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.
So tl;dr they simply block the pores on your skin to prevent sweating?
Yep.
But it’s the sweat glands, to be precise.
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
Cheers mate, thanks for this.
I said theoretically because I recall it not being proven, and it’s been a while since I read anything on the topic.
It’s mildly amusing that my statement suggested to you anything remotely close to “studied fact”. Are you getting enough fiber in your diet? Enough water? There’s empirical evidence out there that those can help with constipation. Now that’s a studied fact! Be well! 😇
It’s unfortunate that your ego was harmed by my comment. I enjoy my daily toilet time. I’m even pooing right now. I hope this brings you comfort.
My ego is fine! Enjoy.
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
All calories are cancer causing, seriously. We need to stop using that term, because it’s nearly meaningless. We use it to describe something with a 100% cancer rate, and 0.01% rate.
Most people make the greatest risk of their lives, when they get in their car… and here we are all taking precautions against something insanely less likely to cause your death.
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)
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.
Preach. For a long time I was given shit for dandruff. No matter how clean my hair was, I’d always have dandruff. Wasn’t until I decided to let my hair grow out to donate it, and thus learnt about how to take care of it properly, that it was the shampoo and conditioner I was using that caused it in the first place.
Now it’s clean and healthy, with no dandruff. Bodies are hella weird.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
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.
It’s not really an issue for most people who aren’t exercising. And I can say this as one who fucks, regardless of your juvenile attempts at disparagement.
I made no attempt at disparagement. I was simply pointing out the fact that bodies produce scents when they have sex. In fact, I don’t think there’s anything wrong whatsoever with not having had sex regardless of one’s age or gender. It’s simply the truth that sex smells.
Been to middle school. Can’t say BO was a problem. Axe body spray OTOH? Definitely was.
Can confirm lack of experience with sex.
Axe body spray wasn’t around when I was in middle school. So everybody just smelled like BO after gym class.
Lucky you. No wonder you think BO is bad if you didn’t have to deal with much worse…
Can definitely agree with you there. My sympathies.
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.
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…
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 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.
Deodorant exists.
Deodorant only masks the B/O scent for long enough for the wearer’s nose to forget about it. The rest of us still smell it when you enter a room.
Again, that’s not what deodorant does.
Bad deodorant, sure. The good ones will try to eliminate the bacteria causing the BO so you don’t smell without having to mask it. There’s definitely loads out there that don’t get rid of the smell though.
But yeah, people should wear good deodorant and not antiperspirant in my opinion.
