A trial two-pack will only set you back $47 (23.50 each) and you can sign up for one of their other two subscription services to get your COLETTE tanks delivered to you on a regular basis.

The folks there recently contacted me and offered up to send yours-truly some samples to try out! So don’t touch that dial if you want to get the inside scoop on the BlackSocks.com undershirt line.

Black Socks COLETTE Undershirt Launch

In response to a reader’s question about the product, I sent him an email with the following thoughts and feedback about the new Insta Slim crew neck compression undershirt:

hey j,

thought I’d send over some initial thoughts on the instaslim. I wore it today for several hours and overall, was pretty pleased with the product. the one I have is size large, so it was a hair too big for me, but it did a fairly good job in smoothing out my chest and holding in my mid-section. I figure a size medium would have performed even better for me since I normally wear medium sized undershirts.

click to enlarge

one thing I find really interesting, is that instaslim looks incredibly similar to spanx for men. I’m not sure which one was released first, but they are very similar in design so I wouldn’t be surprised if one was modeled after the other to some degree. otherwise, it is possible that both companies had the same general idea of what design they wanted and executed it similarly.

the fabric blend is more on the synthetic feeling side being 80% nylon / 20% spandex than the cotton rich feeling of spanx for men, but personally speaking I do like the instaslim being more synthetic because it not only can work as a regular undershirt replacement, but I can also wear it as a base shirt layer when going to the gym. it feels like a short sleeve version of my gc2 compression tank top which I’m a pretty big fan of and something I wear during every workout.

Insta Slim (left) vs. Spanx for Men (right)

with their current special, you can get two instaslim undershirts for $24.90 each. at that price, it’s a pretty incredible deal for a good performing men’s slimming/shaping undershirt.

I’ve attached some photos and a size comparison that show the instaslim measurements compared to spanx for men. in the photo, spanx4men is on the right in the photo.

hope you find the above information helpful and feel free to email me with any additional questions!

best, tug

Probably the only nit worth mentioning is the collar width being 1/4″ wide really took away from the asthetics of the undershirt. Most undershirt collars are actually cut and stitched in separately, however, the Insta Slim crew neck collar was a simple fold-n-stitch design. They did a nice job hemming the sleeves and the bottom of the undershirt, but they really missed the mark in stitching the collar.

I’ve been asked by others how Insta Slim compares to Slim T’s. To be totally honest, I think the Insta Slim compression undershirt handles flattening, shaping, and slimming much better than Slim T’s overall. Although Slim T does offer some chest flattening, it doesn’t do a really stellar job of holding in the midsection. But, Insta Slim handle both chest flattening and waist trimming about as good as many of the other slimming undershirts I’ve tried, even being one size too big for me. I have to assume that a medium sized Insta Slim undershirt would perform even better on my physique.

Considering these slimming undershirts sell for around $24.90 each (with their current 2-for-1 special), I think Insta Slim is a very good value for the price.

Starting this fall, Spanks for Men will have a full line of manderwear. The Spanks Cotton Compression Undershirts which were launched last February were so popular that now they’re launching two more lines of men’s shapewear, including the Zoned Performance undershirts, tank, crew neck, and V-neck shirta in black and white; and the Cotton Comfort brief and boxer brief bottoms, available in September. All can be found at Neiman Marcus and on spanx.com.“Men love our cotton compression shirts and were asking for underwear to match,” says Spanx founder Sara Blakely. We wanted to give them the really comfortable underwear with benefits and actually created an innovative 3D mesh pouch that gives guys plenty of stay-cool breathing room. This season we’re also introducing the Zoned Performance undershirt, a physique-improving, seamless wicking undershirt with targeted compression zones that will transform the torso and chest.” Shirts are priced around $58.

I quickly headed over to Spanx.com and found that the new Zoned Performance, physique improving undershirt line (crew neck & v-neck: $78 retail, and tanks: $75 retail) were indeed available for purchase!  This new line is different from the Cotton Compression line in that it’s made from 92% nylon/8% spandex and looks like it could be a fantastic compression undershirt to wear during sporting activities, like working out, etc.  Being made mostly out of cotton, its Cotton Compression brother line was more a regular undershirt replacement than an active-wear garment, but the new Zoned Performance compression undershirt line looks really exciting and I can’t wait to try them out and report back here!

I emailed my friends over at Spanx HQ to see if I could learn a little more about the new line, and they sent over the following info:

• For seamless, maximum shaping and an instant transformation, he’ll love the SPANX Zoned Performance Crew Neck ($78), V-Neck ($78), and Tank ($75) in sizes S-XXL and colors white and black:
• Designed to perform every time, powerful targeted zoned compression and seamless design keep posture, love handles, and guts checked.
• Don’t sweat it! Shirts feature Breatheasy™, moisture-wicking cooling zones through underarms and back.
• Lumbar support zone improves posture.
• Athletic design allows for maximum mobility.

As I get more information filtering in about the new line of compression undershirts and the underwear, I’ll report it here! In the meantime, take a look at the gallery of pictures of the new product lines below!

8/29/10 – Update: Got more information from Spanx HQ about their Spanx4Men product lines. Two main additions: 1) more details about the pricing for new underwear line, 2) found out that S4M Cotton Compression undershirts will be available in heather grey soon too!

The SPANX Comfort Cotton Underwear is available in two classic styles, the Brief ($38) and Boxer Brief ($48) in sizes S-XXL and colors white, black and grey. Trunk fans stay tuned – coming next spring!

• Innovative 3D pouch designed for comfort and support.
• Breatheasy™ mesh around pouch keeps groin cool.
• Compression cotton hugs body and keeps its shape.
• Comfortable elastic waistband won’t dig in.
• The boxer brief features an anti-chafe design.

