you off as it evaporates, is the body’s very efficient waste removal system. Toxic by-products of your bodily processes, including urea and ammonia, are excreted when you sweat. Urea is a moisturizer that helps to soften the skin. It is even added into many skin care products.

In addition, sweat activates the production of sebum, a fatty substance that is your skin’s built-in moisturizer. That’s another reason your skin is softer and moister after a good work-out. Sebum, produced by the sebaceous glands in the skin, tends to decline with age but you can maintain as peak a supply as possible if you’re active. This is a tremendous benefit of exercise for your skin because sebum helps keep your skin from losing water, protects your skin from infection, and boosts your immune system.