People that don’t wear antiperspirant…
do you not smell body odor or do you just get used to it?
Genuinely curious. I have met a few people of different walks of life that I could tell did not and I have always used it, so I’m just curious. I know there was a couple that stopped using it for around a year, and they said their body actually end up not perspiring as much as when they used antiperspirant, but I’d like to know other people’s experiences.
I use non-antiperspirant deodorant. I got tired of the aluminum in antiperspirant staining my shirts and clumping up, then I learned that the aluminum works by being an irritant that causes an allergic swelling that blocks your sweat glands. That all sounds pretty gross to me. I might re-apply deodorant during the day if I've been sweating, or put on some fresh clothes or even take a light shower.
aluminum works by being an irritant that causes an allergic swelling
That's not how it works though
Thank you correcting my understanding! The part I find gross though is less the mechanism and more the result: that all the sweat my body is making is just stuck in the glands. If the anti-perspirant was simply absorbing the sweat as it comes out of the pores, then I would feel different about it.
Aluminum sulfate has also been theoretically linked to Alzheimer’s.
This is an internet myth based off a single flawed study that hasn’t ever been able to be replicated that you’re shipping as a studied fact. I won’t engage in an argument with you but here are some sources for the lurkers.
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/risk-factors-and-prevention/metals-and-dementia
https://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/controversial-claims-risk-factors
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0161813X19300361 https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-alzheimers/myths
This is how you fight off Tigers with using antiperspirant, it blocks the paws....
This is the correct answer. Deodorant works just fine without cancer causing aluminum oxide.
There's no cancer link. It's a discredited hypothesis.
You don’t have to use it, but aluminum salts are not really cancer-causing:
https://www.healthline.com/health/what-to-know-about-aluminum-in-deodorant
Regular deodorant works just as well as antiperspirant for stopping scent, and if you don't sweat all that much, there is relatively little difference.
This is what I do. I don’t like the ingredients that make up antiperspirants so I stick with not stinking.
I generally don’t sweat too badly either, which helps.
Exactly. Luckily I don't sweat much or smell much, so basic solid unparfumed deodorant works fine.
I sweat the same amount with deodorant and antiperspirant! Either way, under my arms are going to be a little wet, but also I don't smell either way.
If I go a day without deodorant though, I can definitely tell
Neither. I just don't smell. Confirmed by partners over the years. As it turns out, it's genetic. One perk of being Korean I suppose.
The non-functional ABCC11 allele is predominant among East Asians (80–95%), but very low among European and African populations (0–3%).[6] Most of the world's population has the gene that codes for the wet-type earwax and average body odor; however, East Asians are more likely to inherit the allele associated with the dry-type earwax and a reduction in body odor.[6][32][34] The reduction in body odor may be due to adaptation to colder climates by their ancient Northeast Asian ancestors.[32] Wiki: Body Odor (Genes affecting body odor section)
Cool. My smelllessness has a name. I am european though, but the description fits. I guess I won the generic lottery
How do you know they all weren't wearing it?
There are a lot of people who do wear it but continue to smell because of underlying medical conditions. For example, fruity smelling body odor can indicate diabetes. People with a rare genetic condition called Trimethylaminuria can smell strongly of fish. It all depends on what bacteria (which outnumber your own body cells by 10 to 1 even though they are only 2% of your body mass) and what balance of enzymes you may or may not have.
Reducing perspiration can and often does help, concealing the odor with different ones can help, but sometimes people's bodies just aren't right for whatever mass produced product they have bought. Sometimes that can be fixed with medication. Sometimes it can't.
I knew a guy in university who absolutely reeked. He was a really nice person and I befriended him in a casual way (like sit together in a lecture, chat in the hall). It was clearly a medical thing but people ostracized him and talked behind his back about how he must never shower. I felt really bad for him.
It's a legitimate disability, and certainly I don't envy anyone with this issue. We've all been taught that people who have maybe acne or body odor or sweating issues or dandruff or whatever else are just people with "poor hygiene", but the reality is that products and buildings are made to meet the needs of the most 'average' person (usually defined by a company selling something), and there is so much variation in how bodies function. When you're trying to make a product that maximises usage and sales, it's ironically easy to exclude a lot of people.
