Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bodyodor

Happy to sweat, but not to stink

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:00:23 -0800

Is there an effective aluminum-free deodorant? There have been quite a few deodorant questions on Ask, but none of them are quite what I'm looking for. I need an aluminum-free deodorant because my doctor told me that I should use one, but as a woman they are very difficult to find, at least in my experience. I've been using men's Speed Stick for years (the woman's counterpart contains aluminium) and it's generally fine but sometimes -- especially now that I'm in a high stress environment in a hotter climate than I'm used to -- it doesn't cut it. I don't mind using men's deodorant, I don't care what it smells like, I just want it to work! Tom's of Maine irritated my skin a lot when I used it, so that is out. I also found it to be much less effective than the Speed Stick. The deodorant rocks that people always bring up in deodorant threads appear to basically be solid aluminum (am I wrong about this?) so that is out as well.

I'm not concerned about sweat or wetness; I just don't want to smell like I didn't shower. I do shower, every morning, so that isn't the problem. This doesn't happen all of the time; it seems to be when I'm in a high-pressure situation or when I'm wearing long sleeves.

I've also noticed that my nice sweaters (mostly 100% cashmere) have a smell sort of embedded in them that dry cleaning won't remove. They smell fine until they're on my body for about an hour, and then I think that my body heat, or possibly the new sweat, activates this scent. Is there any hope for wearing these again? I've had them dry cleaned and that didn't do a thing, much to my embarrassment. Are these sweaters ruined, or can they somehow be saved?

Should I be considering perfume or a body spray or something else? I don't really like wearing perfume, and I don't want to smell like anything in particular; I would prefer to smell mild or like nothing at all. I also think that perfume would just be masking the smell and not getting at the root of the problem.

Help me smell pretty in halter tops!

birdlady — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:48:32 -0800

Why do I have body odor when I wear sleeveless things, and how can I prevent this? I always see people running around in tank tops and strapless dresses. I've never noticed any of them having body odor, not even at outdoor events on hot days. However, I can't even wear a sleeveless top in a cool room without noticing body odor within 15 mins or so. This is embarrassing, and also limits my clothing choices since most non-tshirt options with sleeves tend to be matronly. Btw, I'm NOT looking for clothing suggestions, that was just an example.

The problem isn't sweat, this happens even when I'm perfectly dry. Nonetheless, I have tried certain-dri, clinical strength secret and all the other extra-strong antiperspirant options with no success. I've experimented with all non-prescription brands (do they even make prescription deodorant? I know about prescription antiperspirant) for men and women, in all formulations: roll on, stick, gel stick and aerosol. Nothing seems to make a difference, though aerosol seems to be slightly more effective.

My routine now is stick + aerosol, and I keep a small stick in my purse and "touch up" multiple times through out the day. Sometimes I use body wipes before I apply more, that doesn't seem to make a difference. At best, the touch-ups help mask the problem somewhat, but it does not prevent it.

Basic stats in case my age, health and diet are relevant: I'm female, 30, healthy, not overweight, well hydrated (hydration seemed to come up in previous B.O. questions), vegetarian, don't consume any more garlic, onions or pungent spices than the next person. I don't like many dairy items, so my dairy intake is limited. My diet typically consists of fruit, veggies, water, grains and beans. I don't drink coffee and have a soda or two a week. I'm not a health freak, just a picky eater. The only medications I take are OTC allergy pills and advil when needed.

So, I'm curious about why this happens, and if this happens to everyone but somehow everyone else has a better method to deal with it. More than knowing why it happens, I'd like suggestions about what I can do to prevent this!!

Has drinking coffee changed the way I smell?

mai — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:15:06 -0800

Has drinking coffee changed the way I smell? I started drinking coffee regularly about two months ago. I don't drink that much, maybe 1 or 2 cups per day of coffee that I brew at home. Since then, I have noticed a change in the way I smell. And it's not a good change. Can I reasonably attribute this to the coffee? Has anyone else experienced this? Is there anything I can do about it?

