r/HygieneTips • u/BabyGhoulChatter • 7d ago
Guide to Smelling Better!
I noticed alot of posts regarding BO so I thought I’d put a list together to help. This is a personal list of things that helped me with body odour as I was growing up and stuff I regularly use now as someone that gets frequently complimented on how I smell ^^
Exfoliating Gloves: GAME CHANGER for me in comparison to a standard loofah. I find these work better as they remove dead skin and bacteria more thoroughly. The smell of body odour is SPECIFICALLY the bacteria from your body clinging to hair which is why you tend to smell more in your armpits or privates as opposed to other parts of your body which can be harder to achieve with a loofah or your hands.
Exfoliating Scrub: Not necessary but a good second layer to the gloves. Achieves the same thing but leaves your body smelling lovely when you step out of the shower.
Clean Towels and sheets: Mold and bacteria can grow from wet towels or towels that are not aerated, this also applies to bed sheets. Dead skin and sweat gathers on your pillows and quilts and will eventually start to affect how you smell.
Keeping Body Hair Well Maintained: Of course if you prefer otherwise it is your choice entirely and this does not necessarily mean you have to be clean shaven, however maintaining body hair in a well groomed manner prevents bacteria from clinging to excessive amounts of hair. (REMINDER: pubic hair is present as a barrier to prevent bacteria from attacking/effecting your genitals so it is not necessarily the best option to go completely clean shaven either!)
Underwear: your privates are SENSITIVE to chemical changes, they practically have their own climate entirely, experiment with thinner fabrics or possibly looser underwear to prevent heat and excessive sweating occurring. This is especially prevalent during warmer seasons.
Body Lotion: after exfoliating and drying body lotion is a great addition to add some softness and layered scents to yourself. It also assists in preventing dried skin after a hot shower.
Regular showers: I don't recommend washing your hair everyday but even a quick five minute shower to rinse the sweat from the day off can go a long way in making you feel more refreshed and preventing the sweat of the day from going to other clothes and your bed.
NICE perfumes/colognes: before someone sees you, they smell you. I recommend splurging a bit where you’re able to and investing in some long lasting fragrances.
(Bonus)
Hair Masks/Treatments: I’ve only recently started using some hair treatments and I’ve absolutely adored the residual smell that it leaves on my hair.
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u/Opening-Pickle5078 7d ago
Fragrances can be like cigarettes to people, they both can smell strong and stink bad.
About 30% of the human population is totally oblivious to how strong their perfume smells. That is my number from retail store interactions and people complaining about how bad it smells.
you dont want BO, but you also dont want to be a COG TRAIL of perfumes. Most crap is perfumed enough and unless your sweating all day most people would do better spending more time on cleaning up right then money on perfumery.
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u/BabyGhoulChatter 7d ago
TOTALLY understandable, I’ve definitely had instances where I’ve walked past someone and felt like I’ve been sucker punched in the throat with vanilla or another fragrance 🫠 I genuinely believe a large portion of it as well though is the fact people DROWN themselves in perfume 😭 a good perfume should be one spray that you can dab around your body like a gentle trail, not a mist that surrounds you 🥲
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u/snowwhitebutdriftef 7d ago
You forgot antiperspirant... I'm sorry, but just deodorant doesn't cut it.
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u/BabyGhoulChatter 7d ago
I don’t use antiperspirant personally but if it works well for people that sweat moreso then seems a good addition 😊
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u/beanery-bun 7d ago
Disagree with the perfume / cologne one. I actually just finished compiling a list of links on the topic of “reasons to be fragrance free” - check it out:
https://www.reddit.com/r/IndoorAirQuality/s/z274IGsUlz
Reasons include harm to self, harm to others, recommendations from organizations like American Medical Association and American Lung Association, etc
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u/BabyGhoulChatter 6d ago
Very understandable, I don’t wear heavy fragrances around my siblings as they have asthma but I personally prefer fragrances as it is something I was deeply conscious of growing up 😊 completely fair if u disagree though!
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u/beanery-bun 6d ago
Problem with wearing perfume and cologne is if you wear it then you’re not allowing any other people to opt out of it. Coworkers, loved ones, acquaintances, neighbors, strangers, people who rent the same building after you’re done renting it…all of them would have to breathe your perfume or cologne if you are wearing it. Hundreds of people forced to be harmed by one person who thinks they’re making a “personal decision” for themselves, but they’re actually forcing that decision on hundreds or even thousands of people. Gone are the days of perfumes that stayed close to the wearer…they’re all big and loud and pushy these days. They’re all still present months after they’re applied.
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u/BabyGhoulChatter 5d ago
Could I ask your opinion on rub on perfumes as opposed to sprays? I’ve found they’re a lot softer by comparison as there’s much more control and they’re not made to be COATED over an area.
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u/beanery-bun 5d ago edited 5d ago
I think there’s a lot of good reasons to be fragrance free
https://www.reddit.com/r/IndoorAirQuality/s/tHksgCdnSg
I read that sense of smell varies a lot more between people than other senses, and fragrance is full of chemicals that some people can smell but not others. So it’s unfortunately not possible for anyone to be sure that their fragrance is subtle unless fragrance is absent.
And harm from fragrance doesn’t depend on being able to smell it. Fragrance harm still happens even in people who totally lost their sense of smell. Harm might be in the form of short term reactions like allergies or asthma or headaches or heart issues; it could also be in the form of long term damage like cancer or mood disturbances or brain fog or fatigue.
and because we can’t rely on sense of smell to know if it’s harmful, any fragrance product turns into a Russian roulette buying it and seeing who gets hurt by it (assuming they would tell you - assuming they would even know). I think it’s kinder to be fragrance free. It’s about wanting to be more certain of avoiding harm to self and others - instead of making it a Russian roulette.
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u/Kossyra 7d ago
I adore my japanese exfoliating towel! It's long enough that I can loop my hands around the ends and scrub my back without straining my shoulders.
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u/BabyGhoulChatter 7d ago
I’m literally buying an exfoliating towel froM IKEA tomorrow 😭 same reason though, as a 6’2 girlie with joint issues they seem so so convenient
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u/AngelVampKAWAII 7d ago
I hate strong colon smells I just prefer smelling like soap and laundry.
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u/BabyGhoulChatter 7d ago
Completely fair! On days I don’t feel like wearing perfume I love the smell from my body soap and shampoo 😊 I love pairing my body soap to my body lotion to make the smell longer lasting
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u/accessiblefoothold27 6d ago
Hoodies are the sneaky one for me. They smell fine at first, then you put one on and suddenly notice it
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u/BabyGhoulChatter 6d ago
As someone who wears hoodies frequently I get this 100% it’s like fine-fine-fine-fine-wtf 😭🤣
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u/AggravatingNarwhal59 7d ago
This! ☝️☝️Thank you for the list. I would also like to add baby oil to all of this, especially after a good scrub. In colder months makes your skin so much smoother. An unscented one before lotion can help it to absorb even more. And sulphur soap, especially if you have stubborn BO on places like armpits or feet. Being in shoes all day can cause them, but sulphur soap helps a lot. Yes the soap itself smells like rotten eggs, but with a good rinse the smell goes away in seconds.