To be miserable about how badly i smell?

[fireworksinthesky3]

Hey

name changed but longtime poster

really hoping this post resonates with someone and I can get some advice or help 🤞

bit of an embarrassing problem but I smell really badly and don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything I can possibly think of to fix it and it’s not helped. I’ve heard of things like fish odour syndrome but I don’t think it’s that because I don’t smell of fish- I just smell really musty/BO. It’s genuinely making me so depressed- I’m only 26 and I’m so embarrassed and miserable about it. I’ll post below everything I’ve tried

• I shower every single day without fail, I tried showering twice a day but it made no difference whatsoever. At first I smell fine, then after a few hours I smell musty/BO/as if I haven’t even showered in days

• I’ve tried every single combination of deoderant/antipersperant I could access. Mitchum was highly recommended but wasn’t any help disappointingly, in fact I think I smelled worse with it. Right now I’m using dove stick which is bearable but not great either. As I said above- fine at first, then after a few hours I smell again , badly enough to be noticeable by other people

• I’ve tried every shower gel, scrub, body wash, lotion, soap (bar and liquid), even tried using dettol soap- no difference. I shave every 2nd day.

• i wash my hair every 2-3 days, I change my bedding every week without fail

• i wondered if it was possibly my clothes which smelled rather than me so I got rid of EVERYTHING, and started all over again (new underwear, new pjs, completely new clothes etc) but same problem literally no difference

the only thing I can think of that I haven’t tried is the Driclor range which I’m going to try and I’m praying it works. I’ve always had this problem- I remember being so embarrassed about it as a teenager. It’s definitely not something I’m just paranoid about either- I’ve asked my friends / family to be completely honest with me and they’ve agreed with me. I don’t have any hormonal problems and sweat like a normal person as far as I’m aware but for some reason I just smell so much quicker than the average person

does anyone have any tips or product recommendations I could try (in case driclor doesn’t work)?

sorry for the long post, I’m just so down about it x

After showering, dry your armpit thoroughly then try rubbing some had sanitiser under your armpits. Also speak to your Dr if you haven’t already.

I remember you. What did the GP say?

Meant to add as well- something I had read about which might help is underarm Botox through I’m not sure realistically how much that would help because it’s my entire body which smells rather than just my underarms, it’s something I would absolutely do though if it would possibly help the problem x

Some questions we might need the answers to.

Have you been to your GP?

How do you wash and dry your clothes?
What sort of fabrics do you wear most often? Synthetics? Cotton?

Have you tried glycolic acid on your underarms?

Could it be how you wash/dry your clothes? I’ve worked with a few people in the past who either haven’t washed on a high enough temperature and/or left clothes to dry naturally which has made them smell of damp, especially at this time of year. I tumble dry pretty much everything as it just takes too long and gets a horrible damp smell with UK weather!

Oh you poor thing, that must be so depressing!

try sticking to bar soap, with an olive oil base,

everyone's different, but Ibuse Dove roll on in the dark blue (original) the other varieties don't work for me.

have you had your hormone levels tested?

have you seen your GP recently.

its amazing what can change your small. I am diabetic & if my blood sugars are too high I get an old smell, but (to me anyway!!) it smells like biscuits baking. No matter what products I use!!

goid luck getting sorted (see your GP!!)

Make sure to wash all laundry on 40 degrees and use powder not gel or pods ,I use surf powder and lenor conditioner and you can add laundry sanitiser.
Don't leave clothes in washing machine and hang clothes on hangers to dry
And regarding soap it has to be proper soap like imperial leather or Palmolive
Finally change your bra and wash it often

Thanks I’ll try and answer as best as I can

i haven’t specifically been to the GP for this although I mentioned it during a consultation for something unrelated and we ended up chatting about it, they said my hormone levels are normal and it’s not concerning medically because I’m not having issues with excess sweating, I think I sweat a normal amount it just seems to smell more than normal- they said it was likely lifestyle related

usually I wash it in the washing machine and dry either outside if it’s dry or the tumble drier if not

honestly as ridiculous as it sounds I’m not sure what the fabric is haha, just whatever the normal fabric used in river island/boohoo/new look etc as I usually just get my clothes at those kinds of shops

no I’ve never tried that before but I’m going to go and google it now! X

Poor you. What’s your diet like? Wondering if anything you’re eating or not eating could be a factor?