The best-selling SPANX Cotton Compression Undershirt is available in three staple styles: Crew Neck ($58), V-Neck ($58), and Tank ($55) in sizes S-XXL and colors white, black and new for fall heather grey launching in September.

Ript Skinz is the new men’s compression ungarment line from socially conscious fashion brand Legonds & Heroes. The new men’s slimming line is unique from any other product on the market right now because it not only slims and shapes the wearer with its compression fabric -  it also tones and tightens the skin after a couple weeks of daily wear!  How does it do that? Based on the company’s recent Ript Skinz press release:

the fabric in Ript Skinz, along with every other type of Skineez Skincarewear, is actually infused with a patented cosmetic skin-care formula that’s supposed to “rejuvenate, moisturize, tighten and tone the skin” as the clothes are being worn.

The formula in the shape-wear was developed by a man named Dr. Raymond Mathis, who figured out that combining vitamin E with shea butter, apricot kernel oil, rose hip oil, red algae extract, caffeine and retinol could have cellulite-fighting, tightening effects on the skin.

His formula is embedded into the shape-wear through tiny, time-released microcapsules, which are absorbed directly into the wearer’s skin throughout the day. After 10 or so washes, the garments can be sprayed with the formula again for continued use.

The line includes underwear (thigh-firming), a muscle shirt, and they also plan to release socks (I LOVE the idea of socks infused with a skin-care formula because my feet are always dry and I can’t ever seem to get them looking good). I wanna get me some!

The shapewear company has been offering a similar women’s line called Skineez Skincarewear for sometime now and with the men’s shapewear category exploding like it has over the last couple of years, it made perfert sense for them to expand into the men’s compression undergarment market.

They don’t have a Ript Skinz website up yet, but I’ve already reached out to the company to see if I can get more information about the product line and find out when it will be available for sale online and in retail. I’ve also asked for some samples to try out and review. Stay tuned for more information!

Update: I heard back from their PR person and found out that the line isn’t releasing until Spring of 2011! Dang, and I wanted a pair of those socks! I’ve asked for some product pictures and more details, so if I get any of that I’ll post it here. They’ll also be sending me some samples as soon as they become available.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a little piece about Sweat Management for Women that a fellow blogger and freind wrote about hyperhidrosis in women. Charmaine herself has hyperhidrosis and she’s created a wonderful blog that addresses the topic specifically for the female demographic. Although, guys you’ll also find some fantastic information on her site, so if you’re looking for information on excessive sweating or hyperhidrosis, you should take a few minutes and visit Charmaine’s website!

Thanks Charmaine for putting together this article!

Sweat Management for Women: Foundation Wear Equals Freedom!

By Charmaine Conaghan

Foundation wear for women can be a complex subject.  As women, we have the option to wear a multitude of different products to cinch, smooth, lift, conceal, and enhance various body parts.  But what about managing and concealing unexpected or excessive sweating?

For the woman suffering from hyperhidrosis (excessive or unpredictable sweating), clothing choices can be severely limited.  Finding something “safe” to wear on a daily basis that does not reveal sweat marks can make getting dressed every morning a tiresome and somewhat depressing chore.  Many women are unaware of the wide range of choices in foundation wear that can absorb the sweat, thus enabling us to wear just about anything!

Undergarment sweat management for women can be boiled down to two basic items: the dress shield and the camisole.  Sounds simple, right?  You will be amazed to discover how many variations there are using these two little garments.  There are disposable dress shields that can be taped or sewn into your outer garment, washable dress shields that come in varying degrees of protection, dress shields that can snap onto a bra strap, camisoles with dress shields sewn in, and little bolero-type garments that come with dress shields sewn in that are lighter than a camisole and allow you to wear just about any type of neckline.  There is even a dress shield available that can be placed anywhere on the torso if you happen to sweat somewhere other than under the arms.

Additionally, all of these camisoles (and boleros, also called valaras) come in a variety of colors and fabric types: stretch lace, slip material, cotton jersey, ribbed knit, you name it.  You also have the choice of the length, cut, fit, and neckline you need.

So, ladies, if you have ever found yourself in a store thinking you could never buy that silk blouse in that beautiful shade of blue, well, it’s time to think again.  Given the wide range of sweat management foundation wear, you no longer need to tell yourself “I can’t” when it comes to what you can “safely” wear.  Unless your credit card says so.

By Charmaine Conaghan, Publisher of http://www.HyperhidrosisAndMe.com, a comprehensive website on Hyperhidrosis that offers support and advice, as well as product, clothing, and treatment options for those who have excessive or inappropriate sweating.

Here’s C’s note to me:

For some time I have wanted to pose common sense rules about wearing and caring for undershirts, but I also didn’t want to sound “preachy.” After all, who am I to sound like the etiquette expert? Well, sometimes humor (or an attempt at…) can do the trick and keep it light.  

If Undershirts Could Talk…

By “C in Cali”

For the record, I’m really not an undershirt whisperer.

But I seem to remember some Fruit of the Loom commercials with dancing—and talking—fruits. So I wondered just what our undershirts could be telling us. You won’t be surprised to learn that they all had a lot to say about how we should care for them. Here’s what the undershirts had to say…

“I work hard, so I deserve a rest.”
For me, work and play are all work. So, after you’ve been working all day and decide on some night life, give me a rest. I should never have to pull more than one shift. Change me as your activities change. I rest well when tossed in the wash bin after work, after partying, and after sleeping. Don’t wear out our friendship (or me).

“I really like soap and water.”
Read my label with its washing instructions which may vary depending on my material. I don’t mind being “hung out to dry” but I’ll settle for being “tumbled” in warm heat. But, I insist you always fold me neatly afterwards. This helps me keep my shape. Next time you come looking for me, I’ll be ready for you without your having to shake and shape me.

