Smelly armpits - any tips?!

[Heathlay93]

Ok kind of gross I know! But I have a problem with constantly smelling of B.O.

as a teen I suffered with it, mainly only when wearing long sleeve tops/tops that had a sleeve that would touch my armpits.

im in my late 20s, I am very clean, scrub my armpits with a loofa everyday, spray a TON of deodorant (always use mens strong deodorant) but no matter what AS SOON as I wear any top that touches my armpits I stink!

it’s got to the point I’ve had to throw tops away as the smell sticks into the armpit area and doesn’t come out no matter how much I wash them. It frustrates me as my actual armpits don’t smell, the sweat itself doesn’t seem to smell and if I’m wearing a sleeveless top I never get this issue.

are there any tips to stop this? Today at the gym I walked in smelling lovely, fresh, clean deodorant pits and within 2 minutes of sweating my entire shirt smelled so bad. It’s not a strong B.O smell - rather a strong ‘musty’ smell.

I’m wondering if there any natural remedies? I’m not a big fan of hearing that deodorant is bad for us ladies, especially as I’m spraying so much of it… I feel like bleaching my underarms!!

Go to the GP and get a blood test.

Do you use bio washing powder? Do you wear cotton tops? Acrylic makes me sweat!

Glycolic acid works, it’s normally sold for your face as an acid exfoliant. It’s not super strong or stingy.

Mitchum dry stick deodorant.

Have you tried switching deodorant to a stronger one like the Sure one that comes in a box but it's a cream roll on or Mitchum?
Maybe you need something stronger? Don't forget to let it dry before you get dressed!

I've always been a sweaty Betty - hated wearing capped sleeved tops in summer as I would sweat so much it showed but it's much increased since using the above.

BO is usually 'old' sweat - could it be that your clothes need to be washed for longer / higher temperature / use a scented fabric conditioner?

** much improved not increased!

Do you wash with bar soap rather than just shower gel? It may be worth trying a proper soap. Other than that it may be the material of the clothes.

It’s worth a trip to the GP if you’re already using soap and wearing suitable materials, there could be an underlying cause.

Proper soap
Sure men’s 72 hour deodorant for everyday plus sporadically Perspirex for a few days will really help:

https://amzn.to/41r5ybi

Stop wearing manmade fibres. They aren’t absorbent, so the smell just rests on the surface,

Mitchum roll on then a body spray, see GP.

It sounds as if the smell is lingering in your clothes. Are you using a biological washing powder? Halo sports wash is good too.

Baking soda.

What do you wash with?
Shower gel did that to me all of a sudden.
A proper bar of unscented soap (not a dove beauty bar) sorted it and applying Sure maximum protection at night to clean armpits.

Thanks everyone, I have heard of glycolic acid so may give that a try!

I have tried almost every deodorant and stick to men’s sure or any men’s strong one, I spray a ridiculous amount and will smell fresh at first but does not last at all.

I scrub with a loofa and sulfur soap bar. I have boil washed my tops but the smell still sticks in it.

i can try and avoid certain materials, but when I go to the gym it is hard, as I’m wearing gym clothing. It doesn’t seem to make a difference what material I wear, if it touches my armpits as soon as I sweat I start to smell. If I was wearing a sleeveless top it would be a musty smell but wearing a top the smell is just enhances 100x!

How do you wash your shirts, ie what detergent, what temp, and how often?

Bar soap!! Genuinely I had this problem for years in my late 20’s, it didn’t matter what deodorant I used my tops used to stink within an hour of putting them on, I was so self conscious about it.

Read (probably on here!) about using bar soap not shower gel, switched over maybe 3 years ago and pretty quickly it just stopped being a problem. Now even if I forget deodorant in the morning, I don’t smell by the afternoon/evening.

Adding more deodorant isn’t going to help, there’s something about shower gel that just doesn’t seem to get skin as clean as actual soap.

I find Mum 48 hour protection roll on works really well, and I buy it from Tesco. I wear cotton against my skin 99% of the time. I found it works better than the Sure stick. I have always felt the sprays were less effective.

That driclor deodorant is meant to be very good. Also for clothes that smell dettol laundry added to wash is good.

It will be the clothes not your skin.

It kind of builds up in them. I tend to put my tops aside when they start to develop "the smell" and when I have a few of them I chuck them in the washing machine with a load of dishcloths or bedding on a 60 degree wash with some antibacterial stuff, it always does the trick, until the smell starts to build up again.

Even if the clothes say they can only be washed at 30/40, I tend to think it's better than throwing them away.

I've used the glycolic acid toner from Sainsbury's instant smell killer.

I'm the opposite, if I don't have a top with sleeves I sweat more, only thing that works for me is sure stick deodorant.

To get the smell of sweat out of clothes try soaking in dettol laundry cleanser

https://www.prescriptiondoctor.com/excessive-sweating/odaban?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsJbEr_2KgwMV_JJQBh3NMAYvEAQYAiABEgKs__D_BwE

I’ve not used it in years, but in my late teens/early twenties this stuff saved me! Worked insanely well (okay, probably cause it’s full of harsh stuff?!) Now I use Wild deodorant which works very well too for me now, But before nothing else seemed to work until I tried this stuff. You only put it on once a week and it lasts all week!
Do your own research on what’s in it, but I can vouch for it working!

It's not you, it's your clothes. When you get warm you are activating the bacteria. You would probably get the same smell if you ironed in the armpit area.

Wash using powder only, not pods, not liquid.
Also use Dettox antibacterial laundry sanitiser in the soft rinse drawer.
Wash at a minimum of 40 degrees.

I used to be like this. I now only use the sure or dove solid stick deodorant (Mitchum didn’t work for me) and never ever wear polyester!

You may have already tried this but have you used Driclor? It changed my life. I told my dad about it as he had to change his shirt twice a day and it's changed his life too. It's over the counter.