- Chrissy Teigen recently shared an Instagram story of her getting an armpit botox procedure.
- Teigen said it allows her to “wear silk again without soaking.”
- A dermatologist explains how armpit botox works, why it helps control excessive sweating, and what to know about trying it.
Chrissy Teigen is known for living out loud, and a recent Instagram story post she shared is no exception.
In the video, Teigen opened about about getting Botox in her armpits to prevent sweating and she can be seen lying on her back as a doctor makes the injections. “BOTOXED MY ARMPITS” she wrote over the clip. “TRULY BEST MOVE I HAVE EVER MADE.” Teigen also said that she can “wear silk again without soaking woohoo!”
Teigen looked nervous and held a cloth over her mouth during the procedure, but said after a few moments that it actually wasn’t that bad. “That really isn’t anything,” she said. “It looked very frightening.”
Why would someone Botox their armpits?
In general, people Botox their armpits to treat hyperhidrosis, a medical condition that causes excessive sweating, says Gary Goldenberg, MD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Your body sweats to help cool you off, but people who have hyperhidrosis sweat when the body doesn’t need cooling, the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) explains. Most people with hyperhidrosis sweat from one or two areas of their body, the AAD explains, and it’s typically their palms, feet, armpits, or head.
“Botox is an amazing treatment for sweating armpits and other areas,” Dr. Goldenberg says. “It works by blocking a signal from your nerves that tells your sweat glands to produce sweat.” As a result, sweat isn’t produced in that area, and it’s not secreted.
When should you consider armpit Botox?
Certain Dri Prescription Strength Clinical Antiperspirant
Your doctor will likely recommend that you try other less-invasive options first. “I recommend clinical strength antiperspirants such as Certain Dri or Dove Clinical Strength,” Dr. Goldenberg says. But, if that doesn’t do the trick, Botox is a “great” treatment, he says.
“Traditional antiperspirants work by blocking sweat from reaching the surface of the skin,” explains Joshua Zeichner, MD, director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. “Botox, on the other hand, actually decreases the amount of sweat that your body makes.”
The procedure itself is pretty quick—Dr. Goldenberg says it usually takes about 15 minutes. Armpit Botox doesn’t last forever, though: Most people need to get injections every three to six months, Dr. Goldenberg says.
“If injections aren’t for you, a brand new drug was FDA approved earlier this year called Qbrexza,” adds Dr. Zeichner. “It is a towelette that is wiped under the arms once daily and decreases the amount of sweat you produce.”
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