“Give me a neat home.”
Sorry, taking me out of the dryer and dumping me into a drawer doesn’t cut it. If I’m neatly folded in stacks, I’ll save you lots of time finding me in the morning. I really like those plastic see-through bags to keep me in shape and smelling fresh. But, I have allergies to mothballs, scents of any kind, or those little cedar chips, so keep them out of my way.

“I like lots of company.”
Never understood why you bring home so few of us. Stock up and remember the merchandiser’s rule: rotate the stock. I’ll have a long life if you don’t make me work all the time. So after I get folded after a good bath in the wash tub, place me at the bottom of the stack and take from the top. With a large enough inventory, I’ll stay fresh.

“I may be shy, but I like the limelight once in a while.”
I may live my life “close to the vest” as you say, but I like to show off on occasion. Nothing makes me happier than to make you look good. Some examples: We crew neck T-shirts like showing our stuff under a V-neck sweater. My tank top friends enjoy hanging out with your Polo shirts best of all. And my V-neck friends like to hang with white pinpoint oxford shirts. None of us minds sleepy time. We’re a versatile bunch, so mix us up just as you mix up your outer shirts.

“I don’t like bad behavior.”
Most of the time, we undershirts behave well. But there are some bad cotton seeds out there you may not even notice. The worst spoiler is the undershirt with a frayed collar. Frayed is bad enough, but then there are the undershirts that are so stretched out they don’t lie flat or keep their shape. Then there’s the undershirt that insists on rolling up and making you yank it down all day and of course ruin the collar line in the process. Some undershirts refuse to let go of stains or insist on smelling like last night’s beer pong game. All examples of undershirts behaving badly. Don’t put up with them.

“Respect our Size.”
If you’re looking to streamline your tummy, try out one of those nifty compression shirts, but don’t think a small size on a bigger-than-small guy will work the same way. You’ll have us running up your front and back all day. Likewise, if you’re a smaller-than-large guy, don’t mess with large undershirts. They will be so roomy as to double up on you and give you a bloated physique. Watch the size

“Know when it’s time to say goodbye.”
We undershirts enjoy life, but there comes a time for us to be taken to the recycler…There’s no glory for us when we lose our original color and get mousy gray and dingy or when we can’t shed yellow and cake-like perspiration stains or when we develop the fatal undershirt disease—holes. Those pin-like holes will stretch out and enlarge. Larger holes will stretch the fabric out of its contour and will probably show through your shirt, embarrassing us both. We’ve led a good life and we don’t want to be a burden to you. Let’s just recycle.

Now if you think I’m making lots of demands of you, consider how hard my job is. As an undershirt, I have a tough job description: mop up human sweat, protect your outer shirt, help adjust your body temperature, keep you comfortable and feeling confident, block out things better left blocked like your manly nipples and stray hair, and always make you look well dressed. I don’t get paid much to do all this: I am one of the least expensive articles of clothing you wear. All I ask in return is that you take good care of me.

Here are the details:

Did you know that 80% of Americans never change the style of underwear they wear in their adult lives, and 60% of those people don’t even wear underwear that fits!  Whether it’s the wrong size, fabric or cut, people have been settling for second best for far too long. Freshpair thinks it’s time for everyone to change their underwear, and this year’s National Underwear Day is the best time to try on a new fit!

Thursday, August 5^th is National Underwear Day, and Freshpair will be celebrating from August 1^st – 14^th by giving away 5,000 pairs of free underwear (no strings attached) from the hottest brands, including Piss & Vinegar, Expose, Calvin Klein Underwear, 2xist, Ed Hardy and many more.

To step up the celebration, from now through August 15^th we are also offering 25% off many of our top brands, including 2xist, Unico Underwear, Go Softwear, and Sculptees among many other sales and promotions for both men and women.

In honor of National Underwear Day, we also conducted an annual underwear poll.  Here are a few underwear facts and figures that may (or may not) surprise you:

24% of American men have a lucky pair of underwear.
34% of American women match their bras to their panties.
Married men change their underwear twice as often as single men.

We encourage everyone to wear a fresh pair and come to Freshpair.com to join in the fun in August!  Please feel free to e-mail me for more information or to set up a customized promotion for National Underwear Day!

1. Upcoming SlimT’s Slimming Undershirt/Tank review – I’ve finally got my hands on one of the SlimT slimming tank top undershirts. Unfortunately, I had to get it the old fashioned way – no I didn’t buy it – I’m borrowing it from a friend of mine!  Man, I’ll tell you – these guys who created the SlimT’s infomercial really did an amazing job because I’ve had thousands of people visiting my site over the last several months looking for information about this product. In fact, it appears that SlimT’s is the #1 looked for item on my website! Never fear, Tug is here! And so will the SlimTs review, coming sometime in August.
   8/11/10 Update: See comments section below for a quick/mini Slim Ts review.
2. InstaSlim/I.S. Athletics Slimming/Compression undershirts – Yay! I have one of these too now courtesy of the folks that market and take orders for the company/manufacturer. They were nice enough to send me one of their private stash, so I’m feeling pretty damn special right about now.  Unpacked it right away and was interested to see that it kinda looks and is designed similar to a Spanx for Men! I’m gonna get them side-by-side soon and do a closer comparison. Review coming sometime in August too!
   9/01/10 Update: Finally got around to trying this puppy out. Check out my Insta Slim undershirt review and initial thoughts.
3. Sutran Undershirts – Yep, got my Sutran Sweat Eliminating undershirt too just yesterday and will have to put it to the test when I can get back to the gym. My immediate impression was that the shirt felt really nice, but you can definitely tell that this two-layer sweat soaking undergarment is definitely thicker than the other sweat absorbing undershirts from companies like Silverback, Klienerts, and Sweatshield. Proof is in the pudding though, I’m going to beat myself senseless at the gym over the next couple of weeks and see how well this puppy absorbs.
   
