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We’ve all been there. Class is over and you know you need to boogie…yet you can’t help but linger in Savasana just a little longer. After you finally peel yourself from your mat and gather your things from the locker room, you glance at the showers. “How quickly can I get in and out?” you ask yourself. But you have to get back to work or pick up the kids or do that thing you’ve already rescheduled twice so you jet. You don’t feel great about sitting in your sweaty yoga pants, but how bad can it be, really, to hang out for a few hours?
As you can probably guess, it’s not so great.
Exactly How Terrible Is It to Linger In Sweaty Yoga Pants?
Some of us might feel an underlying sense of unease when we’re unable to hit the showers immediately after class, certain we’re just asking for a gynecological headache. Others may worry about clogging pores or offending our coworkers. We might even chastise ourselves for being lazy, even though we just spent an entire yoga class silencing our negative inner critic.
If you just can’t be bothered, don’t beat yourself up. Staying in your sweaty yoga pants won’t create a life-altering imbalance. But it could create some, er, discomfort.
Fungal Infections
When it comes to trapping that sweat in damp, tight-fitting workout clothes for hours on end, what’s the worst that could happen?
Let’s set the record straight: “Sitting around in sweaty yoga pants is not going to cause a yeast infection,” says Marisa Messore, MD, OB/GYN, director of the Center for Women’s Sexual Health. A yeast infection occurs when the bacteria in your vagina is out of balance. Taking antibiotics, pregnancy or hormonal disturbances, unmanaged diabetes, or having a weakened immune system all contribute to our possibility of getting a yeast infection.
The issue of lounging around in sweaty undies is more of an external one. “If you get a skin rash in the external genital area, that could be a fungal infection (officially called vulvar candidiasis),” explains Messore.
Breakouts
“I often see patients who experience skin issues from wearing sweaty, tight-fitting clothing, like yoga pants, for extended periods,” says Hannah Kopelman, MD, a dermatologist at Kopelman Hair Restoration. “It creates an environment that can trap sweat, oil, and bacteria against your skin.” And that sweat buildup and friction can cause skin irritations such as rashes, breakouts on the butt, even folliculitis, she explains.
A quick primer on the difference. “Pimples may appear more as blackheads or whiteheads,” says Kopelman. “Folliculitis usually presents as red, inflamed bumps or pustules around hair follicles and can be itchy or tender. While pimples can sometimes become infected, they aren’t directly related to the hair follicle itself.”
Folliculitis is when hair follicles become inflamed or infected, often due to bacteria, fungi, or friction from tight clothing whereas pimples form when oil and dead skin cells clog pores, explains Kopelman.
None of which are pleasant. If you’ve ever experienced an ingrown hair or clogged pore in your pelvic area, you know that it makes settling into Warrior 2 less than pleasant.
Smelling Like Sweat
It’s common knowledge that sweat is the body’s way of cooling down. But contrary to popular belief, sweat itself doesn’t necessarily smell. Only certain types of sweat produced by specific glands that have the potential to stink––and even then it’s not so much the sweat that smells but what’s in the sweat and how it mixes with bacteria on our skin or clothes. So sweat, on its own, is only one piece of the wet clothes puzzle.
Alternatives to Lounging in Sweaty Yoga Pants
Not surprisingly, the amount of time you sit around without changing after class makes a difference.
“The longer you sit in sweaty clothes, the worse it can be for your skin,” says Kopelman. “Beyond just body odor, staying in damp workout gear for extended periods (like three hours versus 30 minutes) increases your risk of skin irritation, folliculitis, and even fungal infections. The moisture, bacteria, and friction from tight clothing can lead to more pronounced skin problems over time.”
One solution both doctors recommend is moisture-wicking, cotton, and linen clothing that is lighter and more breathable. Faye Rex, a Hudson Valley–based yoga instructor who teaches at Sky Ting, Equinox, and elsewhere, made the switch to flowing fabrics about eight years ago. “Both my yoga practice and my teaching career started in hot yoga rooms, so I wore tight shorts and leggings for years. [Now I wear] flow-ier fabrics and it is definitely the way to go.” She opts for joggers over wide-leg or harem pants to avoid the nuisance of not getting tangled up in extra fabric during her practice.
If you can’t—or, for whatever reason, don’t—shower immediately after class, Kopelman says the optimal solution is changing out of your workout clothes as soon as possible. “Even though many leggings claim to be sweat-wicking, I still recommend changing out of tight-fitting clothing as soon as possible. This helps prevent buildup of bacteria and friction.”
Even reaching for a towel and drying your sweat can help. At a minimum, change your underwear and slip into a loose-fitting pair of pants. “If I’m sweaty enough after a yoga class, I’m definitely changing or, in times of need, taking off my underwear and going commando in looser pants,” says Rex.
Already found yourself with skin irritation? If you have more than a few pimples or experience persistent, uncomfortable bumps, Dr. Kopelman recommends seeing a dermatologist. “These bumps could indicate folliculitis, fungal infections, or other conditions that may require medical treatment to resolve. If the discomfort persists or worsens, professional evaluation is always a good idea.”
So next time you’re lying in Savasana, fighting the urge to let your mind leave the room before your body does, you can relax a little longer. The shower can wait…at least for a little while.