Will being Surer make me un-Sure?

simplethings — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:30:35 -0800

If I start using deodorant will I start producing unpleasant BO? I don't use deodorant (or an antiperspirant) but I want to because I like the smell. Whenever I run into a guy that smells good most of the time it's due to his deodorant.

I do wear cologne but it fades before the end of the day... people have to bunch up my shirt and stick their nose directly unto it to notice the scent. I could bathe in the stuff but I don't think anyone would enjoy that.
Same with scented soap--although the soap fades much faster.
The new laundry scent on my clothes can last a whole day but it also requires direct nose contact to be noticable.

I don't need deodorant. I've never noticed any ... off smells before, neither have my very honest friends or exes (I've asked). I barely sweat under my arms too. My calves will be dripping sweat before my pits even show hints of perspiration.

So, now my biggest fear is that once I start using it I'll start needing it. I've read comments on deodorant related threads here where people say that they never realized how bad their BO was until they started using deodorant. Could that happen to me (despite my lack of offensive BO to begin with)?

Are there any other risks I should consider?
I understand that aluminum could be dangerous in antiperspirants but I'm only looking at deodorants.
I also don't consider it a risk that people might be offended/irritated/angered by my choice in scents or products... although, I promise I won't overdo it.
I also understand that smelling like nothing or "only noticing your cologne when my nose is touching your skin" can be desirable, but it's not what I want.
I love smelling people who smell good... and I want to smell good too.

Deodorant Questions

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:35:28 -0800

Tell me about deodorant. As someone in my 20s, I feel silly asking these questions, but I've never been able to smell myself very well and therefore don't really know how to answer them.

1. Which deodorants brands and types are generally most effective?
2. For deodorant sticks, how many swipes do you use under each armpit? (Swipe = 1 motion, up or down.)
3. Besides asking a friend, is there any way to tell if you stink?

Copper holy grail for embarrassing skin infections (and wrinkles, too)?

cybercoitus interruptus — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:36:31 -0800

Seeking info on the effectiveness of Cupron textiles, which are supposed to have wrinkle- and microbe- fighting properties due to being plated or impregnated with copper. Anybody have personal experiences with the pillowcases, bed sheets, towels, socks, etc, or can offer informed critiques of the company's studies? I saw the pillowcases at Bed Bath & Beyond yesterday and thought, "Sounds too good to be true, so I'll read up online before buying." I'm primarily interested in whether they really work against microbes because I'm having trouble getting rid of a chronic non-MRSA staph infection (yes, I'm doing everything my MD tells me, and have been for months, and tried alternative health approaches for good measure, all of which help but the lesions keep recurring).

I've read a couple of the articles by the company's personnel (scroll down to authors Borkow and Gabbay). "Biocidal textiles can help fight nosocomial infections" in Medical Hypotheses, and "Copper Oxide Impregnated Textiles with Potent Biocidal Activities" (proof only), from my lay perspective, seem sound (small pilot studies only, but still). I'd like to hear what people, who are used to evaluating science articles professionally, think of them.

(And if it really works on wrinkles, it'll make a great gift.)

Google turned up this hypothesis about the anti-wrinkle mechanism, this interview with Gabbay, and this article
that mentions a contrary opinion. Nothing about it on Quackwatch.

I will ask my dermatologist what he thinks, but since he flatly dismissed the idea that staph can be airborne or that it can be carried and transmitted by pets - well, ok, he didn't say it was impossible that I could have been colonized in these ways, but only highly unlikely. So unlikely as to be not worth considering in the arsenal I'm building of how to maximize my chances of getting rid of this, and minimize my chances of getting re-colonized from the same source (complicated backstory involving in-laws). Compared to what I've heard from my MD friends and read online, either his information's not up to date or he subscribes to a narrow view of how staph can be communicated. So I'm not going to rely on his opinion alone.