   8/12/Update: Haven’t gone to the gym yet to put it to the test, but I decided to try on my black Sutran undershirt. A great first impression – a very comfortable shirt in it’s own right and although it’s a little thicker than most other regular undershirts (because of the two layers), it doesn’t feel any warmer to wear then the other hyperhidrosis undershirts I’ve tried, some of them mentioned above. The v-neck collar is higher than an average v-neck collared undershirt, but I suppose that would be a good thing because many people who have hyperhidrosis will sweat on the chest and this high v-neck design provides optimum coverage. Now I just have to get myself to the gym to see about how well this undershirt controls sweat through. Stay tuned.
4. 2(x)ist FORM tank review – bad Tug! I have been meaning to get to writing this review, but with the whole site redesign project going on, I haven’t been able to sit down to write the review yet! I’m sure my friends at 2(x)ist are wondering when I’m going to get off my ass and write it, but don’t you worry – that review will also be coming in August.
5. I’ve got a bunch of other stuff to get too as well including reviewing the ever so totally awesome CK MicroModal undershirt as well as writing up some stuff about the very thoughtfully designed and manufactured products from Klen Laundry.
6. There’s a new Odor Eliminating undershirt that we’ll talk about soon
7. And, there’s another sweat absorbing undershirt coming out this fall that might just give Silverback, Kleinerts, Sweatshield, and Sutran a run for their money! I guess only time will tell
8. Lot’s more Ask Tug stories to share too, as well as some recent reader contributions – one of which I’ll try to post later today

Sheeze, I’m gonna be one busy undershirt blogger for the remainder of the summer! Stay cool folks and keep an eye out for some great content coming your way soon!

Yes, it’s been months in the making, but I finally did it. I looked at nearly 100 different site themes and finally decided on this one from Solostream.com. It’s got a great underlying framework that makes my job of maintaining this site a lot easier, plus it looks cool too (or at least I think so)!  The support team at Solostream is really responsive too.

Not only does it look better, it’s got some cool new features too like being able to subscribe to my blog feed via email so you can get automatically notified of new posts daily, threaded comments, gives you easy access to my other social networking links, and has better overall navigation too! I hope you like it.

I also upgraded to the new WordPress 3.0 and moved my site to a faster server at HostGator.com – and the migration went pretty smooth. Here’s a quick shout out to the support team at HostGator.com – they’re the best!

Lastly, this site wouldn’t be as great and easy to interact with, if it weren’t for 23 great plug-ins I’m using. If you want to know which ones I’m using, shoot me an email.

I’m not totally done with the layout, so expect some more changes coming soon. If you’d like to reach me for any reason, visit my contact page and send me a note!

So, if you’re wondering why I haven’t been posting very often lately, it’s because I’ve been working on this new site in my spare time.

From “D”

I am extremely active when wearing a suit at my job (bending, lifting, squating, etc.).  The problem I have with every undershirt is that after a little activity, the arms ride up into my armpits.  Then I have to go into the bathroom and undo my shirt to pull them back down (very annoying).  The best I have found is the Tommy John that you have recommended, but it still happens.  Any advice as to another brand that will stay put would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you for your time.

From “J”

i’m hoping you can help me.  because of the amount of sweat i produce (every day, no matter the temperature), i wear an under shirt every day…under every type of shirt.  but i’m running into a consistent problem with todays short sleeve shirts and polo shirts.  the sleeves keep getting shorter, making it more difficult to keep my undershirt sleeves hidden.  what brand can you recommend that has sufficient length for a six footer, but has pretty short sleeves?

Fundamentally, both of these readers have generally the same problem – undershirt sleeves that are either too long or that ride up. Since the recommendations I made to both of them are pretty similar, I figured I combine them and write a post about it.

Here was my initial response to “D”

hey d,

thanks for stopping by the site and sending in your question!

to be perfectly honest, I have not found any undershirt whose sleeves won’t ride up a bit during the course of a normal day of moving around. the challenge really is that most short sleeves are designed to reach about mid bicep. naturally, when you move around, the sleeve will slip up and then when you bend your arms, since the edge is no longer mid bicep, the shirt sleeve will bunch up a bit and creep up even further.

either the sleeves need to be longer, so they go over your bicep (which we normally do not want) or they have to be shorter so they come to where your bicep starts (which I have not come across yet).

here’s a couple ideas to consider.

1. find a fitted/stretchy undershirt you really like and buy one size smaller. in most cases, the sleeve openings will be narrower, the shoulder strap will be shorter, and the sleeve length will be a bit shorter than one size up. since the shirt is stretchy, the smaller size will still likely fit you. hopefully, the combination will help the short sleeve fit a little better around your arm and not creep up as much.

2. take your undershirts to a dry cleaner or seamstress and see if they can either shorten your sleeves or make the sleeve opening more narrow by simply opening the seam and re-stitching it tighter.

I’ll keep my eyes peeled for some short sleeve undershirts whose sleeves stay in place better, but in the meantime, you might want to try out both of the ideas above to see if one works for you.

keep me posted on what you decide to do so we can share this information with everyone else!

best,
tug

Now “D” did try my idea #1 and bought a TJ undershirt one size smaller and also tried a large size Jockey Echelon (another in my top 5), but neither option worked for him. The arms on both still rode up on the TJ and the torso was too short on the Echelon.

I looked back at my undershirt inventory and as best I could and measured up up the sleeve length on many of them. I also measured the sleeve width, because not only will the sleeve length play a part in this solution, but if the sleeve opening is too wide, it won’t fit tight enough around the bicep. In fact, the shoulder strap length will also play a critical role in the overall equation because if the shoulders are too long, the sleeves will come even farther down the bicep!

