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.

If you use this make sure it dries before putting your clothes on as it will bleach your clothes!

occasionally use body scrub on your armpits (gently) for a deep clean

And yes bar soap not shower gel. (It leaves a film on you)

Dove is a beauty bar, which has added mousturisers so not technically a soap, even though it presents as one.

Wish it was, I do like the fragrance!

Using a benzoyl peroxide face wash (for acne) under my arms in the shower was a game changer. Let it sit for a few minutes then rinse well (can bleach darker towels). Also - let clothes sit in a dettol bath before washing to kill bacteria in the arm pit area. Following both of those steps has made me pong-free. I no longer need to soak my clothes because the face wash in the shower continues to kill of the stink-causing bacteria

I have had these of the GP on prescription before. Both had irritated my skin though and they can sting loads. Still didn’t work for me and hyperhydrosis so was told to get Botox. Decided against it. I use triple dry now instead of Mitchum which I used to use but also started irritating me. I’ve resigned to nothing keeping me dry, clothes staining under the arms and only wearing white or black due to sweat marks. I couldn’t live anywhere that hot.

You basically need something with Aliminium in it to prevent wetness. Anything advertised as a deodorant won’t cut it. I’ve tried a few of those new deodorants such as wild and they smell lovely but I smelled awful.

Wild deodorant is the thing that has stopped any sweat smell on me.. and I am a sweaty Betty. I find it amazing and weirdly sweat less since using it...and its deodorant not anti persp

Many washing machines are only plumbed into cold water but machines have a water heater! I'd be very surprised if any professional laundry was only washing in cold water.

I recommend Mitchum unscented stick deodorant. It works brilliantly.

Make sure you scrub under arms in shower with soap.

For laundry Use bio washing detergent or non bio but use some laundry cleanser/sanitiser liquid in each wash.

I grew up in Australia and don't like humidity (I grew up semi-desert) .. the only deodorant I found that works for me is one called as speed stick. You can get it from Amazon.

I like smell of mitcham but I find it irritates my arm pits, as does driclor which is very harsh.

It could be on your clothes so wash them hot to kill bacteria if they don't run with the dye (obviously don't put dark and whites together in the hot wash)

Good luck!

I used glycolic acid when I broke my arm (not sure why this increased BO, but it seemed to) and found it effective.

https://www.boots.com/perspirex-strong-antiperspirant-roll-on-20ml-10210513?traffic=paid.shopping&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19971248798&gbraid=0AAAAA-AdmwQ4py4RJe4VBn6aWdjDliVnF&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuefLxpnpkwMVJY9QBh117gKfEAQYAyABEgIqlvD_BwE

This stuff keeps me dry for days

Sympathy OP, I was the same in Singapore , a sweaty mess the whole time while the locals seems cool as cucumbers. I would leave my hire freshly showered at 7.30am, and then be drenched after a 10 min walk to the office! I think the only answer is aircon or to accept the humidity and shower as much as possible!

This.

Can you move to a closer hotel? is there any underground walkway from Bugis that allows you to walk as close to your office as possible before emerging? A change of commuter clothes at the office is sensible.

Does your office have a shower? If not, the fastest way to cool off when you change is to take a wet hand towel over your body to air dry (it is very fast), focusing on the armpits, wash your face and re-apply make up and re-apply deoderant.

Office workers in Singapore stay cool because they avoid the sun compulsively. When I used to work there, I will walk from the MRT to underground walkways to office buildings, spending not more than 5 mins in the sun. I would take a Grab taxi rather than walk 10 mins outside in the sun. I shower twice a day as I dislike the sticky feeling on my clothes.

There is a reason why I am in the UK. I was not made for Singapore weather!

Mitchum deodorant stick is bombproof for me. You definitely need to wash it off with soap, shower gel doesn't touch it.

The roll on however gives me horrendously itchy skin and the spray didn't really work. Driclor also made me itchy.

I do use Akt when I'm just hanging around the house as would prefer to use a natural deodorant, but I pong at the end of the day so use Mitchum when I go to work or need to stay fresh all day.

I'm honestly baffled by the number of endorsements for Mitcham.
To be fair I used it for years, and then they had a bad few batches, which caused a product recall. My armpits took about 6 months to recover 😅

Come and live in the south of France - nobody uses deodorant, everybody stinks, and nobody gives a monkey's. They all seem to regard it as natural musk.

If l stank like you l would definitely see a Doctor asap.

Your problem is you brought UK deodorant.

Buy the local deodorant.

When I abroad I find the sure all over deodorant creams helps for the rest of the body.

If I had your manners I'd never see anyone at all, cos nobody would like me.

Definitely. Both myself and DD use it.

Haven't read the full thread but I had the same problem. It was down to bacteria in my clothes as my clothes were not fully cleaned in the wash so when I would wear the clean top again any amount of body heat would reactivate the BO in the armpits of the shirts. Here's how I fixed this for good --

• changed my laundry soap from the pods to persil liquid
• pre-treated the arm pits of my shirts with the oxyclean powder mixed with a little water to form a paste. I would rub this in the pits and let sit for maybe 15 minutes before I put in the wash. This resets the shirts and isn't something I have to do any more.
• in the shower I wash my arm pits with just regular car-ex anti-bacterial hand soap. I also wash my feet with it now too.
• I use extra-strength deodorant now (Dove I think), but I honestly don't think this is needed/makes a difference. The game changer was resetting the tops, switching to persil liquid and the MUST DO is using anti-bac soap in the shower.

Singapore is one of the coldest Asian countries to work in as the air conditioning is always set to an extraordinarily low temp, often as low as 22C, which is cardigan and jacket conditions. For comparison, HK offices are set to 25C, and Tokyo offices to 28C, which is a bit sweaty. Try to exploit Singapore's many air-conditioned spaces and underground networks that span the city. Nobody goes outside!

I’ve been to Singapore ( stopovers ) so many times and their AC is amazing 🤩 but that does mean the humidity really hits you when you step outside .
I tended to wear loose sleeveless midi dresses in cotton , linen or viscose but I would carry a cardigan for indoors .
Something about the sunshine there ?? Or the amount of shade ? But I never got a suntan or sunburn while there so wasn’t worried about covering shoulders .
I showered in the morning with a small travel size bar of L’Occitane soap and a very quick shower in the evening before bed .
I think I’m more likely to get smelly here in the UK because I will dress for a cold morning and by lunchtime I’m too warm or indoors is too heated .

Agree !
that’s why I haven’t been to Japan in summer yet only spring and autumn.
HK is ok because 25c indoors acceptable when it’s very very warm outside .
Singapore I always took light cardigans / cover ups for indoors .