To think I don’t smell?

[Romeoalpha]

Prompted by the other thread about being smelly, but I have been wondering this for a while.

I can remember as a teen and young adult being aware of having smelly pits at the end of the day. I would sniff my clothes and they would be a bit stinky. Tops only got worn once, then straight in the wash.

I am now 35. I never smell myself any more. Clothes get a little fusty / less fresh if I wear them multiple days, but not a BO smell. I use deodorant daily (Sure aerosol) out of habit, but if I run out or for some reason forget - I don’t notice a difference. I don’t feel sweaty or smelly at all.

What is most likely:
That I have stopped smelling so much now that I am in middle-adulthood and less hormonal (YANBU)

Or that I do probably smell but I’ve got used to it and am one of those people who never notices their own stench 😬 (YABU)

I have to admit my personal hygeine standards dropped a little during lockdown, so I am a bit paranoid about it being the latter…

Hormonal changes, maybe? Less active than you were as a teenager? Or maybe deodorants these days are more effective than they once were.

I do think some people are just less smelly than others but it's one of those things that's quite hard to judge for yourself.

I do notice that certain fabrics seem to absolutely honk when they come into contact with even the tiniest amount of sweat, while others can get quite sweaty and not really smell. I remember when I was at school, we had to wear awful acrylic jumpers and our mums all used to complain that they seemed to hold the smell of BO more rapidly and more stubbornly than anything else in our wardrobes. Our cotton shirts never seemed to stink but the jumpers were gross.

It may be that you just don't sweat much or smell much. I've heard it's genetic and I certainly have friends who can wear a dress several times without washing it and smell fresh as a daisy.

I on the other hand am a sweaty person who needs to avoid 96% of the tops that are currently available because even if I wash them with sports wash after every use, the underarms will become smelly.

I have known two different people who both sang the praises of 'natural' deodorants, some kind of crystal salt stick kind of thing or something that you rub under your arms. They're fantastic, they said, you don't need all those chemicals, natural is best!

They both absolutely stank.

This is an extremely dangerous question to ask here - the prevailing view seems to that you honk if you don’t shower six times a day and put on clean clothes every time.

Children don’t need daily bathing though, unless they are actually covered in dirt (very possible!). It’s not good for their skin to have a bath every day and they don’t get BO until puberty.

Err on the side of caution op…..
Wash and spray your pits daily.

It’s basic hygiene.
I can’t bare smelling other people.
No excuse for laziness.

Maybe your deodorant is very effective? My mum gave me a Pitrok deodorant that she didn't like, and I have it in my holiday toiletry bag. I noticed when I was away that my clothes didn't whiff like they will with my usual one after a couple of days.

I usually wear my tops for two days at which point they start to whiff. Washing things every day isn't very eco-friendly and isn't needed. During the first lockdown I wore my running t-shirts about three times, I figured nobody should be getting close enough to smell them!

I suspect you probably notice less. I’d notice if I forgot to wear anti-perspirant, don’t your underarms feel damp after a few hours?

Agree teens have more noticeable body odour due to hormones, and people smell and sweat more/less depending on genetics.

In hot weather I shower every morning, wear fresh clothes and put them all in the wash at the end of the day. In cooler weather, if I’m inactive and not going out I might skip the shower for a day and wear yesterday’s clothes, but I give them a sniff test first (and always wear clean undies). And I still wash face, feet and down below with soap and the shower hose.

I find body odour really off putting in others, especially stale sweat/damp dog/bad breath.

I also avoid cooking with certain herbs as my body seems unable to break them down and I smell of them for days despite showering (eg coriander, fenugreek, certain mixed herbs).

I also cover my hair when cooking and put my clothes in the wash after as I don’t like lingering cooking smells on me, especially onions/garlic and meat.

It's really weird but I know 2 people who never ever smell at all. But very attentive to personal hygiene, always washing and changing clothes but not wearing deodorant. No idea how it works.
One of my grandmothers- no idea how but that woman is as clean as a cat! And lives in a hot climate. Regular soap washing and clean clothes but no deodorant whatsoever.
The other is a family friend, he never ever smells, after doing strenuous work or anything like that and he sometimes smokes but zero smell around him, no use of deodorant just daily shower/bath.

A while ago I started using E45 shower team which is unperfumed, non lathering (because no sodium laureth sulfate - SLS - which is the lathering agent present in most soaps, shower gels and shampoo. SLS is known to disrupt the natural skin biome and be bad for your skin. I have noticed I - and my clothes - are less whiffy since I’ve been using it. I only started using it because my skin was itchy and reactive and it has helped with that as well.

They do work, but you still have to shower regularly 😛 They were probably soap dodgers.

I use the crystal rollerball which is amazing, unscented. But I shower at least once a day.

I can definitely smell a difference when I've had a hard workout or a particularly active / sweaty day before I shower (and I don't mean that I just don't smell of shower gel - it's the smell of the skin and oils).

