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…

Given that there are lots of people out there who smell, I never believe anyone who claims online that they don’t shower every day and it’s fine.
But there are a lot of things that have changed in the past 20 years that could have made a difference to the OP. Deodorants are definitely better than they used to be, and so are washing machines and washing powders/liquids. And probably most people who were in their twenties then and 40s now, now have access to better facilities for washing and drying clothes, so are probably starting from a cleaner clean slate every time they shower and put fresh clothes on.

I know personally that I smell more sweaty AFTER I've clean shaven my armpits.

@Chaoslatte I am firmly of the belief that babies & children should be bathed daily!
Babies are in nappies full of wee & poo. They often suck their hands. They dribble & puke frequently. Lots of them have oily cradle cap etc.
Toddlers & small children are total filth magnets!
We bathed ours every single evening, barring illnes, it was just part of the before bed routine. We used gently sulphate free products & never once had nappy rash nor any other skin issues.

We have teen now & hygiene is absolutely instilled & they have a daily shower as do dh & I. It's very important to us.

I have held babies that clearly haven't been bathed enough & they smell sour & often like doughnuts (oily head) it's not nice. I've seen babies with grubby hands & necks!

Over the many years of childhood playdates we've had plenty of primary aged kids in the house & on warm days or in winter when heating is on or they were running about i'd have to open the window in dd's room to air it out when they'd gone home - overwhelming smell of hot, not fresh child & unwashed hair- again not nice

Now they're teens & the ones who were whiffy as small kids are now sweaty & unwashed big teens - it's sad really

@AgapanthusLove that’s your belief. The NHS and American College of Pediatricians both say no need to bathe babies and children daily.

Yes it's my belief & my experience.
But it doesn't actually matter to me if you never wash your children or not.
I know mine went to bed fresh & clean every night & that's actually all that matters to me

My DP is like this. He literally never smells. He can go a week without washing and smell of nothing.

Apparently it’s genetic, and also an ear wax thing. Sticky ear wax means your stinky - dry crumbly ear wax not a stinky one.

His poos stink of absolute carnage though 😂

The good old traditional colognes and body splashes are wonderful for not stinking. The alcohol in them kills the smelly bacteria. I use them in the summer and stay fresh all day despite 30c + heat.

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?

Maybe, but it would use more water, take more time drying off, take up the shower room etc.
I wash my face with cleanser and a hot cloth over the sink (about 2 mins).
Down below I use the fitted hose (sitting on the loo), then use the same hose and soap on my feet (it’s like a bidet hose but designed to use over loo and not as powerful as a shower). I soap each foot then rinse in the air over loo.
I also use a wet flannel under my arms and apply fresh anti perspirant to armpits and feet, then powder feet.

It’s quicker than a shower unless I’m just dashing in and out of the shower. In the shower I tend to wash my hair and exfoliate, use a hair mask, shave legs etc. I do sometimes take quick in-out showers but never feel as clean somehow.

I have held babies that clearly haven't been bathed enough & they smell sour & often like doughnuts (oily head) it's not nice. I've seen babies with grubby hands & necks!
Over the many years of childhood playdates we've had plenty of primary aged kids in the house & on warm days or in winter when heating is on or they were running about i'd have to open the window in dd's room to air it out when they'd gone home - overwhelming smell of hot, not fresh child & unwashed hair- again not nice

Do you think you might be hypersensitive to smell? Or just used to the smell of your own babies and children so they don’t smell to you but you notice unfamiliar body smells?

Even with a daily bath/shower children rarely smell ‘fresh’ after school; they’ve been running around playing, sweating, maybe doing PE, they pick up the smell of the lunch hall etc on their clothes. Some young kids aren’t very good at wiping/washing their bits after using the loo.

I’ve never noticed other people’s kids smelling bad or needing to open a window when they come to play!

Babies I agree benefit from regular baths but some hate it and scream, some have sensitive skin that reacts to daily soaking. I too and tail my 5-week-old daily, using a damp warm cloth with baby lotion on her face and around her neck (milk collects in the skin folds) and a different cloth on her bottom area and groin, sometimes pouring a jug of warm water to rinse. I often wash her hair while she’s on her rubber backed mat with a couple of towels under her, much easier than a full bath and less stressful at this age.

Also I think changing clothes, towels and bedding regularly is just as important. There’s no point having a shower then drying off with a stale musty towel that’s been left damp on a hook for days.

Or getting into bed freshly showered, in yesterday’s PJs and sheets that haven’t been changed for weeks.

A lot of people seem to not realise their clothes smell. A friend of mine dries her clothes in the open plan kitchen/lounge so they naturally pick up all the cooking smells. Another complains her clothes take days to dry; her flat has a damp/mould issue and she doesn’t feel the need to get a dehumidifier or open windows, so her clothes naturally smell musty even freshly washed.

Everyone gets smelly whatever you might think. People cover with perfume and most perfumes are horrible for me. It's definitely a flaw for me but i prefer the smell of sweat to a perfumey smell.
Any aweosol deodorant I hate because I instantly can't breathe

Any adult who thinks they don't smell after 3 days without a shower is deluding themselves. I don't generally wear antiperspirant if I'm not being active or stressed but I shower once or twice a day. On the other hand I practically had an outer shell of antiperspirant for the day I had to stand up to a full days cross examination in court on a technical subject. I can really recommend Mitchums for court appearances.