To ask how to combat peri-BO?

[CloudyHeadLikeLemonade]

I stink!

Plain and simple. There's no way of getting around it. I shower 2-3 times a day, and use 2 different deodorants to try and keep the smell at bay, but nothing is working.

I've NEVER had BO before, but since I hit my early 40's (and am 100% certain I'm peri-menopausal since 40) my BO is out of control! Not yet on HRT (will it help with this though?)

I sweat just talking on teams calls (think this may be due to anxiety),I sweat in the office just doing nothing, throughout the day just existing, and in my sleep. Genuinely embarrassed to wake up next to DH smelling the way I do.

I'm currently using a natural salt deodorant (people rave about them and apparently they're meant to kill the bacteria that causes BO - it doesn't!) and then after that dries I use the aerosol Mitchum (antiperspirant) which has always been my go to. I do this after each shower.

But these just aren't cutting it anymore and I'm starting to get really embarrassed that other people I'm around can smell me.

Posted in AIBU purely for traffic, although I assume IANBU in assuming that I'm not the only one having to deal with this issue. So please! Someone tell me what will work!

I mostly use just a deodorant, and now when I use antiperspirant, my armpit odour smells so toxic, on a whole other level to what it used to be.

Depending how desperate you are for a solution... a friend gets Botox injections for profuse sweating, so that's something to look into.

(Another friend, from California, told me it's really common for women where she grew up to get their scalps Botoxed so they can do exercise classes without ruining their blow dries).

Dettol soap is best and wash twice , mitchum roll on is better than spray

Coal tar soap was a game changer for me.

I've gone the other way in peri - from very perspiration-heavy under arms to barely - so weird!
I used to use Driclor which is incredible at stopping perspiration but I did always wonder if it was that good for my body. It also stings like a bugger if you apply after shaving - so don't so that!

I’ve been using my husband’s imperial leather soap and men’s Mitchum deodorant and since then all my sweatiness has disappeared.

No one has said I smell like a man probably thanks to a liberal application of Jo Malone 🤣

Dettol soap for me.

They also do a laundry add in which helps with clothes/linen

Dettol anti bac soap. Wash armpits twice. One to get deodorant off and then again to clean pits. Mitchum spray isn't as good as the stick version. The yellow one. The pink and blue are too flowery.

Dove is too oily to wash with. This is a job for a proper bar of basic soap.

Wash and dry tops inside out and line dry as much as possible.

Everyone seems to recommend soap, so I’m sure it helps with the odour, but I find it really dries my skin. Washing the whiffs bits twice has to do for me.
Lady Parts deodorant cream has really made a difference for me.

Oh, and always roll on deodorant for the armpits, spray just doesn’t cut it. And regular topiary trimming reduces odour.

try this

Dettol soap, buy it from Amazon in bulk. Ash and leather really well. Dry your armpits and rub in some hand sanitizer until it disappears (kills bacteria). Then medicated body powders (not talc) and anti perspirant. Also a capful of zoflora when washing tops etc.

Mitchum roll on.

OP, I used Mitchum unscented roll on anti perspirant for many years - from my teens until my sixties. It was the only thing that kept my very sweaty arm pits under control. However, a couple of years ago, they seemed to change the formulation. I found that the Mitchum itself smelt really stale and unpleasant to me. I had to stop using it. I discovered that my pits don't actually sweat as much as in my younger years, and I'm actually able to use something like Sure, Sanex, even own brand! Thought I'd mention it just in case it's actually the Mitchum you can smell? Same thing happened to me years ago with Fairy non bio washing powder - they reformulated it with a different smell. I didn't realise for weeks - kept thinking my washing had gone musty while drying indoors (in winter), rewashed and dried a few loads before I realised! Switched brand, problem solved! May not be the case for you at all, I hope you get sorted out soon. It's miserable to be constantly worried about being whiffy!

I had this during peri. It was awful and even when I used the weird super powerful deodorants like Perspirex which gives you a rash if not careful, I still smelt bad.

I did a complete 180 and went natural. I didn't know what else to do as it was so bad and there was nothing stronger I could try. I smelt TERRIBLE for a month and then weirdly the BO just went away. They say it's because the biome of the arm pit became regulated. I don't know. All I know is a rarely smell now. I was lucky as I did it over lockdown no don't know how you'd do it now.

I have this issue after having kids and I'm inly 29. I have to use the sure deo that comes in a box and wash with soap am and pm

Before kids I never had this issue so I feel you

It's not just me! I really thought it was!

I'm using soap and roll on or gel mitchum, which seems to be the best combo for me. Other brands just aren't cutting it any more.

I use perspi guard liquid spray and seems to the trick but read the instructions as it’s not to used everyday or after shaving

I thought I was destined to have stinky pits, Mitchum no longer working. It was advice on here that fixed it for me.

I use dettol soup (twice), leaving it on on the second go and thoroughly scrubbing with bamboo exfoliating gloves. (Temple spring on Amazon are what I use) Rinse and dry, and when REALLY dry I put on Triple Dry. It’s not as harsh as perspirex which I found painful.

Finally, I am stink-free.

I used to use the Mitchum cream but then it stopped working so I now use dove maximum protection it’s like a cream stick that comes in a box. Do you make sure armpits are fully dry before applying deodorant? That’s quite important I’ve found. It was also recommended to me to use the deodorant at night after a shower so it has time to work

I use shield soap and Sure Maximum Protection Cream. Mitchum is crap.

Wow thank you all for the replies! So glad I'm not alone with this!

I had NO idea that Dove wasn't soap. I've used it to wash my face with (because it doesn't dry my skin) for 25+ years. Eventually it just migrated into the shower with me so I could was my face and my body.

I will be purchasing some new bar soap and antiperspirant tomorrow and hope that it helps! I definitely sweat more (mostly in my sleep or when anxiety kicks in with online face on camera meetings), but most of the time it's just such strong awful BO.

I've never seen Dettol bar soap before. Can anyone tell me where to buy it other than from Amazon? I'd like to try one bar first before investing in 6-12 packs of it. I don't see it available on my Tesco app.

Mitchum (stick) always used to work amazing on me, but I agree with a few people that I think they changed the formula a few years ago so maybe that's what happened. I thought aerosol would work better so switched to that about a year ago. But I'll be trying out a few of the others suggested.

About to shower again now (3rd time today) so will try and put a few of these suggestions into practice!

I'm sure I got my dettol soap in savers.

It seems to show on the boots website too

I started washing my pits and under-boobage with lactacyd (ph balanced feminine wash) every day, and that helped a lot. And switched deodorant frequently.