I stink

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:30:17 -0800

How do I deal with late-day b.o.? I am not sure why, but recently I have started to have more b.o. than before. I have always been someone who sweats easily, but my antiperspirant and deodorant have been able to handle it. Recently however, I often feel that late in the day that I am starting to smell.

I am not sure what to do. I am in my early 30s. I work in an office setting, but I am also often in front of large groups teaching. I tend to use antiperspirant/deodorant combos like Right Guard and Speedstick (the clear-gel kinds).

Any ideas? Should I keep cologne at my desk for late in the day? Is there a stronger deodorant out there?

Raise your hand if you're sure

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:13:30 -0800

My 6 yr old son has mature male body odor. Has anyone encountered this? I'm not exactly worried, but, I just wonder if it's normative to be this smelly at such an early age. - I (Mom) don't have strong BO, even after working out.
- His Dad, however, has very strong BO- the kind that is still there even after a shower.
-My son bathes regularly, but not daily.
-My son is healthy.
-My son is starting to smell a lot like his Dad.
- Yes, I will ask his ped.

Your thoughts?

Back off, will ya? You smell like canned tamales.

Countess Elena — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:48:22 -0800

As someone who takes public transportation every day, I spend a lot of time thinking about body odor. Can you tell me the chemical or bacterial reason that certain types of funk smell they way they do? Why does some people's body odor smell like cumin -- or why would cumin smell like body odor? I put a pinch of cumin in all my stews, but it's not an appetizing smell when I wasn't expecting it.

Why do some people smell like canned chicken soup at you? Is it for the same reason?

What about the sweet-sour smell that you get around both unwashed kids and some (not all, okay, I promise I am HAAS) heavily overweight people?

Twentysomethings and B.O.

joseph_elmhurst — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:07:58 -0800

Young people and body odor - did I miss the memo? I am aware of a lot of folks who, apparently, are perfectly fine with body odor. No, they're not hippies. No, they don't live on the street. No, they are not mentally ill. They're typically young, employed, fashion-conscious, have enough discretionary income to buy lots of records, go out to bars, maybe enjoy a recreational drug or four. Yet they have the pepper steak smell that I associate with infrequent bathers and/or clothes washers. It's a subculture thing, I suppose, but its origins confuse me. I can grok hippies who feel that being "natural" extends to not showering every day (conserves water/energy) and not using deodorant (nasty chemicals in that, man) but creative class types who probably do not share the same sensibilities - why do they want to have obvious B.O.? Does this trend, which I've noticed for the last four or five years, have a single origin?

Vitamins stink - do I?

loiseau — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 10:01:57 -0800

Vitamin supplements stink. Do I stink too? I really, really, REALLY hate the smell and taste of most vitamin supplements.

I've tried many varieties of multivitamin, for example, and have difficulty not puking while taking them or for several minutes afterwards while I get the aftertaste. I take Flintstones vitamins, and have for years without much trouble, but I've tried adult/women's varieties and can never finish a bottle due to the strong stink and my revulsion to it. I honestly have no idea how people do it.

I have been taking a B-50 supplement for a while, when I can muster up the will to take it. The taste is so revolting, I can not explain. It tastes awful going down, it tastes awful until I can eat a meal, and the first few times I pee afterward it smells very strongly like it tasted taking it. I drink lots of water daily, and probably 3/4 of a litre with/after the tablet, so it's not a dilution issue. I also take a flax oil supplement at the same time but it doesn't matter. Even if I take them with juice, the aftertaste rises up.

I can deal with the consequences of this: I just do the best I can and take it every day I feel I can stomach it. My concern is, do vitamins make me stink as badly as they taste? It terrifies me to think that maybe my sweat or my hair or my saliva or my [TMI] lady parts smell and/or taste like THAT. It seems to follow that they do, though, and I wouldn't be able to detect it because it's throughout my system. I've become a bit uncomfortable with the idea of certain intimate activities because I'm not sure if my girl bits taste and smell badly. (Fortunately/unfortunately no one's been patronizing my parts lately.)