Thanks for being kind to that person, I'm glad you were able to see (and smell) past it.
For anyone else who does experience limitations because of their body odor, check out the Job Accessibility Network's list of possible accomodations for this symptom of your disability. Because medical issues that cause you to be ostracised and limit your ability to function in society are a disability and you deserve an equal opportunity to thrive.
That’s a fair point. I guess only one or two I knew said they didn’t use it because of the aluminum, but I didn’t get to ask more about it.
I know people who don't use antiperspirant because they tell people about it, and how aluminum causes breast cancer and Alzheimer's. Neither claim is substantiated. Aluminum consumed in food from being cooked in/on aluminum can contribute to Alzheimer's. The one claiming aluminum causes breast cancer said "Just think about it. It makes sense."
I personally don't wear antiperspirant but only when I'm planning on not leaving the house, because sweating feels good sometimes. Not in summer, and I'll usually wear shirts that absorb snuggles help evaporate my sweat. It gets the salt out and feels better after a workout when I can sweat more.
So here is what I've noticed.
The acceptance of sweat BO is partly a cultural thing. At my workplace we have people from all over the world, and there are certain parts of the world where it is clearly uncommon to wear deoderant. Both men and women, although I have noticed it far more with men. I guess if everyone had natural BO, it wouldn't seem so unusual.
This is not to be confused with uncleanliness, I'm sure these people shower, the scent is purely one of sweat from hard physical labor. It is never better or worse, but always the same and in fact, you can identify people by their particular unique scent.
Sometimes I'm a bit disturbed by strong manly BO because they are too... arousing. Specially in places like at work where feeling arousal is the last thing I want.
It's not just cultural in terms of nations it's also dependent on the type of work. You're going to be critical of a taxi driver stinking of BO when he sits in an air conditioned cab all day, but not somebody doing physical labour in the open air
The primary cultures that don't use deodorant and smell like a wet ox, in order:
Don't forget smash players that no life the tournament scene
Antiperspirant made me stink more. I switched to non antiperspirant deodorant years ago and it seems to be the right product for me. I do run cooler than most and didn't sweat at all till I was 22.
And yes any sweat will eventually smell so daily showers are part of this routine.
I couldn't really get antiperspirant to work though, really. Always my underarms would smell at the end of the day, and my shirts as well. That doesn't happen anymore.
ETA: I think you have some bias at play here - you don't really know if the stinky people you meet are wearing antiperspirant, or if the good smelling people you meet aren't.
Deodorant user here. I smell great because of it. I didn't like antiperspirant because I also found I smelt worse because of it and it never really stopped the sweat very well anyways.
Something you may not factor in though is people expire at different rates. Also, some people smell worse than others regardless of expiration time and some perspire more.
Some people don't sweat that much. For example, I have to use antiperspirant to avoid body odor but my wife don't need to use one and I can't smell odor.
This is probably related to this genetic trait. I have wet earwax and body odor, while my wife has dry earwax and no body odor.
Quote from the article:
In general people with the non-functioning ABCC11 variant don’t need to wear deodorant.
Wet earwax??
Yep this actually varies among people. The "wet" type is soft kinda like warm candle wax, and more common in the West. AFAIK the "dry" type is more brittle and crumbly and more common in East Asia.
Apparently I got that too. Confirmed by my first gf, I barely smell while sweaty. And my earwax is dry/flaky.
Do you mean deodorant? I don't use antiperspirant because it actually makes me sweat more in my experience. I'm not alone on this either.
As many others have said, the choice is not between antiperspirant and nothing. I use deodorant but no antiperspirant.
I'm allergic to aluminum-based antiperspirants, and I didn't know there was another kind for a long time, so I've always just used deodorant. It has never been a problem for me.
Course not, it's a problem for everyone around you though.
I'm not sure you understand what a deodorant does. It doesn't stop you from sweating, but it makes you not smell.
