Help! I stink!

[Singapong]

NCd for this (hence the very appropriate name).

I have come to Singapore for work for a month. And my god is it hot and humid. They said it would be but this is insane. My glasses steam up when I go outside.

Anyway, I am getting so sweaty. I am showering twice a day and using my UK Dove deodorant but I still reckon I stink at the end of the day. I'm really conscious about it at work and wonder what I can do. Is there a particularly hard working deodorant that anyone can recommend? I am also just so sticky all the time. Any tips?
My hotel is so lovely and cold. As are a lot of places here where the Aircon works so beautifully. But out on the street and where there is no Aircon I am just sweating buckets.

Mitchum Ultimate Powder Fresh Gel. It's very good.

Also are you sure it is you that actually smells and not your clothes?

Thanks. I will see where sells that here.

It is both the clothes and me! I have a change of clothes in the office now which is helpful.

AKT deodorant is amazing - made by west end performers. You also need to wash with soap, not shower gel as that leaves a film which bacteria love

I second Mitchum, it’s the only deodorant I’ve used that really works. I also second ensuring your clothes are washed at a high enough temperature to kill bacteria and make sure they’re fully dry before wearing them.

Thank you I have never heard that about shower gel. God knows where to get soap soap from... I will have to have a look.
The hotel laundry service is doing my clothes. I don't know what temperature they wash things at. I have only had one load returned and it smelled fine but I don't know if it will have done the trick fully. I think I have seen a launderette nearby so I may see about that.
There are a couple of British girls at work I am trying to befriend but haven't quite plucked up the courage to ask them about this yet!

Are you wearing the right fabrics for Singapore temps eg cotton, linen etc and the right shapes - loose fitting because that makes a huge difference. Your body will eventually acclimatise (probably as you’re leaving!). Sounds like a great opportunity.

Bar soap to wash with (not Dove, a proper bar of soap) and if you can get it/order it, Secret deodorant. I use the vanilla one. Great stuff.

Washing machines in Singapore only use cold water so your clothes won’t be getting a hot wash! I lived there for a while and couldn’t believe it. A tip is to wear a vest under your clothes as the base layer absorbs sweat.

if yoy can get any glycolic acid, the type that’s used as a face exfoliant, use that under your arms as it kills the bacteria and stops you smelling as much.

What fabric are your clothes? I find anything polyester can hold on to smells far worse than cotton, linen, silk.

My daughter swears by this, she sweats excessively and has meds for it, this is the one which works for her.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B072PSVZTZ?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1

Also put your deodorant on at night. Something about it working better when it's had a chance to absorb over night. It works!

driclor and soap not shower gel

Surely anything dove is a load of rubbish. Their soap isn’t soap for a start.

I bath at night then put it on. Works very well.

A PP said they do cold washing, that will not help.

It’s also worth getting hold of a spray bottle if you can and spray the armpits of your clothes with some neat vodka. Sounds weird but this will neutralise any smells which the cold water wash haven’t managed to. One of the problems is that clothes smell clean when you put them on but as you warm up it reactivates any bacteria not killed off in the wash making them smell again.

Make Waves is very good https://wearemakewaves.com

I used to use Sure Maximum Protection cream but it started to irritate my skin. Make Waves is just as good for me. Driclor and similar really irritated my skin too.

Dettol soap followed by something gentle like sanex body wash, driclor on very clean, dry skin. Works a treat!

Mitchum roll on . I used to work for Revlon that make it , it’s the best one by far !

Agree about Mitchum. Also soap, not shower gel. Benzoyl peroxide soap (Panoxyl or generic) for armpits. Leave in contact with the skin for a bit while you're showering ( ie apply first, wash the rest of you and rinse off at the end of your shower).

Great thread OP as I feel your pain. I love SEA but I know the second I'm there that I basically turn into a wet mess!

Wash with soap, twice. First use soap on own and rinse off, then soap on a flannel to wash again and rinse off. Shower gel or dove soap doesn't cut it, and using a flannel can help make sure you are properly washing where you need to.

If it is available there, Secret outlast gel deoderant is excellent. If not available, Mitcham good too.

Dri - clor aluminium chloride roll on knocks spots off mitchum in my experience.

It's prescription grade but can be bought in the chemist.

OP I lived for a year in an Asian country with very humid, hot summers. My commute to work was simple - only a 15 min easy walk and one stop on train. And yet by time I got to office I was a disgusting sweaty mess! Humidity was insane. I ended up just wearing a loose t-shirt on commute then having quick wash at sink in toilet at work, reapplying deodorant then putting on fresh blouse (and often a cardigan as ironically the office was sometimes freezing with Aircon). Locals that I worked with would carry cotton hankies to literally mop their brows. And I saw pads in the shops that you wear under your arms (stuck to your clothes I think) which stop sweat marks - didn't try it myself.

Double bonus drink the rest of the vodka 😉

This.

And also, since you mention the hotel is doing the laundry… do they have a nice spa? If so, book yourself in for a full body exfoliation as you may have bacteria in your skin (all of us do) which is running wild in tropical conditions. If no spa, try the following:

if you are using conditioner, ensure you rinse your back well after use as the oily film it leaves behind is fertile ground for bacteria.