Excruciating heat, crowded transport, sports session: sweat is everywhere, with its cocktail of sticky skin and annoying odors. With ever-longer summers, this discomfort is becoming a daily beauty issue. In Japan, Kao tackles it with an approach focused on perspiration itself. And this time, it’s not about making it disappear.
Kao’s Sweat Perspiration technology, unveiled in 2026, does not block sweat but makes it dry faster. By relying on a hydrophilic film on the surface of the skin, researchers want to maintain temperature regulation while reducing the feeling of clamminess when it is hot.
Kao, perspiration and the challenge of skin comfort
At the Kao Skin Care Products Research Laboratory, perspiration is first seen as a mechanism: it releases heat through evaporation. The problem is not the sweat itself, but what it leaves on the skin during episodes of heat and humidity which are increasing with climate change.
By studying these mechanisms, researchers have identified two major sources of discomfort. The sodium chloride in sweat slows its drying, while the sweat and sebum mixture creates that sticky texture. Porous silica, used to absorb sweat and sebum, is no longer sufficient when temperature and perspiration rise.
Inside Kao’s Sweat Sweat Technology
To overcome these limits, Kao designed a hydrophilic film capable of dispersing sweat on the skin rather than leaving it in thick drops. The formula combines a flat-shaped hydrophilic powder and porous silica, this duo reducing the contact angle of the droplets and promoting their spreading, the first step before accelerated drying.
On surfaces imitating skin, a prototype incorporating this combination was tested at 30°C and 60% relative humidity. Under these conditions, the evaporation time of the artificial sweat decreased by approximately 33% compared to an untreated sample, which returns the skin to a less humid feeling more quickly, without blocking perspiration.
To what care can this sweating technology evolve?
Kao presented these results at the 3rd Annual Congress of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Japan, in Kanagawa in December 2025, confirming his ambitions on skin heat management. According to the group, this technology opens the way to treatments capable of improving the comfort of the skin in a hot environment while respecting the natural function of sweat.
We can imagine deodorants focused on rapid drying rather than stopping perspiration, body lotions for areas prone to friction or sports and sun care products that are more pleasant in summer. Kao plans to strengthen its research on sweating and continue developing products aimed at relieving discomfort associated with extreme heat.
What is Kao Sweat Perspiration technology?
It’s an innovation from Kao that uses a hydrophilic film and powders to help sweat dry faster.
Does Sweat Transpiration technology block perspiration?
No, it does not stop the flow of sweat, it aims to reduce the feeling of damp and sticky skin.
When will products use this Kao technology?
The sources mention a scientific presentation at the end of 2025, but no product launch schedule has yet been communicated.