I've never had any complaints, but go off.
Often antiperspirants create a cycle of dependency. They kill off some of the benign bacteria and favour the ones that produce strong body odour, so if you stop using them you stink.
I grew up in a region where no-one used antiperspirant or deodorant. Nobody smelt bad. People have a smell, but its not strong.
When I moved to the city and smelt post-basketball teenage BO, it was so bad.
I dont use antipersperant. I have asked many people if I smell, all agree I dont.
Aye, we know way too little about the effect of skin products on the microbiome of our skin. Some of what has been looked at has different conclusions. There is a 'community' out there somewhere that I used to keep tabs on that believe everyone can get to the point of 'mildly smelly' at worst. The idea is that you just have to find the right bacteria to populate your skin. They would scrape and swap. There were two camps of thought, separated by whether they believed washing with soap was appropriate once you had the right bacteria mix.
Soap makes you clean and smell good. It's so tiring to read majestic mental gymnastics around how to not smell like ass. You smell what you eat, and soap removes the smell. It really is no rocket science. And no, you cannot figure out how your microbiomes work, even scientists can't.
I learned something about people when I was married to this certain guy for a while. his armpits never smelled. But his feet did.
I've always been the opposite. My feet never produce odor. But my armpits do.
conclusion. Not everybody needs deodorant on their armpits.
I've never once noticed someone's body odor. On the other hand, some who just finished showering using a fruity shampoo reeks imo. Ditto for people who use perfume or cologne. And those often can also cause allergies for many people...
I've never once noticed someone's body odor
You are truly fortunate xD
I work in a warehouse and omg the things I have smelled. The worst is when the person working in front of me has strong BO and a fan is blowing it into my face all day.
Yep, I have some sensitivity to fragrances and perfumes and unfortunately, people who use standard shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, laundry soap and dryer sheets smell horrible to me, sometimes from 5 feet away or just being in the same room. Some shampoo is so strong that I can smell it just from them having been in the same room 3 minutes ago. It’s unfortunate that sometimes, it’s people who think they’re being civilized and responsible, while in fact their scented stuff is causing problems that won’t exist otherwise. It’s actually harder to find products that don’t do this, though, as the standard American mainstream brand ones are all awful as far as fragrances go (Pantene, pert, suave, Gain, Tide, Bounce, Snuggle etc).
The absolute worst is when you're swimming laps and someone goes past wearing perfume. You can taste it! Ugh. Shower before you swim, please (without fruity shampoo, lol).
I feel like you must never have been in middle school if you've never smelled somebody else's body odor. Those kids need to be told to use antiperspirant by their gym teachers/coaches for a reason.
Also that you must have never had sex.
Apparently antiperspirant is not that good for you so I did quit using it for a year or so after the pandemic so I was at home anyways. I would use more natural deodorant without aluminum or anything bad but maaaaaaaaaan my pits stunk and washing with soap didn't even eliminate it. After I started using it again because I couldn't even stand my own BO it disappeared immediately. I don't always shower every day and don't put it on except after showering and drying off and the smell after 2 days without a shower is much more pleasant than half an hour after showering during the time period I wasn't using it. Why that is, idk. You wouldn't think it would be that bad especially if I was showering. I would even try stuff like vinegar on my pits but it didn't help.
I had the same problem! Couldn't stand my own stink! Then I tried non - antiperspirant deodorant and my sweat just washed it away after a few hours, plus I felt uncomfortable with swampy pits. So I went back to my unscented Mitchum. (Which is sold as being for Men, but it's a nongender neutral.)
Going without bras, big Yes!
Going without antiperspirant, big No.
Anti-perspirant makes the rest of my body sweat a lot more as suddenly I can’t just use my pits to cool my body.
My nose/sinus/throat is all very sensitive to perfumes and aerosols these days, and even if it's not strong enough to close my throat up and choke me, it still tends to make me feel sick. I've not used any spray and rarely any smelly stuff for over a decade.
Most soaps and some shower gels are fine though, so there's no problem with starting a day "clean".
