As I write this, temperatures are at 35ºC in London. It would be no exaggeration to say I don’t think I have ever sweated as much as I have this week. And I have an inkling I’m not alone.

“Even though we all do it, sweat is still such a taboo. We’ll do anything to avoid a glistening upper lip, damp underarms or sweaty vagina triangle. But here’s the thing: sweating is an essential part of life. If we stopped sweating, we’d probably die from overheating,” writes Miranda Larbi, Stylist’s wellness editor, in this week’s special digital issue dedicated to nothing other than sweat.

Of course, excessive sweating and unpleasant smells can be an issue at this time of year. Team Stylist has tried a variety of deodorants to see which genuinely work, even in the stickiest of situations. And if you’re concerned that your sweating goes beyond the normal limits, find out what advice doctors have for overly clammy hands, feet and vaginas.

Read on if you’re in need of some serious cooling (aren’t we all). 

Hannah Keegan,
Features director, Stylist

Fertility treatment using donor sperm at a licensed clinic can easily cost several thousands of pounds. Informal sperm donation websites – which connect willing donors with people hoping to become parents – promise a cheaper, simpler alternative. But as one woman who went through the process reveals, the path to a healthy pregnancy is rarely straightforward.

“At first, scrolling through [donor] profiles was exciting – not unlike swiping through a dating app,” she says. “It initially seemed like there was a lot of choice, but we quickly realised that wasn’t the case… Even when [my partner] Jenny and I did get speaking to someone we liked the look and sound of, it was common for conversations to fizzle out or for him to stop replying – again, not unlike on Tinder or Hinge.”

The couple now have a young daughter, making the experience worth it. But from the legal complexities of conceiving outside a regulated clinic to the phenomenon of men insisting they’ll only donate sperm through ‘natural insemination’ (yes, they mean sex), here’s what they wish they’d known before signing up to a donation website.