Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Trends, May 22, 2000

Lisa Ferguson

Monday, May 22, 2000 | 9:21 a.m.

Sweating it out

Whew, it's getting warm out there. Summer is definitely around the corner.

And with the unbearably high temperatures inevitably comes the unpleasantness of perspiration.

Don't worry -- the folks at Dove are all over it. The company, which makes a line of anti-perspirants for women, thought it was time to expose sweat and recently released a boat-load of facts and figures about the stinky, sticky stuff:

An average person has between 1.6 million and 4 million eccrine sweat glands covering 99 percent of the body's surface, including the upper lip, neck, chest, palms of the hand and soles of the feet, which help keep the body cool.

The act of sweating can cause the body to lose one-quarter of its fluid contents within 24 hours. In an average day a normal person will likely secrete two pints of sweat.

And, in case you were wondering, Tom Cruise makes 25 percent of women, (at least the 1,000, ages 18 to 24, who were polled), break out in a sweat, followed by Brad Pitt (20 percent) and Ricky Martin (18 percent).

Too shady

Maybe broiling -- and, apparently self-basting -- in the summer sun isn't your idea of a good time.

No problem. A "natural tan" can still be had in your pocket. At least that's the claim of Tantowel.

The tiny towelette comes wrapped in a foil pouch. Infused with an odorless solution, the Tantowel can be rubbed over the entire body ("no streaking, no mess"), including the face, for a tan that will appear within two to three hours of application. (A darker tan can be achieved by following up with a second Tantowel rubdown three hours after the initial application.)

Tantowels retail for aboout $2 each ($18.95 for a box of 10). For more information, visit www.tantowel.com.

Get your groove on

Did the summertime blues strike a little early this year? Feeling a bit blah about yourself?

Well, snap out of it! And, if you need some help kicking the doldrums, grab a copy of "Getting Your Groove Back: The Sassy Woman's Guide to Recharging Your Life" (Andrew McMeel Publishing, $9.95) by Amy Hall.

This tiny paperback is chock-full of spirit-lifting things to do to reclaim your groove -- from wherever you misplaced it -- and stick it where you need it most.

At the office: Quit drinking coffee at work. "Why? Because it sucks the life out of you by fostering dependency and general antsy-ness."

In relationships: Buy a flock of plastic, pink flamingos and sneak them, one by one, onto neighbors' lawns. They may be confused, but "you will get a rush from the fun deviousness of the exercise."

Within your soul: "Get some new, white socks. They feel so fine."