I’m what you might call a sweat king. Self-proclaimed, of course.
I don’t need to be doing much, and running three times a week through a New York City summer while training for the marathon? You can only imagine.
It’s been a pretty gross season for running, too, with temperatures pushing into the upper 80s, humidity occasionally hitting 90 percent, and dew points climbing past 70. My marathon training, meanwhile, is only getting harder with much longer runs, more hills, and plenty more chances to become completely drenched.
I’ve started running without a shirt because otherwise it suctions itself to my body. My compression shorts feel five pounds heavier by the end, and don’t even get me started on my sweat-soaked AirPods refusing to stay in my ears.
The bigger problem, though, is my eyes.
I’ve had runs where sweat stings them badly enough that I have to slow down just to wipe my face. This summer I’ve even started wearing sunglasses—I look cool as hell now—but when it’s sweltering, taking them off every few minutes to dab at my eyes isn’t exactly ideal.
Then Instagram offered me a possible solution.
A runner posted a video showing that she’d put Aquaphor over her eyebrows and eyelids before heading out. Despite sweat dripping down her face, she showed it beading and moving sideways rather than running into her eyes. According to her, the trick would “change my life.”
So, while I was in Chicago for a few days recently—where the weather wasn’t exactly providing much of an escape from New York—I gave it a try. I dabbed Aquaphor onto my fingers and rubbed it across my eyebrows and eyelids. I wasn’t sure how much I was supposed to use, so I went with enough that everything felt pretty well coated. Otherwise, I figured, what was the point?
Aquaphor isn’t exactly subtle. It was goopy and very present, and before I’d even started sweating, I was already questioning whether I wanted this stuff sitting around my eyes for my entire 10K.
For the first few miles, I was paying much more attention than usual to where my sweat was going. And, to Aquaphor’s credit, it did seem like less of it was running directly into my eyes. But my eyebrows also started feeling like tiny dams holding on to all that moisture. I was nervous that if I wiped them with my hand, I’d just have some greasy fingers to deal with.
According to Peter Bittar, MD, a dermatologist and Mohs surgeon, what I was noticing was basically the hack doing what it was supposed to do.
“Aquaphor (or any other petrolatum-based occlusive like Vaseline) primarily acts as a barrier,” Bittar told Runner’s World. “This barrier is hydrophobic, which means it repels water, so in the case of sweat, if you put it on your eyebrows it can literally redirect it away from an area.”
It isn’t foolproof, though. Bittar noted that gravity still exists, so Aquaphor isn’t going to completely prevent sweat from reaching your eyes. As for that grease I couldn’t stop thinking about, it just comes with the territory.
“The goopy feeling is a trade-off,” Brandon Kirsch, MD, dermatologist and founder of Kirsch Dermatology, said to Runner’s World.
I was also curious whether coating such sensitive skin in Aquaphor before getting hot and sweaty could create a completely different set of problems. I’ve used it plenty of times while healing tattoos, but eyelids felt like another story.
Bittar said he would personally stick to the eyebrows rather than spreading it directly over the eyelids. Aquaphor and Vaseline themselves are noncomedogenic, he explained, but thick occlusives can trap irritants, oils, and bacteria underneath if they aren’t applied to clean skin.
Kirsch likewise warned that the skin around the eyes is more sensitive than other areas of the face and said Aquaphor has the potential to cause irritation or breakouts for some people.
There was also a comment on the original Instagram post warning that because Aquaphor is glossy and petroleum-based, it could somehow magnify UV rays and make sun exposure worse. Both dermatologists pushed back on that idea. Bittar said research has been mixed, but any effect is likely minimal, while Kirsch said petrolatum may actually mildly block ultraviolet light.
It’s also worth noting that neither considers it remotely close to adequate sun protection. Admittedly, I generally don’t wear sunscreen when I run because I’ve had it sweat straight into my eyes before, and both dermatologists would very much like me—and anyone else doing the same thing—to stop using that excuse.
“You should always wear a hat and sunscreen for effective sun protection,” Kirsch said.
Bittar recommends SPF 30 or higher, along with options like a lightweight UPF 50 hat or headband to help keep sweat from running down your face in the first place. Kirsch also suggested looking for a water-resistant sunscreen that doesn’t irritate your eyes.
As for Aquaphor? I can confirm that the Instagram hack wasn’t entirely nonsense. It did seem to redirect some sweat away from my eyes, and for runners who routinely end workouts half-blinded by their own forehead, that may be enough to make it worthwhile.
Personally, I’m not sure I’m ready to join the goop life.
Maybe I’m simply a glutton for sweat punishment, but having Aquaphor sitting on my face became one more sensation to think about when I was already soaked to my core. I’ll happily leave this hack to my fellow sweaters who don’t mind the grease while I keep searching for my own solution.
Apparently, that search should start with a sweatband—and, fine, some sunscreen.
Sean Abrams was the Senior Editor, Growth and Engagement at Men’s Health. He’s a former hip hop dancer who likes long walks on the beach and large glasses of tequila. You can find his previous work at Maxim, Elite Daily, and AskMen.
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