Sweating isn’t just a problem that affects us in the summer, and for some, it can be a year-round nuisance. In more extreme cases, it can be a daily ordeal. But, there’s an emerging treatment, MiraDRY, that claims to dramatically reduce underarm sweat in as little as one appointment with little to no downtime and an optimal FDA-approved safety record.
It works by sending waves of thermal energy into the skin where the dermis meets the fat layer. Effectively, it heats up and destroys sweat glands. Clinically speaking, it’s proven to reduce sweat production by 82% in the area treated, while the rest of the body continues to sweat as normal to cool itself.
Intrigued, we asked 24-year-old Charlyn Oyakhilome, an e-commerce entrepreneur from London to report back on her honest experience of the treatment.
The price:
Starting from £1495, it’s a big investment, so it’s worth investigating whether it’s right for you.
The background:
I’ve had an issue with sweating since I was around 12. I could just be sitting on my sofa, not doing anything and I’d feel sweat rolling down my arms. In social situations, I’d be checking for it and I stuck to wearing black with sweat protection T-shirts underneath.
Over the years I’ve tried everything. Every type of prescription or high-strength deodorant, sweat block wipes, sweat pads (which are like a pantyliner for your armpit) and three rounds of Botox. None of them worked for me and a lot of it was painful and uncomfortable.
I discovered MiraDRY when I was getting Botox in my armpits, at the time, the nurse administering it warned me off – she told me a friend of hers tried it and started sweating from her forehead instead. Rather than take her word for it, I eventually returned to the idea after doing a lot of research online but it took me years to build up the courage to try it.
The procedure:
Before committing to anything, I went for a consultation and asked all the questions I had. Only once I’d run through everything and felt reassured, did I booked the treatment.
I’d geared myself up to really feel the burn (I thought it would feel like my armpits were being microwaved), but the only part that hurt was the injections. Anaesthetic is injected in your armpits at the beginning of the treatment to numb the pain. As for the treatment itself, think of a vacuum head. The clinician runs it over your armpit (it takes between 40 minutes to an hour) to inactivate the sweat glands. That part was a zero out of ten for pain, the injections were around a five.
The after care:
Once the treatment was finished, I was given an ice pack to keep it iced, antiseptic to keep it clean and a contact number and email address for if I had any follow-up questions. I was given aftercare advice – I couldn’t use deodorant for a few days after, nor do any sport for three weeks.
You’d want to take a bit of a break from sport anyway. My armpits were pretty swollen the day after which took around a week and a half to fade. And it made my boobs swell, too (they were massive for a day). Once the swelling has passed, you can be left with numbness for up to six months after – when I’m shaving I still can’t feel the bottom of my armpit (near my arm and my back).
The results were immediate. Now, I have to be really warm to sweat, in fact I didn’t sweat much at all until the heat wave in the summer and even then it was minimal compared to before – little sweat patches as opposed to huge wet ones.
The verdict:
Honestly, I feel so much better. I feel happier, I can wear more colour, I feel like something has been lifted. I don’t have to worry about sweating any more – that self-consciousness is gone. And, my wardrobe has changed completely. I’ll wear head to toe red, bright colours, anything I want.
