Talk to me about polyester and sweating

[Mygardenandme]

I'm 46 and just So.Hot.All.The.Time. I have to take time at work to tidy myself up. It's not hot flushes. I'm just hot full stop.

I've never paid all that much attention to labels so I'm guessing most of my clothes are polyester and their ilk. I will admit that my new cardi (apparently made from recycled bottles) is AWFUL and turns me into a puddle.

Does it really make that much difference generally though? If I were to switch to natural fabrics would all the ironing really stop my fringe sticking to my forehead?

Or is it one of those Mumsnet things when one couldnt possibly be seen hanging a Tescos acrylic jumper on the line instead of a Brora cashmere gilet?

FYI most wool makes me itch, I'd rather be a sweaty mess than deal with linen creases and silk is off the table for ethical reasons (even so called "ethical silk") so Im not sure that leaves many options anyway tbh.

Yes it does make a difference. A massive difference. I am mid forties too and can’t stand to wear polyester or acrylic anymore. It definitely turns me into a hot sweaty mess (I don’t get hot flushes yet, just get too hot wearing synthetic fabrics now)
I wear jumpers made from cotton or wool. Not all wool is scratchy, merino is usually cheaper than cashmere, bargains to be had on vinted.
cotton shirts/blouses/tops
I can only have 100% cotton bedcovers too.
I buy most of my clothes from vinted.

I live in an Australia and have never had success with polyester clothing. Once I started to go through menopause I stopped even considering acrylic jumpers. The first thing I look at when buying clothing is what is it is made of.

I can’t stand wool either as it also makes me itch - unless it’s really expensive cashmere which I can’t afford (with menopause comes dry skin and dry skin is itchy skin). Merino wool now makes me itchy although it never used to. I can wear Uniqlo cashmere but find it wears out too quickly/ doesn’t stand up to my lifestyle. And I don’t like their style of cardigans.

I mostly buy cotton clothing but do have a few things that are bamboo - I’m not crazy about bamboo because I find it wears out very quickly but it is soft and cool although not as absorbent as cotton ime.

I have a few things that are cotton with some elastine but that is suitable only in winter for me.

I wear heavy cotton knits in winter.

Silk will keep me cool but it won’t absorb sweat on hot days and needs a lot of care, I’ve found.

I have a clothes steamer so it cuts ironing time quite a lot. There are ironing cupboards you can buy apparently, but they are costly I’ve been told, and I’ve nowhere to put one.

Like the pp all my bed linen and coverings are cotton.

Natural fibres all the way, clothing and bedding. Cotton, silk, linen, cashmere.

I run cold and am not a big sweater but I avoid polyester and acrylic as any BO smell seems to get stuck in the fabric, leading to me smelling within a few hours.

I am 55 and can’t wear polyester at all, instant hot flush, which gives me the rage! I only buy natural fabrics these days.

It's definitely a thing. I recently bought a polyester sweater from Uniqlo and I'm a sweaty mess everytime I wear it. It's really unpleasant. I don't have this issue with cotton or wool.

Buy natural fabrics yes it makes a massive difference. Also reduces your carbon footprint as it emits less in the production.

Linen next to the skin, wool on the outside. That way you don’t have to do much ironing and don’t get itchy.
Cotton is better than linen for not creasing but also not quite as brilliant for wicking away sweat.
Bamboo/viscose is better than polyester.

Has to be natural fibres for me or i'm a puddle. And i'm finding it increasingly difficult to find natural fibres for crucial clothing items. So many non-natural PJs, sheets, jumpers etc at lower voice ranges. It seems to be a privilege to wear natural fibres now, it never used to be that way.

Yes, I have been trying to find new cotton pyjamas in physical shops without success. I will have to buy online but would rather feel them first.

Recycled bottles are plastic! Like sitting in a roll of plastic bubble wrap around you all day 😬

I can't stand the amount of polyester clothing in the UK. I also don't have hot flushes yet but try to wear cotton or natural fibres. At most, I'd buy a cotton/polyester blend, but only where the natural fibre is far more of a percentage than the plastic.

My temperature varies through the day in different working spaces plus lots of movement so I tend to wear White Stuff cotton Annie shirts which have a loose (well ventilated) fit and tank tops that let my arms (and armpits) breathe.

By the end of the day it really pays off compared to closer fitting tops with more synthetic materials.

Funnily enough, all my bedding most of my pjs are 100% cotton for years because otherwise I get hot.

Now I feel like a dunce.

Merino makes me itch. Even if I have sonething under it, jumpers irritate my neck which is annoying as I like them. I go into shops and rub jumpers on my cheeks/ears to see if they are itchy. 🤣

I've only ever had 2 wool jumpers which haven't. One was a Brora cashmere which was beautiful. It was poorly listed on Ebay so a bargain, otherwise Brora is out of my budget. And an old M&S St Michael's that I picked up in a charity shop. No label but it felted eventually so was some sort of wool. I doubt it was cashmere because of the age.

Yes I never wear polyester for that reason

viscose occasionally

Can’t wear polyester, acrylic, or anything like that since I hit menopause (or sleep in, got to be high thread count cotton, or linen). It’s the first thing I check when I buy clothes now. I love linen, cashmere, linen/silk mix, cotton mainly, and have a clothes steamer to keep the creases to a minimum. The thought of wearing anything made from plastic bottles is making me sweat just thinking about it, lol

I got heat rash off my polyester trousers twice this week. I refuse point blank to buy polyester tops and won't be buying trousers in it anymore either.

I agree. I only buy natural fibres but it limits what I can buy and how much I can buy. And the clothes aren’t always exactly to my taste. But comfortover fashion for me, these days

However if I go way back to when I was young, clothes, bed linen etc wasn’t cheap - anyway. You bought less.

I try to stick to natural fibres, or good mixes, cotton and viscose are good for me and there's a few others I like, but I can't remember the name. Jumpers have to have at least 50% cotton, polyester or wool for me buy them, and I wear them with nothing underneath or just a vest as I get too hot. Cardigans are my favourite as they are easy to just open or whip off in the heat. I obviously stick a t shirt underneath these.

OP- you keep mentioning wool/merino/itching etc in your posts. There are lots of other natural fibres to wear that don't cause these issues!

I only wear natural fabrics, cotton, linen (don't care if it creases, that's part of the charm), and wool. Merino doesn't make me itch, I wear it all the time next to my skin in winter so I guess I'm lucky there. All my bedding is 100% cotton. I live in NZ and am never a sweaty mess. I get hot of course, it's almost summer and we are having temps in the high 20s to 30 degrees, but not nearly as hot as I would be in polyester.

My elderly mum wears polyester because it helps her keep warm!

I was just responding to someone who said merino wasn't itchy. 😊

I'll have to look into the options though

I'm lucky that I don't really get hot flushes (thank you, HRT!) but if the weather's too warm then I become a puddle in polyester.
I'm not a fan of some natural fabrics like wool, linen or silk so I tend to stick with cotton and viscose.
As PP said it is wearable in winter though if you are trying to stay warm!

I had some gym leggings, thought I was going to pass out and like I was wearing a bin liner. They were made out of recycled bottles. I get the theory behind it but not practical.