in thinking that there is no real reason for most people to SMELL is there?

[HugoFirst]

unless have run a marathon etc.
WASH yourselves and please wash your clothes you stinkers

Lesley33 and tooposh - my daughter has a shower and washes her hair every day. Despite this, until I tried our current shampoo, her hair would be greasy by the end of the day. And despite the daily showers and morning deodorant (that she claims to be using, anyway!) if she gets hot or exercises she does smell of sweat. You might find it pleasant but I certainly don't! Not sure what to do about that one though... Can't really expect a 13 year old to shower multiple times a day.

Agree about the smokers, especially their breath. Horrible when they lean over to confide in you and you just want to run away screaming!

gum disease can give you bad breath that you may not even be aware of, and excessive sweating is the bane of lots of people's lives. I use Driclor which is fantastic, i only have to use it once a week and normal roll on other days and no sweat at all. Very strong though, so don't use in on just shaved pits

I wash my hair once a week, it is extremely thick and long and will frizz up if I washed it every day. Lots of hairdressers have told me to do it and it never smells or looks lank.

I would say that most people that wash in the morning and smell of BO shortly after must have some underlying medical problems and probably need to drink a lot more water to flush those toxins out.

I seem to remember that the poster on here who used to handwash their knickers was from south America where this was apparently very normal. Some people have different cultures.

My grandparents used to just do the strip wash thing and never smelt of anything other than of lily of the valley or tomatoes (respectively).

PlanetEarth - not sure why you have addressed this comment to me as I have posted similar examples. I agree with you.

Well for about 3 months a few years ago, I stank within an hour of having a wash, couldn't shower as I had an open infected wound, is that a good enough excuse?

Well for about 3 months a few years ago, I stank within an hour of having a wash, couldn't shower as I had an open infected wound, is that a good enough excuse?

I share on office with someone who washes themselves often enough (I think) but doesn't wash their clothes enough. As the day goes on you start to smell BO'ey clothes. I honestly think he doesn't realise.

I strip washed every other day for 3 months while in India. It saves on water. Not everyone has a shower, or constant hot water on tap. Most people can fill a bucket with hot water though.

All this outrage over people who strip wash, and people who can't even imagine what a strip wash is!!! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

A strip wash if done properly, is perfectly fine. I suspect that some people who may strip wash, but still smell, are elderly people who may struggle to reach a lot of their body.

20 odd years ago there were lots of council properties that had no bathrooms at all(just an outside loo) - my grandparents lived in one! They strip washed at the kitchen sink, they were the cleanest people ever and my grandmother one of the most glamourous women I have ever known. After my grandmother died my grandfather was moved to sheltered housing with a bathroom. Everyone having access to baths and showers is a relatively new thing.

'Everyone having access to baths and showers is a relatively new thing.'

Yes, here it is. Britain is often behind the rest of the developed world in so many things.

'I could not imagine anything worse than strip wash, whatever it is...it sounds so vile.'

A bit of perspective wouldn't go amiss here. Really, can't imagine anything worse than a strip wash? It must be very fluffy in your world. Some of the posts here have an air of hysteria about them.

I don't strip wash (because I like showers) but I have no problem with people who do. I know quite a lot of people who shower on alternate days and strip wash on the other day. None of them smell at all. I strongly agree that there is a huge difference between a smell of bad BO and the smell of normal human skin or fresh sweat. So many people absolutely reek of shower gel, shampoo, moisturiser that they have become conditioned to think that everyone needs to smell perfumed to be clean. Absolute nonsense.

Like oilbeansmummy I used to have a sweat problem, which was greatly exacerbated by anxiety. I would shower in the morning, apply deodorant, always wear clean clothes and only cotton fabrics. By the time I got to work, I had awful BO so I used to take baby wipes, deo and several clean tops to work to change throughout the day. It made no difference and I often used to have to throw clothes away after only a couple of wears. The more anxious I was about it happening, the more it would happen. It was bloody awful and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Of course I was aware of it, no-one needed to comment on it for me to know. Eventually I resolved it by getting out of a job which made me feel very anxious and self-conscious on a daily basis. I had no idea you could get prescription deodorants, will see the Dr about it.