On the morning train, you can normally smell people who use deodorant instead of washing. It's quite hard to describe - air freshener in a festival toilet? Artificial sweeteners on a stilton cheese? Anyway, if their perfume isn't strong enough to physically harm me, I don't care.
I used spray deodorants as a teenager, and unscented roll-ons for many years after - but after stopping using it, I found, like the couple you mentioned, that I didn't sweat as much, and the sweat that was there didn't smell as bad. Oddly enough, anecdotal evidence suggests my natural smell increased my attractiveness quite significantly. Of course, all of these may have just been coincidental factor of age/hormones/circumstances etc though.
I was a bit paranoid for some years, and always asked/checked with trusted people "do I smell?". I found I can smell myself when I do.
My work is sometimes quite physically demanding, so during the ~two months a year when it's potentially warm (Northern UK), you can get a bit sweaty - but so is everyone else. If you really feel the need, a quick armpit wash in a sink at lunchtime, or a "festival shower" with a wet-wipe would sort that out.
Anyway, so the rough answer is "There is less body odour. You get used to what's there. Most of it smells quite pleasant, sometimes even to the extent of it being animalistically magnetically attractive"
Deodorant /= Antiperspirant.
I sweat like a hog due to having a chunk of my work life being physical labor and being too poor to keep the house air conditioned at 45F when its 110F outside. So antiperspirant would just paralyze my armpit glands but nowhere else.
Also, I got tired of spending money on deodorant and having more plastic to throw away and just started making a 50/50 (ish) mix of coconut oil and baking soda and just smearing some on my sweaty parts and it does okay at covering my stink.
Whether I use deodorant or not.. I notice that my smell changes when I'm around people (they tend to make me a touch anxious), some fabrics, and clothes that fit really tightly under my armpits. Also, I've noticed a HUGE difference in pit smell between full underarm bush and shaved.
Anxiety sweat make you smell worse than temperature regulation sweat btw. Also try to avoid polyester fabrics. Maybe try merino t-shirts as well
I definitely have BO, but I can't smell my own, typically. however, I also just don't find the smell of sweat/BO particularly offensive.
I've started using not an antiperspirant, but a substance that acts like a deodorant, because my partner is VERY sensitive to smells and mine apparently sets her off pretty badly.
Dude... Maybe re read what you wrote and reflect on it?
There's a cliche of Internet folk with poor hygiene and it's something that should be addressed but it can be awkward for people to bring it up.
These posts always make me question myself because I've basically never worn deodorant or antiperspirant.
I've had jobs where you can't be stinky(sales,office jobs, at a hospital), and nobody has ever said anything. I've lived with partners for 16 years, none have ever complained about my smell(besides times when anyone would smell, like after a long run on a hot day).
I'm guessing I just have lucky personal body chemistry, but I'm sure there will be some people telling themselves I'm just smelly and don't know it.
Some people genetically just don't smell bad when they sweat
Well. If your measurement method is "no one ever complained" there lie a problem. It happened to me to smell other people grossness but i wouldnt dare to tell them, i simply avoid em.
When I was middle school, I did just start smelling bad as I was sweating more. My parents told me to start wearing deodorant. I didn't know that some people just don't smell when they sweat.
I'm kind of the same, I rarely wear deodorant, and it's basically never an issue (believe me, my wife would tell me if it was)
But some days even I'm like "holy fuck I reek" - I think it's probably a diet thing
Artificial scents make me break out, dry my skin out (in a bad way), gives me headaches, cause rashes, and/or cause excessive itching. Nickle, which is in many deodorants, causes rashes and chemical burns, literally had my neck bleed from a shit nickle necklace. Most deodorants will literally hurt me. Sure there are more "natural" ones, but they always feel gross or smell gross.
Sorry if it bothers you, but I'd rather not bleed from my arm pits.
Also people that use axe spray in small spaces, e.g. elevators, can get fucked.
I don't use deodorant or antiperspirant, and have not for years (decades even). I have asked and no-one has said I smell bad - although I'm not a heavy sweater. If I have worked out/done heavy exercise then I'll generally shower if I can, but even if I don't it's not a rank smell, just a 'musk' ( I have asked). I've worked with a guy that did use antiperspirant/deodorant and by half way through the day he was rank...
