DaveLeeNC

I sweat a lot (4 pounds of water per hour if riding hard on a hot/humid day). My sweat management problem is that I generate a lot of sweat at and below my eyebrows (including generating sweat in my eye sockets). I am constantly (like once a minute on a hot day) wiping sweat from my eyes with a rag that I carry in one hand. The whole damned process is irritating and at least as much of a negative as is the temperatures themselves. This is southeastern US, FWIW.

I just wondered how many others have this issue and how they deal with it. I do wear eyeglasses, BTW. Could not see a damn thing without them.

Thanks.

dave

urbanknight

When sweat started to become a problem for me, I started wearing a headband, and eventually switched to a full skull cap when I started getting sunburned on my balding crown. Either of those keep much of the sweat out of my eyes.

Iride01 

A headband, dew rag or some type of head cover helps soak up sweat and help it drip elsewhere instead of into your eyes. I've been using a SweatVac that I got years ago. It seems my head stays cooler too. As well, it protects my scalp from getting that weird suntan pattern on it from the holes in my helmet.

None are perfect, but they help. It also seems that sun glasses/glasses with smaller lenses lets the air flow better to blow the sweat away from my eyes. But I'm not entirely convinced of that. Might just be that some of my sunglasses sit higher and cover more of my brow allowing the sweat to accumulate and drip in my eyes.

CAT7RDR

I've been wearing these for about 5 years now.
Headsweats. If it gets salty, just rinse and you're good to go.

datlas 

Everyone is different, but I love Love LOVE my Halo headband. It's got a rubber/silicone strip above the eyebrows so most of the sweat goes around the temples and stays out of the eyes. It's very comfortable and comes in different versions.

There is something called a Sweat Gutr that does the same thing may be better, but likely uncomfortable since it has a firmer plastic gutter.

YMMV

himespau 

Same, have a Sweat Gutr but haven't ever gotten around to using it as the Halo is so comfortable and looking at the Gutr, well, it doesn't look fun.

DaveLeeNC

Just to be clear ... I do not have a problem with sweat generated from above my eyebrows. It is the eyebrows and below generated sweat that is my problem. dave

primov8

I know exactly how you feel. I sweat from my head like Patrick Ewing in the 4th quarter except I'm only 10-15 mins into a ride. This Texas heat isn't helping either. Lol.

I wear Rx glasses too and I've been using the Halo headbands and cycling caps for years now. It does a great job in channeling the sweat away from the eyes. I also wipe all the lenses on my Rx glasses and even on our ski/snowboard goggles with Zeiss Fog Defender.

prj71

^^This. I have three of them.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=sweat+cap...s_ts-doa-p_1_9

Zaskar

Ooof. That does complicate things.

Sounds like it may be focal hyperhidrosis. Okay, I looked that up. But it does seem like a question for your doc before you go straight to using an antiperspirant on your eyebrows or getting botox.

Iride01 

Well pull that headband, dew rag, SweatVAC or whatever down to where it is covering your eyebrows!

On the sweltering days with high humidity you probably just have to rely on your handkerchief. Assuming you can keep it dry enough to do any good.

genejockey 

I've found that different helmets make an ENORMOUS difference. I replaced my old helmet recently with a Giro Aether, which has one of those retention systems which goes all the way around your head, with a padded band across the brow. For the first 10 miles, no sweat in the eyes. After that, it was like there was a channel running all the sweat I produced into my left eye. I tried a number of fixes, but nothing worked. So I went to my LBS and tried a couple different ones. I settled on a Kask Valegro, which doesn't have such a band. It works great, but later in the ride I have to remember to squeeze out the sweat from the pads - I turn my head to the side, look at the ground, and push my helmet into my forehead. It helps to take off my sunglasses.

I have a Gutr headband. The problem is getting the angle right. You have to set it so when you're in the drops, the ends are lower than the middle, or it just fills up and runs down your face. It's one of the things I tried to get the Giro helmet to work for me. It didn't help.

ussprinceton

DaveLeeNC

I will give Fog Defender a try. Sweat on my glasses is a second order problem, but a problem none-the less. Years ago I used to play tennis two (early) mornings a week. I would regularly have problems with my glasses fogging over while playing - that stuff could have helped a bunch I think.

dave

DaveLeeNC

I have run into hyperhidrosis before. Per my doctor I probably don't have that issue (with my eccrine glands). I have pretty much decided that a lot of sweat from my eyes/face is a given and I just need the best procedure possible for dealing with that sweat. Right now it is simply lots of wiping with a wash cloth sized rag (I own about 10 of them). If it is going to be a tough day I put a couple of them in a plastic bag in a jersey pocket. Anything in a jersey pocket will be soaking wet after a while in hot weather (unless protected by a plastic bag).

dave

datlas 

Consider moving to the SF Bay area??

Redbullet

The safest way is to stop and clean the glasses as needed, then press your helmet on your head to squeeze the sweat from inside sponges, to postpone the next cleaning. And be happy, because it could be even worse: if you wear sunglasses with prescription lens attached, Murpy's laws will usually guide the drops of sweat between the sun and prescription lens, so you will always need to clean 4 lens instead of 2.

bbbean 

There is a whole cottage industry devoted to caps, headbands, gutters, sponges, and other devices to keep sweat out of your eyes. I'm partial to Walz cycling caps, but there's a world of options available.

caloso

I cut the top off a cycling cap and wear it backwards. The brim seems to pull the sweat to the back of my neck. Read about this trick on the Orica-Green Edge blog many years ago.

DaveLeeNC

In my case sweat on my glasses is not nearly as big a problem as sweat in my eyes. dave

rsbob 

say like HAL 9000: "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that"

DaveLeeNC

It is unfortunate (for me) that no one addresses the problem of sweat generated at/below the eyebrows. dave

datlas 

Are you POSITIVE the sweat is coming out below your eyebrows? Most of us sweat on our scalp and forehead, and the sweat runs down into our eyes.

bbbean 

It has been my experience that if I drain or eliminate the sweat from above the eyebrows, the sweat generated at or below my eyebrows is minimal, but obviously YMMV.

DaveLeeNC

Been fighting this for a long time - the answer to your question is YES, although I am not sure if it is eyebrows or the skin in my eye sockets (or both).

Today is an interesting (non-cycling) example. I was on the golf course (walking but using a push cart) and it was North Carolina humid and around 90 degrees. I was waiting for a playing partner to hit and I took my towel and thoroughly dried off my face, hair, arms, and hands and walked on after he hit. When I got to my ball (a minute later maybe) my eye sockets were soaking wet. No way did sweat from my scalp/forehead make it down to my eye sockets in that amount of time (where my bucket hat serves as kind of a sweat band).

I have noticed a similar phenomenon on my bike. I recall once, on a particularly tough day (hot/humid) already wiping out my eyes at the intersection of Burning Tree Rd and Diamond Dr - this would be maybe 4 minutes into my ride. I was already wiping out my eye sockets at that point - I was probably wearing a SweatVac at the time plus (maybe) a SweatGutr (but maybe not).

Just the way it is for me - I seem to be somewhat unusual in this respect.

dave