The worst part is, I really want to take them. I feel better when I'm taking them. But I'm so grossed out by them and grossed out by the possibility that I smell and taste like a giant walking B-complex.

So my question is twofold: Am I foul? And if I am, how do I stop being foul?

Bonus points if you can tell me how to stop thinking about that taste now...

Sweating up the Dry-Clean-Only

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 06:20:19 -0800

Sweat-a-filter: Dry cleaning isn't working! How can I permanently remove body odor from dry-clean-only clothes? I live in a very humid, hot climate. Cruelly, I also live in a place where I and most others are required to wear business suits to work every day, including on days when it's like a sauna outside. I'm naturally a very sweaty person, which is embarassing for me all summer long, but it's especially bad when I have to look and feel presentable for a business meeting and instead I end up drenched in sweat. My sweat, naturally, smells like sweat, and I'm constantly paranoid that I smell bad. Now I'm afraid that my clothes are making me stink.

After living here a while, I'm now finding that suits I've owned for more than a year (and thus sweated into many, many times) smell like body odor even when they're clean. They're all dry-clean-only, but dry cleaning only removes the smell temporarily. The first time I wear an old suit, by the end of the day, it smells like I haven't cleaned it in weeks. Most of the suits in question are cotton or wool with either natural fabric or nylon lining, and it's mostly the lining that smells like BO, although I'm paranoid that I can be smelled from a distance because the stink is strong.

I've tried switching dry cleaners a few times. I've tried Dryel and other "freshening" products for dry-clean-only clothes, but that appears to just mask the smell for a few hours, after which the stench returns. The smell is concentrated mostly in the armpits and the crotch area, where I sweat the most. I have a few really expensive suits, so I don't want to have to throw them away after a year of wearing them, but I'm embarassed to smell like I haven't showered all summer long. I'm spending a fortune dry cleaning after each wearing, and still, my clothes smell like BO.

I never have this problem with any of my washable clothes, including ones made of synthetic fabric. Washing in the machine with detergent seems to remove any traces of sweat or odor. Even the dress shirts that I wear under the suits come out clean, despite the fact that they're absorbing more of my sweat than the suits are. I can't wash my suits with water and detergent, can I? Can I give some special instruction to my dry cleaner (I've been embarassed to say "my clothes smell like BO" and ask them what to do about it, but is there some specific treatment I could ask for)? Is there a magic laundry tool that I can pretreat suits with before having them cleaned to remove the smell? Is there at least some way I can prevent new suits from becoming funkified?

How do I handle a co-worker's body odor if I'm not her supervisor?

anastasiav — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 13:37:49 -0800

A older woman who works in our office has horrible, horrible body odor. It gets worse as the week goes on, until by Friday its very difficult to stand anywhere near her. I am not her supervisor, and her department is "between supervisors" at the moment, however she frequently needs to stop into my office in order to do her job. Its going to be Friday tomorrow, and I'm dreading her daily visit to my office. What (if anything) should I do?

What can I do about my friend's bad breath and body odor?

Anonymous — Sat, 06 Nov 2004 11:02:48 -0800

I have a friend who stinks. He has horrible breath (he's a chain-smoker), and his clothes and body reek. I'm not sure what to do. It's so bad that many people have commented that it's hard to be around him. But other than the smell, he's a great guy. He's also lonely, and can't get a date. His life would be so much better if he had better hygiene. So what do I do about this? Tell him face-to-face? Send an anonymous email? Do nothing? If I do bring it up, how do I do it sensitively? Added to the problems, he's very poor. He can't even afford a phone. My guess is that part of the problem is that he's trying to save money on laundry. Still, soap is cheap. I'm trying to obey the Golden Rule, but it's hard. If I was the smelly one, I would want to be told, I guess. But I would be SO humiliated! He's in his early 40s. Really smart and literate.