It would be nice to see a bit more empathy on this thread.

I agree about strip washes being clean. Once the body has been washed it is clean, there is no need to pour gallons of water over it, or stand in a shower for 20 minutes. It may make you feel great but you're not going to be any cleaner than after a 5 minute shower. It's actually quite wasteful. Especially considering most people nowadays don't even do manual or dirty work.
There really are a lot of pampered princesses on this thread.

Says someone with the nickname, 'fatlazymummy'.

I once had an unpleasant talk with a colleague who stank. unfortunately it was part of my role in a previous job....
it turned out that he had a kidney problem. when a kidney fails or doesn't work well its function is taken over by the liver and the skin. and that really makes a person whiff.
the colleagues was very relieved that we talked because he was very aware but couln't do anything about it.

My DH showers every morning and has a bath every evening and still once he is home from work, he is sweaty and smelly. His hair is long and thick but goes greasy from just combing/brushing it. It doesn't matter what length his hair is, when it is short it is permanently greasy despite being washed daily.

I myself don't shower (well very rarely) I hate showers, much prefer a bath. I wash my hair about 3 times a week as it just does not go greasy and it dries out too much if I wash it every day.

My ex boyfriend only used to shower once a week !!! ((vom)) He claimed that he used to 'strip wash' as well but I can't believe I shared a bed for 2 years with the unclean fecker. Especially when I'm a 'shower twice a day' person! He only used to wash his hair once a week as well and it looked like a chip pan half the time.

Oh and in the morning before work if he was running late he would just swill some toothpaste around his mouth instead of brushing his teeth

the day-before-knickers thing isn't strange!

I've always done it - I got it from my mother.
no, i don't whip them from out of the washing basket - I wear my knickers to bed.
it's not odd, or unhygienic - if it were, surely I would smell or be really itchy down below? I'm not - I smell okay, and don't get itchy often (when it's really hot weather and I'm sweating all day, then I do, but then I change my knickers and wash my bits when I get home)

I don't see why it's such a problem to some of you!

jaspants - ugh! no! not my whole body!
just my fanjo and bum!

I use a clean flannel for the rest!

that would be gross!

sorry, i keep reading more and more posts about these knickers:

I wear big granny pants, so lots of fabric.
I take them off in the morning, and pour hot water on them from the tap
swish them around a bit, then place part of the fabric over my hand to wash my fanjo and fanjo creases.
Each swipe, I move the fabric round, so it's always a new bit.
then I scrunch them up, so that the unused part is uppermost, then wash my bum with that.

does that clear it up?
(i don't care if you still think it's gross - I've done it all my life, and I've never had problems)

2 minute shower. SO much less faff than strip washes and moving your dirty keks round your fanjo.

A shower is less faff. But I guess not everyone has a shower or can afford the hot water for a shower or bath every day. A strip wash is much cheaper to do.

I know someone with mental health issues and she sometimes doesn't smell too fresh, but I know how much she struggles to get out of bed at all and I think that having a shower and looking for clean clothes is just too much to cope with.

I used to act for clients who smelt and I put it down to money problems. Running a washing machine and buying enough clothes to have dry clothes always available is expensive

It's not always down to laziness

2-minute showers take too long!

seriously, the part before getting in is much more of a faff than turning on the basin tap.

I don't like standing under a stream of water either.
It's weird, but I don't like the feeling of being drenched too often.

I agree that for some people e.g. with mental health problems, keeping clean can be a major struggle.

I don't agree about money problems though. You don't need a washing machine. You can hand wash and dry things on the line. It takes more work, but it is perfectly possible.

But if your knickers are so clean you wouldn't have to change them, there s a reason we change them. If not clean enough to wear it then not clean enough to wash with it. If you have to pour hot water and wash it first then a shower would be quicker.