I wish... I unfortunately have to use deodorant because my natural body odour literally smells like cannabis. I get weird looks sometimes if I forget.
Eyyy a fellow weed guy
I generally don't smell like much but after sweating a bit, i smell like weed.
Just to add, I have 2 young kids, They would tell me if I generally smell. They will sometimes comment if I've been out mowing the lawns / clearing scrub / cutting up loads of firewood.
There is a large portion of the gay male community that prefers the smell of a man rather than the smells caused by those products. As a result I will only wear natural antiperspirants or deodorants which wash off easily and only when I need to (going into the office days).
I found that I don't smell nearly as bad as I used to (verified by outside opinions) when using "normal" antiperspirants. They mess up your body's natural scents and it takes a while before things return to normal even with daily washing.
Plus they're inedible...
I'm not a fan of antiperspirant. They're supposed to stop you from sweating but for me they just make my sweating worse for when they eventually run their course. So i just use deodorant now.
I have sensitive skin under my armpits it seems so I have to be careful with what did I use under there and the only ones I seen to get away with are the natural ones that try to neutralise the smell by killing the bacteria that create that smell rather just masking the smell like most standard deodorant. It's not 100% but it's better for my skin and it's better than putting nothing at all on.
I'll never use antiperspirant again though, they just clog up pores and what they clog pores with is often a big pollutant to the rest of the world or at least damaging to the environment around you for little animals.
Antiperspirant is one thing. Very few people use one without a fragrance though. I would rather smell basically any normal body odor over awful perfume crap, personally.
Yeah, natural smells bother me way less than the vast majority of scented soaps, deodorants, perfumes etc. A lot of them cause me significant sinus discomfort. I appreciate the people who use unscented hygiene stuff.
Unless it is a very hot day you don't really notice it. I sometimes put it on when I feel like I might sweat throughout the day but it isn't really necessary and no one really cares.
Antiperspirant simply doesn't work with my job. In the summer months, I generally sweat from every pore for 8 hours and then I get to go home. It would be like trying to dam a river with a stone.
Deodorant on the other hand I keep on me, as it has a tendency to wash off before the day is done.
Say what you want about your preferred method of avoiding body odor, but this one works for me. And as for those who are saying something about 'natural sweat before trying to cover it with anything', that was definitely not the case for me. I still remember getting pulled aside sometime towards the end of third grade and being told I had to do something about my body odor.
I'm honestly surprised by the amount of gross people here. It doesn't matter if you asked some people about your smell. You don't use deodorant and go about your day, you smell. It is as simple as that. Sure, right after a shower of when lying on the couch the whole day you might be fine. But as soon as you start moving, you smell.
Let the down-votes come :)
Fun fact, there's around 2% of people that don't produce smell when they sweat. The smell comes from bacteria that eat a certain chemical in sweat, and the folks don't produce it, i.e. no bacteria or smell.
Oh, they can still smell.
To be honest, I think this can also depend a lot on the climate that you’re from. In cold and dry climates you don’t necessarily get as smelly. When I moved to a hot and humid place it was like “okay, showers are a multiple times a day thing here, I guess.” Even when staying inside and loafing about in air conditioning it was noticeably worse. There’s a number of factors that change from person to person too… some people are greasier, some people are stinkier. You should probably shower and deodorant up whenever you’re going to leave the house and be near other people as a rule of thumb, but I think a fair number of people don’t shower every day and can get by okay.
I'm used to a drier climate. When I've visited some places that are more humid, I've been surprised how much more I can smell everything. Every person. Every place. Around corners. What's on the ground. Everything.
I do wear a scented antiperspirant because I like how it smells, it doesn't react badly with me and I don't wear a lot of other scents. But yeah, some places require more than that even.
Definitely. Me personally, I sweat in humid and hot climates in a certain way but even when it's dry and cold I get this weird sweat where my body is cold but my armpits are sweating like crazy. It also doesn't help that you wear warmer clothing you constantly have to shed when going inside...