In reviewing my inventory at the time, I found that most of the undershirts had sleeve length of 8″ or longer, and an opening of around 5.5″ or more, except for a select handful which include (all size Medium): Silverback Bamboo (sleeve length = 7″, sleeve opening =7″), CK Micromodal (sleeve length = 7.25″, sleeve opening =5.25″), RibbedTee (sleeve length = 7.25″, sleeve opening =5.25″), Sweatshield (sleeve length = 7.5″, sleeve opening =6.25″).

Side Note: There is one other undershirt that offers a shorter sleeve. The moisture wicking 100% polyester undershirt from Campbellsville Apparel has a sleeve length of 6.5″ inches (roughly .75″ inches shorter than the ones above). The only problem is that particular undershirt only comes in a sand color and most of us are actually looking for white undershirts.

I shared the above information with both readers and each have tried out the various recommendations.  But so far, they haven’t found an undershirt that totally solves the problem yet.

After some additional thought, I came up with what I thought was a pretty hair-brained idea, but since it was an idea, I figured I’d share it. This is what I suggested:

i know this is going to sound really stupid, but have you ever tried using a little two sided tape on the inner cuff of the sleeves? women use those types of products all the time to keep their dresses in place (like around the bust area).  bathing suit models use this method too (I’ve heard about this on shows like miss usa).

I also thought of a secondary idea for “J” which was the following:

if the length is real big problem, you really should consider taking them in to a dry cleaner and having the sleeves shortened, or try using hem tape and an iron to shorten them. the latter will only set you back a few bucks and you can try it out on some older undershirts that you wouldn’t worry about ruining.

Well, I’m happy to report that I recently heard back from “D” and he reported the following:

Tug,

Many thanks to you, my problem seems to be solved.  I purchased some tape called Hollywood Fashion Tape.  I place a strip on my tricep and press the sleeve to it and it stays in place for a whole day.  Then removes easily when I take the shirt off.  It’s simple and works well.  No more pulling my sleeves back down.

Thank you for the recommendation!

Derek

If I hear back with any more feedback from either “D”, “J” or the other readers I’ve been exchanging emails with, I’ll post the information here!

Back in early June, I received the following email:

Hi Tug

I was having a look at your site last night, and I think that our product may be of interest to you.

My husband and I have invented a product called Deo-Go, which is specifically formulated for the removal of antiperspirant and deodorant stains and hard marks on clothing.

My husband had ruined many expensive shirts through deodorant stains, and after trying pretty much all products available on the market today, not to mention a lot of home made concoctions, we realized that nothing was 100% effective, especially on those old tougher stains.  We decided to look at the science behind deodorant staining and came up with our new product at the beginning of this year.

Since this time we have applied for a patent which covers the UK and the USA, and have started selling our product online.  We have had hundreds of orders without any form of advertising, from pretty much every country in the world.  We are now getting second orders from people who are delighted.

As you will no doubt know, staining is a serious problem, and clearly there are many people out there who had the same issues we did!

We have a website if you would like to visit us, which is www.deo-go.com we have actually paid a company to come up with a far nicer website which is much more professional, this should be up and running within the next two weeks.

You will also see that we have a YouTube clip, showing our product and how to use it.

At present we only sell online on our website and Amazon.co.uk but shall soon consider launching an advertising campaign…

Should you be interested in our product then we would be happy to send you some samples.  Our hope is that you would consider mentioning our product on your website, or let us advertise on it (we would need costs for this)…

I hope that this is of some interest to you!  We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards
Becky

If you took note of what Becky referred to in her email to me, people looking for ways to remove these hard and set-in pit stains would commonly look to the internet for a solution. In fact, I have articles on this very site (viewed thousands of times) that provide a myriad of home remedy concoctions people could try to use to remove those stains. Some of the proposed solutions include ammonia & water, aspirin & water paste, baking soda & water paste, lemon juice, white vinegar, etc.

But the innate problems with all of these methods are two-fold:

1. They all seem very labor intensive to create. Or, if they’re not difficult to make, you have to make a special trip to a couple of stores to find the right ingredients
2. They are not 100% effective (fyi: Although some people claim to have cleaned stains using these methods, I still haven’t seen ANY before and after pictures yet)

Deo-Go was specifically designed for that purpose and is said to be 100% effective. The product sounded so intriguing, I had several email exchanges with Becky and got some sample bottles so I could put Deo-Go to the test!

I tested Deo-Go three separate times. Two times on two separate permanently armpit-stained undershirts and once on one of Mrs. Tug’s stained white dresses (it kinda looked like a brown coffee stain). My setup and steps:

1. Living room tile floor. I put down plastic so I didn’t catch hell from Mrs. Tug.  (3 minute prep)
2. Laid down armpit stained undershirt #1, sprayed both pits with Deo-Go. I’m a guy, so I didn’t wear any gloves. (1-2 minutes)
3. Followed advice on instructions and did a little rub-a-dub-dub scrub in the seam area to make sure Deo-Go covered affected area (1 minute)
4. Let Deo-Go set-in (25 minutes)
5. I hand washed the undershirt so I didn’t have to wait through an entire laundry wash cycle. If you’re lazy, just throw it in the washer. (5 minutes)
6. Put the wet shirt up to the light and looked with shock, awe and amazement as the pits stains were totally gone!
7. Was really surprised it worked so well, so I decided to do steps 1-5 again on a undershirt #2 to make sure this stuff really works
8. About 30 minutes later, I was looking at an undershirt that looked practically new again
9. A few days later I tried Deo-Go on Mrs. Tug’s dress, and it worked equally as well (I just don’t have before and after pictures)

Here’s the series of pictures I took to document everything (undershirt #1 before / after, then undershirt #2 before after, then both undershirts after drying):

Of course, Deo-Go’s use is not just limited to undershirts. Since it’s color-safe, you can pretty much use it on any type or color of garment (undershirt, shirt, blouse). In addition, since a single bottle will treat around 15 garments, it’s a great value too.

