Stinky 13 year old

[Bountifulbarbie]

DS is 13. He claims to wash under his pits but I can smell him even 15 mins after he has a shower and is in a clean t shirt

He is defo having a hormone rush as has grown about a foot this year alone. Has anyone got any ideas for super shower gels that will work? He doesn't need an anti perspirant, he just needs something that will kill the bacteria and keep him fresh

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/mar/22/teenagers-armpits-smell-of-cheese-goat-and-urine-say-scientists

😬

Nicely, why are you telling him he’s the stinkiest kid in the class and denying him anti-persperant? I went to school with someone who had no friends and genuinely didn’t know it was because she smelt so awful their mum denied them to use deodorant or antiperspirant. The school nurse ended up helping to buy them some.

I feel your pain, my almost 13 year old DD is so stinky too! I think it's hormonal. She is a lot better now since switching to bar soap in the shower (shower every day) and then a 72h antiperspirant, roll on seems to work better than spray.

Don't be so fucking stupid. It is not 'unkind' to tell a smelly kid that their peers will tease them if they don't wash properly.

Agreed though, he needs soap, something to scrub with, an anti-perspirant for after and for his dirty clothes to be whisked away before he puts them on again!

Deodorant, wash his t shirts/shirts on a hot wash. I had a friend who sent her son to wax his arm pits and it was much better

Sometimes smells get stuck in the clothes - elbow grease spray really helps to break down the old deodorant and sweat in the clothes.

Also another advocate for bar soap, it works much better

Of course he needs antiperspirant, and soap rather than shower gel.

The smell is probably on his clothes too, but if you spray some vinegar around the armpit area of his tops and t-shirts before putting them in the wash, that will sort it.

My DS is almost 13 and a committed soap dodger. He has ASD and It's a real challenge getting him to shower and wash his hair frequently enough. He refuses antiperspirant because it feels sticky. He smells like the goat enclosure at the local petting farm if I don't really insist he washes. So thanks for starting this thread, I'm going to note down some tips about products etc.

Thanks so much for the advice.

I know he needs to use anti perspirant, I worded that bit wrong- he does have and does use it- what I meant is what more can I do, it's not that he doesn't use it (I was worried everyone would just say stinky kid - tell him to use anti perspirant). However the one he uses is not Mitchum so thanks so much for that, we will switch!

As for the bar soap- thanks inspired. It honestly never occurred to me that it would be better and that makes so much sense!! I will buy him some tomorrow plus some new shower scrubs and make sure he gets up a proper lather.

Thanks again!

Also, make sure he's using roll on, not a spray. They spray is a bit hit and miss. 😊

Genuinely, it'll be his clothes too, but the halo and rub into all the pots of his clothes before you wash them.

My lads sports kit was whiffy and he's scrupulous in daily showers etc and it was the kit. Halo sorted it.

Brill. I will buy halo too. Thank you

You need 'Driclor'- stops it dead ! Only thing that's really worked

How often is he showering?
Mine use bar soap, a shower scrub, and deodorant and they never smell bad.

What are you going on about lol. He needs an anti perspirant. Why wouldn’t you get that for him?

3 teens here
all of them had to learn to wash themselves properly at that stage and that getting wet in the bath or shower is not enough.

flannel & soap deginitely help. and if wearing a synthetic fibre school uniform an antiperspirant is needed.

shaving arm pits will help as the hair traps the smell. dettol soap and mitchum roll on (sprays are rubbish)

I use Mitchum but it didn’t work for my very sweaty teenage dc. They use Wild natural deodorant and it’s amazing as they have never remotely smelt since. It’s expensive though at £13 but you can buy refills.

You can get Wild in Boots or Tesco.

Bar soap yes, body exfoliator and use a body scrub net. A flannel won't scrub your body well enough.

What antiperspirant is he using OP?

See we've all found Wild is fine in winter but not for teenagers or summer 🤷‍♀️

Sanex roll on or spray at home and my lad has a Dove stick for after sport as they're not allowed sprays in school. He's very clean smelling for 14/15!

Wild didn’t touch the sides for me or my sweaty teen. A shame as I really wanted it to work but I might as well have been wearing nothing.

On another note, any recommendations for bar soaps which are not too drying and don’t make a mess of the shower? I use Dove bars but I know it’s not real soap and wondering if proper soap would be better for teen DS on the back of this thread.

Get a lovely proper bar soap: dove is a syndet based cleansing bar, which is why it's gentle and turns mushy.

Neste Danti or just go to TK Maxx and get a good quality olive oil based soap (Sodium Olivate should be first ingredient). I buy standard boring Savon de Marseille and it works so well. It's been around in France for centuries for a reason! I can make it but it takes an age (literally months) to cure so I buy it.

Pears is the best IMO