I can definitely tell when someone is a bit of a shower dodger!

With the planet going to shit, we are all going to have to wash ourselves and our clothes a lot less. When I was a kid it was one bath a week for everyone in the family - in the same water. No doubt we all reeked but if everyone whiffs then no one whiffs. The levels of personal cleanliness we have come to expect are unsustainable and we should all stop being so prissy about it.

By the time you wash your face, feet and down below with the hose the only other part of your body to wash is your torso, surely it would be quicker to jump into the shower?

Yeah I think diet also makes a difference with what your sweat smells like. Garlic, herbs, spices and how much water you drink etc makes a massive difference.

Unfortunately I love garlic!

It takes 5 minutes to shower so why wouldn’t you? It makes you feel so much better. And for people who don’t shower every day - and don’t wash on those days- boak! There are bits of the body that need a daily wash - have you ever stood beside someone with fishy flaps? 🤢

Disgusting but I had BO for about 3/4 months no matter how much I showered several hours later I stank. I asked my friends and they said no I dont but they must have been kind as it was every day and it would knock me sick so other people must have been able to smell me. I think was some form of bacteria under my arms. Took quite a while to find something that worked and Im sure ive smelt sweaty since but not full on BO thank god.

I think many people do get used to their own smell so cant smell it but I find it hard to.beleive someone who cant smell their own BO its absolutely pungent

Just out of interest, what is your earwax like OP?

www.geneticlifehacks.com/ear-wax-and-body-odor-its-genetic/#:~:text=The%20ABCC11%20gene%20determines%20both,person's%20lack%20of%20body%20odor.

My ears itch like crazy as I have no wax at all. I also hardly ever sweat and find that I don't need an antiperspirant.

For me, either/or, never both. If I choose not to shower (i.e. when I have to leave the house disgustingly early for work) my clothes are always clean on. If I'm freshly showered, I think it's ok to Febreze yesterday's top. Most days, I'm freshly showered. I do think you're right about the hormones as a teenager and how as we age we smell less.

I am absolutely paranoid about this. If I thought I stank I would do something about it. And if someone else were to tell me I stank I would literally die a million deaths. I'm paranoid about If I smell like a dog. I have a basset and they are extremely doggy scented. But I shower or bath every day ,hair washed regularly not every day though, use more lenor and ariel than I care to think about and febreez laundry that's been dried inside on the airer before packing away. I use deodorant and perfume multiple times a day just incase. I know full well I don't smell but growing up in a dirty home as a child and not washing regularly has really had an impact .

If you have office job, it's most likely you don't sweat that much. Although my mum is one of these people who thinks she never smell etc. so she puts her feet up proudly. I guarantee, she smells like every other human being.

@FateHasRedesignedMost It’s 27 degrees in my house, I’m not wearing anti perspirant and my armpits are completely dry.

@chocolatemademefat there are loads of reasons why people don’t shower every day. Eczema and other skin conditions, not actually having a shower in your house or your shower being crap, energy prices, sensory issues, etc. Until we had a plumber out last year our shower took more than 5 minutes to get warm, and our bathroom is very cold in winter so we minimise time spent in there!

I'm a nurse so I wash a number of people every day and yes we all smell. The older generation are very good at having a proper wash if not showering or bathing (probably due to less availability when they were younger). The younger folk it can often be a shower or nothing. And I think a lot of people forget to wash their back if they are skipping a shower.

My dad is allergic to most deodorants and has a skin condition but he is also a sweaty larger man. He showers religiously every morning and wears a clean shirt every day but can't wear deodorant, does wear aftershave. I can honestly say that he often is visibly perspiring he smells like a natural smell, fresh sweat is entirely different to BO.

Try mixing up your deodorant. For whatever reason the formula of your go to is not working for you now. My friend used to go through 1 can a week and apply multiple times a day but has switched to wild and not feeling the same. If that doesn't work just change your brand of anti perspirant.

Not showering or bathing daily is a bit gross…. Even a 2 minute shower to at least wash pits and private areas?!

Personally I find the smell of fabric conditioner and Febreeze awful, such a nasty chemical smell. It gives me a headache and makes me feel sick. I hope as we focus more on the long term effects of all these unnecessary products, they will become obsolete.

As for BO, I hardly sweat and could probably wear a top for a week with no smell. Mind you, I'm always boiling as soon as it's over 25 ° so a bit of sweating to cool me would be really welcome!

I shower every morning, partly to be clean for the benefit of others, but also as part of my 'sensory diet', I just feel more ready for the day afterwards.

And as you have to brush your teeth anyway, if you're in the shower it's then only a couple more minutes to wash face, body and hair.

But I do have short hair that takes no time to dry & don't have any beauty / make up routines.

I feel minging if I go two days or more without showering.

Teenagers though are a different kettle of fish. They stink but it's not their fault. They just excrete so much oil! My pubescent DS is not as bad as last year but would be greasy and smelly an hour after a shower.