Deo-Go is now available from the following websites:

U.S. & Canadian Customers can purchase Deo-Go ($10.50 USD + shipping) from the Get Deo-Go website

The rest of the world can purchase Deo-Go (£6.99 or € 7.69 + shipping) from the UK Deo-Go website or Amazon.co.uk.

By the way, stay tuned here as we’ll be putting together a Deo-Go Giveaway contest in a couple of days!

Well suffice it to say, if I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I would have had a difficult time believing Deo-Go actually worked. Now I’m totally convinced.

7/20/10 Update – I had an email exchange with a reader who wondered if I had any recommendations on what would get out a “waxy/cakey” build-up in the armpit area of his t-shirts. After quick email exchange with the co-inventor of Deo-Go, I wound up recommending that he try it out on his stains. This is what he had to say about it’s effectiveness, and he also sent in a before/after picture:

As far as the Deo-Go, it worked great! Attached is a photo of a before and after comparison, and note that I did need to run some of the shirts through 3 times to get them fully clean (and some still have remnants of gunk, but I ran out of Deo-Go).

First run I just sprayed the inside of the shirt, second time I did the inside and scrubbed, third time a scrub on the outside for the shirts with more stubborn gunk. Have to say, I wasn’t really expecting this to work, but I am now a believer!

The photo is of 2 different shirts, but they were equally gunked up and I wanted to keep a “control shirt” to compare.

This reader’s question focuses on compensatory sweating.  That is excessive sweating on the back, abdomen, thighs, and/or lower legs as result of having ETS (Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy) – a surgical procedure used to stop hand sweating:

Hey Tug,

I’ve been suffering from compensatory sweating for a number of years now after having undergone ETS for palmar hyperhidrosis.  As much as I love having warm, dry hands, my overactive internal thermostat is still alive and kickin’ my ass (and back).

I actually had to leave a party in a friend’s backyard today.  I was wearing a standard cotton undershirt which I began to soak through, and frankly I was less concerned about people seeing me sweat and more so just completely uncomfortable.  Sweat was pooling up at the bottom of my back, and a paper towel wipe in the bathroom came back completely soaked.

I had to leave an hour or so later and blasted the air conditioning the whole way home, and then it hit me – compensatory sweating wasn’t just an annoyance, it was debilitating.  I had to leave a party, and more importantly leave friends that I wanted to see behind just so I could go home and sit in front of an air conditioner.

I was curious to see if there were any “breakthroughs” with treating compensatory sweating, and as expected there aren’t any.  However, I at least gained reassurance that I’m definitely not alone, and I came across an article about SilverBack apparel, which eventually led me to this website.  I must say, there is more information here about dealing with sweat than I expected, and I applaud you for helping so many people.  I hope you can help me!

I quickly became dizzy with all of the options out there.  I’m looking for an undershirt that will just get the sweat off my back and evaporate.  I’m not concerned so much about it soaking through to my shirt, as if I’m going to be outside on a day like today, I usually wear a performance moisture-wicking shirt.  However, when I’m standing around at a party, I just wish there was something to keep sweat from running down my back.  I assume I’d need something skin-tight so it is constantly touching all of the contours of my back, but also made of a material that will evaporate quickly to give a cooling effect (that will hopefully slow down the sweating).

Is there a particular product you can recommend?  “Sweatshield” looks promising, but I don’t see many reviews about it.  Again, I’m mostly concerned about my comfort, as having sweat roll down my back all day and walking around with a wet cotton undershirt is really taking its toll on me.

If I can give you any other information for you to make a better recommendation for me, please ask.  Or, if you’re not sure what’s best but you can limit my options for me, I’m willing to buy-and-try as many as it takes until I find the option that provides the most comfort/relief.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, I really appreciate it.

R

My response:

hey r,

sorry for the delay in getting back to you – I’ve had a bunch on my plate lately. the great news is that I will use this email exchange as the first in several articles that address the topic of hyperhidrosis.

coincidentally, I have another reader that suffers from compensatory sweating as well. he too had ets and I believe his problem areas are back and chest too. we’ve been in regular contact and I believe I know what his favorite undershirt options are. before I get to telling you about undershirts, I wanted to outline the possible techniques/treatments you may want to investigate to help with compensatory sweating.

1. apply antiperspirant to the area to temporarily reduce the volume of sweat. for situations like your friend’s party where you could greatly benefit from a temporary solution, have you ever thought about applying antiperspirant to your problem areas? there are stronger antiperspirants such as drysol (hypercare), certain dri, maxium, hydrosal, and klima and I don’t know for certain, but if they can be applied in the underarm area to block the sweat, you may be able to apply it to other area of your body as well. of course, there is a possibility that if you block your problem area, you may sweat in another area, but this idea occurred to me and I thought I’d offer up the suggestion.

2. as you likely already know, botox and dysport are treatments used in the underarm area to help reduce/eliminate sweat. I was curious of whether or not those same procedures could help someone with compensatory sweating. not sure, but an idea nonetheless.

3. vaser lipo – this is one of the newer treatments used to treat people with hyperhidrosis. I’m still trying to find a doctor who will provide me more information on the details of the treatment, but it would be interesting to find out whether or not vaser lipo could help reduce compensatory sweating.