Thanks I’ll try this! I’m assuming you let the hand sanitizer dry in then put deodorant on top as normal?

thanks!

What are your go to meals, lots of spices or veg like asparagus or broccoli etc?

Do you do laundry at 40 degrees plus? Yes 30 is the new 40 environmentally but personally I don't think clothes clean as well despite what Persil say.

If it's your armpits, use a body scrub in there.

Do you buy fast fashion, e.g acrylic, polyester or stick to natural fibres?

Could it be your washing machine not being clean? Maybe stagnant water trapped in the rubber seal?

Yeah good shout it possibly could be that! I usually dry outside or the tumble drier but have been guilty of drying inside on a heated drying rack especially this time of year, wondering if that’s possibly been contributing to it! x

Thank you so much❤️🤞 haven’t heard of olive oil based soap before (I’ve probably used it without realising though) but I’m going to check it out and order some if not. Yeah had my hormones checked and all fine thankfully. Oh wow that’s really interesting about your blood sugars causing a smell- there’s so many things that can influence it! Xx

Use a washing machine cleaner just to start with. I would try using an anti-bacterial additive to your laundry. And definitely give glycolic acid a go on your underarms. Made a huge difference for me (also a great toner for your face but you must wear a face sun cream!).

Is there anything you eat a lot of, very often? Leafy greens, garlic, alcohol? Anything else?

Oh! And exfoliate! Two or three times a week to get rid of dead skin cells. They trap bacteria and can build up and cause a lot of smells.
I make my own with caster sugar and olive oil. If I’ve missed it a bit then I got nuts with granulated sugar as it’s a bit scrubbier. You can add an essential oil if you like, but just make sure you’re exfoliating your whole body with a good scrub a couple times a week.

I would try a month of diet change.

no sugars and fast food, fizzy drinks etc

id only drink water and go for a mainly vegetarian low processed food

this might clean you out from the inside.

id go back to the GP explaining friends and families honest opinions and ask for help.

are you over weight? If so I’d try and lose weight.

I didn’t know about exofoliating, every days a school day!

This article is interesting
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/sweat_smell_better#:~:text=The%20foods%20that%20change%20our,their%20sweat%2C”%20says%20Lundström.&text=If%20you%20eat%20a%20lot,breaking%20wind%20–%20but%20also%20sweat.

Just rub it in till it disappears, the same way you’d do when applying to your hands. Bacteria causes odour, this helps kill it.

There’s no delicate way to ask this (and I don’t expect a public answer!)

Are you really washing all of your nooks and cranny’s? I mean, not just a swipe with a loofah but really getting into the places where things may get a little funky…

In the spirit of of solidarity I once started to notice a musty odor.. did the normal things… laundry, real soap, extra scrubbing, etc. one day I noticed it as I was drying off from the shower. Turns out after a little investigation my belly button was grungy. 🤢. Not sure what caused it but I thoroughly cleaned it out. Smell gone and hasn’t happened again. But yeah it taught me a lesson that all the bits need soap, water, and scrubbing.

This is why I avoid all synthetic fabrics and try to only wear natural fabrics near my skin. I had a lovely sweater years ago that was some kind of synthetic material, and I had to get rid of it because I reeked whenever I wore it.

I had a long cardigan like that. Was gutted to chuck it as it was lovely but smelled terrible.

I also think you need to look at your clothes and how you are washing them.

We have been so used to using cold/low temp washes to save energy... the downside is that they just don't get clothes clean.. especially synthetic fabrics that a lot of clothes are mixed with.

I use a squirt of anti bacterial soap in my laundry and an empty hot clean wash at least once a month.

I leave the door open on washing machine after every wash until dry.

And understand the fabrics and temperatures you are washing your clothes in!

Re fabric, check the labels, it will say what it's made of in percentages. It sounds like you may be wearing a lot of synthetic fabrics like polyester. Try switching to natural fabrics like cotton, linen, wool, silk (viscose may be okay too). E.g. jeans and a t-shirt (ideally they'd both be 100% cotton).

Are you using the right amount of detergent as specified on the bottle? I used to live with someone who never used enough detergent to clean his clothes which made him very smelly, except when he'd visited his parents and they'd clearly done his laundry for him.

Has anyone else mentioned this? As it's possible you're over sensitive and no-one else would think you smell,