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!!

Have you tried salt?
I had most likely fungal hair skulp issue (hair kepg wet continously for a while basically started that) one summer and washing with salt water sorted it in a day. I was so freaking itchy before!

I have the same issue with my son’s t-shirts (armpits smelling bad, even after washing, which then makes him smell even worse when he wears them and the armpit areas warm up!). What worked for us was:

• using dettol antibacterial soap to wash armpits
• using a 72h roll-on antiperspirant (not a deodorant)
• avoiding the ‘quick wash’ setting when washing clothes, going for a full wash
• using antibacterial laundry liquid (I think it is also dettol), it goes in the conditioner drawer, as well as normal washing liquid / powder.

1. Pears soap only for armpits
2. Only ever wear cotton
3. Soak tops in astonish before your wash
4. Only use washing powder, do not use more than the box says
5. Never use fabric softener
6. A dash of vinegar in the washing machine in every wash
7. Never overfill the washing machine
8. Wash on a higher temperature (60 or above)
9. Wear a good antiperspirant- there are medicated ones you can use for this issue
10. Change your towel regularly

If those don’t work definitely see your GP, as you say it could be fungal but definitely worth making sure you are washing clothes correctly. Many of us use quick washes or horrible laundry pods and wear crap fabrics and for some people that’s just not enough.

I could have written this. I've never found anything that works for me. Antiperspirants that work "better" irritate my skin so I can't actually use them longer than a day every few months.

Not wearing anything close around the armpits is the only solution so skinny fit/"ladies" shirts are out, and if I'm wearing a close fitting long sleeve I'm just hyper aware I'm probably going to end up smelling.

Even 100% cotton does this to me. Only thing I've not had the stink on so far is a 100% wool base layer I bought the other day in TK maxx (they're normally about 80 quid!) I wore that for a few days and was surprised it didn't smell.

It's so bizarre. I'm not a smelly person with loose fitting clothes and will wear the same t shirt a few days in a row if I'm just around the house or whatever not being around other people.

Thanks chillicabbage I will try a salt scrub. Good idea!

It’s seems ok if I keep on top of it and binned all of my clothes that were contaminated with the smell but I dread it coming back with one sweaty perimenopause night 😧

This stuff is amazing, you will sweat but it won't smell

naturaldeoco.com/all-products/

However for me, it was hormonal (I breastfed for a long time and stunk when I did, it stopped as soon as I stopped breastfeeding) so might be worth checking hormone levels?

Spray the armpits of the clothes with vinegar before washing. The smells can get stuck in the fibres

When do you shower ? I shower at night and now need to shower I. The morning too as have realised I sweat more than I think and it’ll make me smell later on in the day.

Also you can smell more when heavier and less fit as sweat from all sorts of exercise.

Make sure deodorant goes on straight after shower.

Get some wool tops for winter. Uniqlo do thin nice 100% merino jumpers that you can wash in the machine (ideally with non-bio detergent or specific wool detergent on a wool cycle).
Thicker wool jumpers over top rather than thick cotton sweaters or synthetics.
Wool just doesn’t hold on to sweat and bacteria like cotton or synthetics do.
I wash the base layer I wear next to my skin daily and the outer layer a couple of times per winter unless I think it smells quicker than that.
All the advice about deep cleansing your clothes to try to get rid of sweat/deodorant/bacteria build up is correct. Also clothes don’t last forever and this problem is a big reason work clothes of mine will eventually get retired to weekend at home clothes or ditched. I’ve turned nice cotton shirts into sleeveless shirts before too.

Anti perspirent makes people stink in the long term. Honestly, stop using it completely (maybe during a week when you don't have to really go anywhere..)
After a week or 3 your body adjusts and you don't smell anymore.
Also, treat for any bacterial/ fungal infection and use soap not shower gel.
I used to have the stinky problem, I don't now and I've not used anti perspirent for 20 years.

Anti perspires has never made me stink long term.

And I’m not sure the body adjusts.

Perspirex ..nips like mad when you apply it at night before you go to bed but it really works .
Only problem I noticed was that as my pits sweated less it moved to coming out on my back .
As I have aged the problem has disappeared .
Second the idea of proper bar soap-I buy lovely Italian milled soap from TK Maxx.
Good biological washing powder and wash above 60 c then line dry tops if possible .
Good luck op ,I feel for you .

Generally speaking most people just don't wash their clothes often enough, or for long enough and definitely not hot enough.

I have friends who just regularly use a 30 minutes quick wash cycle at only 30% and then wonder why their clothes aren't properly clean.

All our bedding, underwear and towels are washed at 60 degrees on a full 2hr cycle. All our coloured clothes are washed at a minimum of 40 degrees on a full 2hr wash, too.

Sorry that should read 30 degrees

Quick wash on 20-30 has a lot to answer for (except in specific countries)

Yes doesn't it just [shudders]

One of my teens was getting self conscious as they have to hang out in their PE kit all day after morning sport and someone commented on his stinky post sport BO. I also have a household full of boys and do a lot of sport myself.

My tips would be;

Get rid of the hair. Shave, wax, epilate or IPL it. The hair keeps hold of the bacteria.

Use a natural deodorant. We use [[https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/salt-of-the-earth-unscented-natural-roll-on-deodorant-6004886]]

Use either a laundry sanitiser every wash, or I buy Zoflora, which I prefer and put a capful in my fabric softener bit.

I don’t know how old you are, but smelly armpits was the first peri menopause symptom I experienced, early 40’s: . Changing to bar soap helped: It has since returned to normal (maybe a few years later).

Use Japanese persimmon soap or dettol antibacterial soap to wash your under arms, wash laundry in 40 c plus, use white vinegar in the wash, just biological washing powder