4. additional hh resources. there are two sites I would like to point you to that cover the topic of hyperhidrosis in great detail. the first is a forum called verysweatybetty.com and it has a community of people, like you, that have varying levels of excessive and/or compensatory sweating. there’s lots of great information on the site and in the forums. there’s also a very inspiring video of the woman who started the site and it’s definitely worth watching. the second site is hyperhidrosisandme.com. the site owner, charmanie, also has hh and she’s got a wealth of information on the topic including “strategies”, treatment options, product options, and links to other resources such as verysweatybetty.com.

undershirt options:

so now that I’ve bored you with all the information above, let’s get to the topic of undershirts.

for compensatory sweating, one of my readers highly recommends the kleinerts sweat resistant shirts treated with fabrapel. these undershirts are designed in thin, breathable layers, one of which prevents sweat from getting to the outer layer of the shirt (minimizing soak through). of course, you can also take a look at their “body guard” product that can be placed anywhere on your undershirt and will aid in soaking up excess sweat. [lastly, the folks over at kleinerts say that consumers love their sweat block wipes which eliminate sweat for 4-7 days and can also be used on he feet, body or anywhere.

second in line is the bamboo undershirt from silverback apparel. these undershirts are very comfortable and have double layer protection in the underarm and back area. there are a few articles on my site about this product, and overall feedback has been good.

there is a new undershirt from a company in spain (sutran) that recently released an undershirt that supposedly eliminates sweat through that looks very promising. you can read more about the topic in the article on my site, but a reader (the one that has compensatory sweating) and I chipped in together and purchased a handful to test out. as soon as they come in, we’ll do some “load” testing and see how they perform.

a note about the new sweatshield undershirts. I have a few of these and they are very comfortable undershirts, designed with double-layer protection in the underarm areas and made from a micromodal/spandex blend. the micromodal fabric is more absorbent than cotton and would be a great product for people with underarm sweating. I did see some feedback from my reader that has compensatory sweating who got the chance to review the sweatshield undershirts, and although he thought the undershirts were very comfortable, he did have the sweat-through problem in the chest and back areas where he is affected.

well my friend, that’s about all the information I have right now. I would really appreciate it if you decide to try any of the recommendations above and find something that works for your particular condition the best, be sure to write me back and let me know about it. I’m certain my readers would value your findings.

best,
tug

R’s response:

Hey Tug,

First, you absolutely did not bore me with the preliminary thoughts/suggestions in regards to compensatory sweating.  I actually don’t really have a huge problem with underarm sweating, which I’m very grateful for.  My problem areas are my back and chest, with an emphasis on the back.  The problem there is that I don’t think it’s very easy to treat, but I’ve never looked into it.  Perhaps I should, and “verysweatybetty” looks like a great place to start!

I actually had to cross anti-perspirants off my list entirely.  I can’t use anti-perspirants, my skin breaks out within hours.  I used drysol on my hands back before I had the surgery, and they would just scab up (and still sweat).  Anti-perspirant deodorants make my armpits break out.  I’ve never tried it on my back, though, so it’s still worth a try.

As far as the undershirts go, they all look like great options!  Is there one in particular that focuses more on getting the sweat off my back and less on soaking it up?  Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I have this mental image of the undershirts collecting all of the sweat up like a sponge, but it never actually evaporating off the shirt, so I’m just walking around with a big wet undershirt.

Thanks for your time,

R

My final reply:

hey ryan,

thanks for getting back to me so quickly!

to your question about which undershirt would be best suited to get sweat off your back – I think the list I provided is still pretty accurate. see, those products are specifically designed to help folks with different forms of hh. if they merely soaked up all the sweat and left the wearer feeling heavy and drenched, they wouldn’t be all that popular. most of the undershirts were designed with special fabrics that breath so the absorbed/transferred sweat can evaporate reasonably well.

that being said, as another alternative, you can also try a layering approach that is outline in this article on my site.

hope that helps.

best,
tug

The guardian of the eyes

…For it shields the sight of unsightly chest hair…

The absorber of perspiration

…For it acts as the last stand in the never ending war on pit stains…

The psuedoclass-proof vest

…For it protects us from unclassiness like a bulletproof vest does bullets…

Nothing completes a look quite like the white semicircle situated beneath the gentle downward-sloping arc formed by the collar and button. The Undershirt, also referred to as the Nethershirt, acts as a classy person’s canvas, on which they create their masterpiece by assembling dynamic coexistence between the Polo horse, the base color of their choice, and possibly a small pattern that coincide in perfect harmony as they rest loosely around the torso of their maker.

Though officially unknown, the Undershirt’s origin can be dated as far back as the “Pre-NameBrand-ic Age”, an era void of any common knowledge of class, where psuedoclass roamed freely as it pleased contaminating any unlucky, innocent soul that crosses its path with its terrible affliction. It was said to be more devastating than the Black Plague. Thank the class gods for human’s ability to innovate, thus producing –> The Nethershirt – believed to be mankind’s adaptation to compensate for the loss of the ability to grow thick, insulating chest and upper torso mane, thus losing the vital ability to grow your own clothes as some may say. Today, those of Spanish origins are fortunate enough to have remnants of this fur-like hair. This offers them the luxury of being classy without an undershirt or with an undershirt. The rest of us must abide to the later. So kudos to you, Spaniards, for keeping this long lost gem as part of your genetic makeup. To give you  a better sense of just how long ago this was, we, the Class Connoisseurs, have composed a time line.

Thick, Fur-like Hair –> Loss of Thick, Fur-like Hair –> Undershirt
^                                                          ^                                               ^
Pre-NameBrand-ic Age  —–  “Class Purgatory” —–   Modern Era

Though extremely complex, this timeline above gives us the conclusive evidence needed to support our hypothesis. After much analysis from the best in the field of classiness, it can now be assumed with reassurance that some sort of undergarment has been sported for all of mankind’s time of existence. Which means the Undershirt has been most literally aged to perfection.