Yeah I went without deodorant for a few weeks while I healed from a rash caused by another deodorant (usually aluminum fucks with me, but this one didn't have aluminum, don't know why I reacted so badly to it). I could smell my own stink when I raised my arms.
But yeah, people who just go "natural" don't realize how much body odor they carry. I've met many people over the years who just stink to high hell, but don't realize or don't care how much they smell.
Genetics aside, the amount of cope and pseudoscience in these comments is really a spectacle. I don't care enough to debate the point... Do they not know about olfactory fatigue? It's not that you smell less folks, it's that you get used to it.
Holy crap, there’s a kid at work…he’s really ripe. He’ll leave a room and you can still smell him 5 minutes later. He literally takes your breath away. How can he not smell himself???
Ugh there was a guy like that at work. Indeed if he had walked by within 5min, you could tell as the pungence lingered in the air.
I make the distinction between Ripe and Stale.
Ripe can be fixed with deodorant. Stale just sticks to the air and ... oh god you can taste it.
I can see BO. I envision this putrid green cloud suspended in the air, winding around the path they had taken as they walked among aisles.
A sixth sense I never wanted :'(
dont like the smell. antiperspirants come in a wide variety of scents and, to me, they all smell fake, off putting. i sweat, I shower. is normal
I hate my smell but also overheat very easily, so uh... I just kinda have to live with it. I apologise a lot.
It’s definitely unhealthy how American society thinks that you have to suppress the natural ability to sweat to be acceptable to others.
Antiperspirant makes me sweat bucket loads. I just use a bit of deodorant and wash properly
I usually wear deodorant (which generally has an antiperspirant in it), but there are days when I don't/haven't; in this limited experience I've noticed I would generally smell worse if I haven't been active. It seems like being up and moving around and sweating from 'labor' rather than sitting and sweating (not sure how to word that) is less likely to significantly smell. With all that said, I do try to shower after the gym or when I return inside after working on significant outdoor projects.
P.S., another data point to consider is the individual's age, as hormone levels (generally tied to age) could also influence perspiration
Are you by chance stressed out when you're sitting and sweating? I think stress sweat smells worse.
A) there is a gene that makes sweat not smell B) I have lost smell due to long covid C) I shower everyday
Anti perspirant makes many people smell more. Not less
1)I generally don’t sweat a ton.
2)The sweat I do have isn’t particularly odorous.
3)My spouse says that they LIKE the way I smell.
I’ve tried antiperspirant a few times but it makes my armpits itch about the same as poison ivy. Last time I had to get some anti-it h cream because it was driving me insane. Even “mild” deodorant causes issues after a few days of wear.
My spouse says that they LIKE the way I smell.
Biology FTW. She likes your smell because she can subconsciously tell that your immune system is very different from hers, which makes for healthy offspring.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense_of_smell#Inbreeding_avoidance
My spouse says that they LIKE the way I smell.
Did you know Kids in the Hall made a sketch about you?
I just knew this would be Husk Musk!
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
The sweat I do have isn’t particularly odorous.
(To you)
Or the other good friends whom I’ve actually asked. The kind who don’t give a fuck about whether they’d hurt my feelings or not.
I don't like filling my pores with aluminum so I just use deodorant. I don't really sweat enough for it to be an issue, and if it is I shower.
I don’t really use deodorant anymore either but there are a ton of them without aluminum that are pretty effective if that is your only concern
Not naturally smelling good is just a skill issue.
I stopped using it probably two years ago or so, I am in my mid 30s. Frankly, after your teenage years, you don’t notice it as much. Puberty makes those things a lot worse.
I’m not saying, I smell like sunshine and rainbows, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was, and it’s just one less thing to purchase/worry about. I practice good hygiene and I’m not generally up in somebody’s face. If I know it’s going to be a very sweaty day or I’m going to be in close proximity, I will occasionally bust it out, but that is basically once every 4 to 6 months at this point.
