this post was submitted on 08 Dec 2023
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Like, I travel around for work and I've met plenty of people from all backgrounds.

Why is there a demographic of people who don't seemingly bathe regularly, or at the very least wear something to cover up their BO? I could understand if it's an allergy, or even religious reasons (though the people I've met that smell bad are usually you're average American young adult man) but recently (like in the past week, recently) I've met a concerning number of people who don't seem to wear any kind of deodorant or possibly don't even bathe regularly; it's starting to become an issue for me, as I don't even want to interact with them when I can smell them walking up from 3+ feet away yet I need to for work.

Does anyone have any possible insight?

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[–] MrFunnyMoustache@lemmy.one 19 points 11 months ago (2 children)

First off, not everyone who doesn't wear deodorant smells, and secondly, some people shower regularly and use deodorant and still smell.

The diet, genetics, and what kind of bacteria live on your skin will affect the body's odor. I struggled with body odor for years before I discovered that I was showering incorrectly. I learned that after lathering the soap and getting covered by it, you're supposed to let it sit on the skin for a while before scrubbing and rinsing; this discovery which many consider obvious was new to me, and it stopped my body odour completely to the point I don't need deodorant at all by simply showering with a correct technique.

[–] Stupidmanager@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I’d take a bet you were a fast shower person. In and out in 5 min. I know I was just like that as a teen in a house of 7 people. Body odor problem was notable enough that I carried deodorant on me. I, like you, learned this simple trick later in life but shared it with my kids to help them through teenage years.

you're supposed to let it sit on the skin for a while before scrubbing and rinsing

Part of this is due to the heat opening your pores on your body and the soap doing its job by cleaning out the bacteria and oils that cause the smells. Scrubbing also plays a big role too, lather and rinse using a scrubber!

Doing this has allowed for me to skip shower days and I just need to scrub my head/face to remove oils before bed. I still wear deodorant, but it’s lightly scented because otherwise I have a naturally strong orange(fruit) smell that can get overpowering (to me).

I know we’ve got some cold shower bros out there and don’t worry, this still works in cold showers, just over longer stretches of time. I know this because Mother Nature doesn’t often preheat her rivers while I’m camping, but I still stay fresher than my peers.

[–] MrFunnyMoustache@lemmy.one 2 points 11 months ago

Oh yeah, I have been speedrunning my showers for most of my life, and no one ever told me I was doing it wrong. Only discovered the proper way to shower after seeing a professional car wash... Lol.

[–] madcaesar@lemmy.world -1 points 11 months ago

First off, not everyone who doesn't wear deodorant smells, and secondly, some people shower regularly and use deodorant and still smell.

Yea... This is something people love to say, but it's not true for 99% of the stank out there. Is there people like that? Maybe, probably, but it's much more likely they just have poor hygiene.

It's the same with people that have bad breath... Somone will comment, well actually there are people with this genetic disease passed down by Attila, that even if you brush 8x a day you still have bad breath!!

Yea... Ok buddy.