On a different note, there are certain things that should not ever be done while sporting this fine article of class we’ve dubbed the Undershirt:

1. Never should the sleeves of the Nethershirt out length those of thy Outershirt
2. Never should one observing a sporter of the Undershirt be able to see the likes of any kind of desgin through the Outershirt that could cause a distraction and thus hinder the full appreciation of such an aesthetically pleasing masterpiece. The Undershirt is solely a undershirt, no t-shirt can be merely “converted” to the Undershirt status

As with everything else contained in this blog, “Easier read, than done”. We’ve given you the legend on the mysterious Map of Class, now it’s up to you to scour the topographical depiction in search of the classiness that is hidden somewhere deep down inside of you. We wish you best of luck.

Yours in Class,

William & Walter

W & W

Wearing Spanx for Men Slimming Undershirt

Back on May 29th, a reader by the name of Cal stopped by the site to read my Spanx for Men review and decided to post this comment:

I’m a late 50’s aged guy, a bit heavier than average at 6′2″ and 225 but nothing out of proportion. Not trying to be Fabio but I play in an Oldies Band… Just want something to corral the jiggle when I wiggle so I ordered two of the V necks just now. I’ll send you guys a report from a real guy. I’ll get some pictures too!

Thanks Undershirtguy… I took your advice and went for it. Also in the $58 V-neck Spanx does free ground shipping. Two of them was about $125 with tax.

Well, not only was Cal nice enough to send in his own Spanx for Men product review, he also included pictures of some before and after pictures! My sincerest thanks goes out to Cal for taking the time to do the write-up! He did a great job!

Spanx for Men Undershirt Review, written and submitted by CAL

OK call me the human Guinea Pig! Here’s my comments with actual photos… (My girlfriend took the pics and wonders if this qualifies me as an “Underwear Model”???) These are my unretouched photos except I blurred out some family photos on the wall behind me to protect the innocent! I added my personal stats to each picture, taken at the same place and same day and same time so these are not any usual rip-off fake “before and after” pics.

1. Picture with No Undershirt…I thought might as well give it to ya from start to finish! Not wanting to gross anybody out but hey this is an underwear forum! I’m thinking I represent “Mr. Average” for my age of 58… no exercise freak and no overly developed beer gut so I’m in the middle (no pun intended)STATS: Age 58, Height 6’2″, Weight 215, Waistline 38, Chest 46
2. Picture with “normal” V-Neck T-shirt on. I wear Jockey Brand XL 46-48. This is my normal undershirt look.
3. Picture putting on the Spanx. Several comments I read questioned difficulty putting on and off. I had no problem. This is how you do it! Insert arms and pull up to chin, pull over head. Yep it’s snug at this point but still easy to grab front bottom and pull it down, the back comes down with the front and I experienced no problems. Coming off reversed the process with no assistance needed. Pull up to armpits, pull arms out and then over the head.
4. Picture with Spanx on. I cropped it a little larger than the others so you can see the sleeves aren’t tight on a “regular” guy arm. I do feel it pulled me up a big straighter and that naturally seems to suck you in some without any effort. Snugly tight but flexible and not restrictive when I bent or moved around. I admit I was worried about feeling “choked” so I went a few extra bucks for the V-Neck. All my apprehensions faded quickly. I measured my waist when I was wearing it and went from usual 38″ to a bit more than 36″ so it tucked in almost 2″ of waistline. My pants waistband was obviously looser and it was two belt notches tighter for me which was great.

TEST DRIVE:

I mentioned early in my Undershirt Guy posting that I play in an “Oldies” Band and just wanted to look firmed up a bit while performing. Bought two of these Spanx V-Necks ($58 ea + shipping was about $125 total). Wore first one during an Outside Band Gig in June Texas Heat for 3 hour performance stretch, about 6 hours total outside. I was worried about sweating and fainting and silly stuff but Actually felt cooler than standard T. My activities included singing and band gyrations so I wasn’t sitting still any of the time and feel I gave it a good trial under fire in near 100 degree heat. Changed shirt tops over the Spanx 3 times during the performance. Several people were around me and nobody noticed or mentioned anything so these are also quite incognito. That was a bonus that I didn’t have that “wearing a girdle” feel.

RESULT:

Amazingly pleased. It feels good too to the skin, really smooth and silky feel to it. Can’t wait to wear this under my Tux or other “dress up” wear.

WASHING:

I’ve worn both V-Necks I’ve bought and washed them both too. Did normal with other whites using Warm Wash and Put in the Dryer with no adverse affects. In a nutshell, I’m thrilled.

What you might not have noticed was that they showed a slimming square-cut tank top product from 2(x)ist which I had never seen before. I had heard rumors of a shapewear top from them before, but never saw any actual product information – until yesterday. Once I saw the segment, I immediately leaped over my couch to my computer and emailed the main dude over there, Jason Scarletti (who coincidentally was on the Morning show demoing the FORM collection products). I heard back from one of his folks today who provided me with more details.

The new 2(x)ist product is called the Slimming Square Cut Tank (Style: 4527, Retail Price: $45). The tank has two layers. The inner layer is the part that does all the slimming, and the outer shell that looks just like a regular square-cut tank top. It will start shipping out to stores late July/early August (2010) and they mentioned that the Slimming tank will be available for purchase on Freshpair.com in early August.  I don’t have all the details yet, but as I get more, including other places where you’ll be able to buy them, I’ll share them here. The updated FORM Collection Product Information sheet is embedded below.

In addition to the announcement of the Slimming Tank Top, 2(x)ist also announced it’s plans to release their LIFT collection around the same time as the tank. The LIFT collection includes both brief and trunk underwear that “enhance” the profile of a guys lower half (his package and butt). The LIFT Collection Product Information sheet is also embedded below.

Guess what? They agreed to send me a tank top sample to review! So stay tuned here for more information.

To stay up-to-date and all their activity, check out the Official 2(x)ist Facebook Page

2xist FORM Collection Information Sheet 2010
2xist Lift Product Information Sheet