I don't stink. People are generally surprised when I tell them I only use nothing or 'passive' deodorant.
Antiperspirant deodorant isn't good for you with the Aluminum. I used Antiperspirant for a while it worked good on me. Then I switched to something more natural. I smelled really bad for a month after the switch, tricks so you don't smell bad try different brands some work great and some don't work at all for oder control, I like Shmitts, Hello and Native. Before I took a shower or anytime I had oder I used a Alcohol pad to wipe my armpits and apply deodorant as needed, during shower time when I shampoo my head and shampoo my pits. Over time I use natural deodorant once a day without having a bad smell.
That aluminium is bad is actually not true. I heard it multiple times, but if you search on reasonable sources its not an issue at all.
ITT: Stinky liars.
My ex used to sweat very little under her arms and it didn't really smell so she didn't.
I kinda have luck, i actually only need deodorant in summertimes, but i lightly use one nonetheless. But i know people that needed to test different ones until they found one that helped to prevent smelly armpits. Shaved armpits probably help.
My wife says my sweat doesn't have a scent unless I eat garlic or I'm having sex. So if you smell my bo I just came from eating a pizza, or I just came
I stopped using deodorant when I moved from the Gulf Coast to the PNW mountains near BC. I just don’t sweat much in drier climates, but I do bathe or shower every day and I shave my armpits plus I use a deodorant soap. I think if I stopped shaving or didn’t shower every day, I’d probably still need deodorant?
i know a couple of people with health issues that make it so they can't, so they use powder instead. Gold Bond or baby powder, usually. i think it also depends on how much you sweat.
I don't use anything but water under my arms. I found that after a while my armpits stopped smelling as bad. Maybe I'm just lucky. It's all about bacteria. The sweat itself has no odor but the bacteria unde your arms feast on the sweat and starts producing smelly "farts". I found that over time I build up bacteria that doesn't smell and bacteria that actively remove any smel, so if I smell from stress sweat it'll dampen down quite a bit over the following hour or so. Treat your armpits like a sour dough in your fridge. It's a set of healthy bacteria you don't want to accidentally kill. Interesting enough if I use soap to wash every day my armpits starts smelling stronger again so for daily wash I basically just use a lot of water and rince each armpit for a solid 30 sec to a minute each rubbing with my hand. Soap kills the good bacteria too and makes it worse. If you use any only use a tiny little bit. I also found that shaving my armpits makes me smell so much more and it's uncomfortable too because I can feel the sweat drip down because it has nothing to cling too and cool you down which is exactly what it's ment to do, so I basically just let my hairs be and it helps me sweat less and smell less. I'm lucky I don't have that much hair but I'd assume it could be trimmed rather than shaved for many. There's a reason we have hairs under our arms and they do serve an Important function. For me gone are the days of yellowed t-shirts from deodorant and Gone are the days of allergy inducing perfume.
Look up Nuud. Works quite well.
I love nuud, I keep telling people about it but it's like shouting into a void for some reason. It takes us forever to get through a tube because it lasts so long (I usually go between 4-5 days between putting it on). It also cuts through my boyfriend's spice which is great for me lol. Best deodorant ever.
I have mentioned it to one of my friends a few times (who tends to have a bit of bo) and she always just brings up how great arm and hammer deodorant is. Idk I don't want to be like "but dude you smell"
Just looked it up on Amazon. Thank-you. Hopefully I can get a tester from nuud themselves rather than the £25 there!
Burnt myself recently on a traditional deo having tried to stay away from Aluminium based one; I think it held it too close on this occasion. I'm old and it shouldn't have happened. Had many small blood blisters under my arms but internally. Horrible. Anyway, it seems to have changed me. Since then I've been sensitive to many deodorants.
Currently looking for something else that works, hopefully Nuud is it. Thank-you.
Yeah i think it's great. Only works 2 days for me though. Not the 3-4 days advertised. I'm not complaining though I'll never use deodorant sticks again.
I simply do not have bo. I've never worn deodorant because se I've never needed to. I've had the non existence of my non bo confirmed by men, women , and non gender confirming individuals.