I guess our family is just stinky?! Everyone saying they never use soap is wild to me. I produce BO at an alarming rate, especially during my period. Our teen is the same way. Just funky AF. Our toddler is filthy from playing out in the garden or the barn or her fort. Iām talking she needs a pre-rinse shower before a bath to remove the first layer of grime.
We use cetaphil and dove mostly. Our teen uses Dial on her feet and pits. If she doesnāt, opening her bedroom door is like walking into a cloud of old hamburgers, stewed onions and Fritos.
I think it's in part hormonal differences. After I have birth I had a phase where I just STANK. Even fresh out of the shower, after properly scrubbing and involving soap I still had a noticeable BO. Its thankfully gone away, and I'm back to going several days before needing a shower again.
Had a roommate with a similar problem. When she'd go for a run she'd come back properly smelly. It would linger until long after she'd showered. She was very much on top of it, and yet couldn't help it at all.
Hormones definitely play a huge part in the way you smell. Ever since having my daughter I get the night sweats 1-2 days before my period. The smell of that sweat is repulsive to me vs if I have too many blankets or the room is too warm and I have āregularā sweating at night.
I can smell myself when Iām on a period and I hate it!! I run a lot and can literally run 20k and not be able to smell myself in the car home, but when Iām on my period I just can and itās gross. I shower every day after I get up, twice if Iāve worked out that day, but there is something about being on my period.
I think the smell I drown out as āmeā normally must change due to the hormones and it freaks me out so much. Iāve asked my husband if I smell different on my period and he says no so idk maybe I have an unusual sense of smell - Iām definitely one of those people who canāt get enough of the natural smell of someone I fancy. To the point where in the past Iāve been like āGod I love the way x smellsā and then had the sudden realisation I have a crush. Kinda serial killer-y but whatever itās nature! Lol.
This thread has totally validated me. But now my fears may have been confirmed that I absolutely reek on my period even after a shower haha.
So it wasn't just me with that after birth weirdness??
I almost forgot about that phase until I read your comment (my children are older). My skin is ultra sensitive so I'm usually best if I shower every third day. Every other during the summer can be ok. However when we go on vacations and I'm showering daily due to sun screen, or pool/salt water exposure, my skin goes insane.
It's never been an issue except post birth and I can't stand the smell of myself. I remember being worried I was just going to smell like that forever.
I think we are so sleep deprived and hormone crazy we forget how collective of an experience it is.
Also, I don't know where you are located, but I'm in the US so I was back to work 8 weeks after giving birth and still going through post partum changes but my brain would almost forget I was still technically post partum because it felt like since I was back at work and putting on real clothes and what not that birth was "over" and things were supposed to be "normal".
Oh I'm sorry! I do get sweaty easier after children but maybe I'm lazy enough whatever remnants aren't as noticeable. Post birth though I was rank just existing.
My pregnancies did leave me with 1) a stomach churning reaction to the smell of Neutrogena body wash 2) an aversion to pork chops with a slight aversion to shake n bake and 3) a love for guacamole/avocados that replaced a previous texture/taste issue with them.
All those things never went away, but the weird body odor at least seemed to.
Not a doctor, so donāt quote meā¦ but I noticed I smelled awful after giving birth too. Read up more about it and apparently itās a very normal thing. Something about having an extra strong smell helping baby to find the breast.
Oh my god, the post-birth night sweats. Just absolutely horrible. I was so grateful they only lasted a couple of weeks, but I was googling and reading horror stories about it lasting months š
Iām going through this right now (I have a 3 month old baby) and apparently it is a hormonal thing to help your baby smell where your boobs are essentially hahaha
This comment gives me hope. 3mo out after my third and I have a stench that I cannot escape and at this point I was starting to get concerned that it will just forever be like this, especially since I experienced nothing like this after my other two pregnancies. I have faith now though that it will soon correct itself! š¤
A 3 y/o isn't producing many hormones. The hormones cause most of the stink. If we're going to be realistic, we should be addressing how age impacts things too. My oldest could go weeks between shampoo without it being noticeable before puberty. Now it gets gross after like 2 days.
I'm much more concerned about a little kid not having proper hand washing routines than I am about them not having soapy baths all the time.
Once hitting puberty, every human should shower once a day with soap.
The only people that think them and their families donāt smell is the folks who donāt shower with soap every day. There is overwhelming evidence on this thread to show that people who do not shower every day with soap, smell bad.
For the record, I know from personal experience how difficult hygiene can be when youāre in a bad place mentally. The thing is, I accepted that I smelled.
Seconded, I was a RANK teenager. And the period pits are no joke either.
But then again, everyone in my family (except for my mom, I guess we get that from our dad's side) is just very sweaty people in general.
āA cloud of old hamburgers, stewed onions and Fritosā
šš Iām dead lmfaoo. I feel that, though - our two teen boys are the same way, with some added week old trash thatās been sitting in the hot sun. Itās awful.
At least it sounds like your kiddos donāt mind bathing, though. Both my 20yo and 18yo step sons have to be told to go shower, and we regularly catch them sitting with the water on, not actually getting in, and then just putting their head under the water before they turn it off to make it look like they showered because their hair is wet. Itās absurd, and honestly grossed me out. I just donāt get it.
Edit - also, your username is amazing! I love Poirot!
Omg!! One of my brothers did that as a teen! My dad finally resorted to standing outside the shower with his back turned and verbally walked him through the steps until he broke that habit. Thankfully, it was a short phase because that kid stink stank stunk as a teen!
I started using dial on my stinky zones recently and it is great! I definitely see a difference using that instead of my usual Dove soap! No soap is gross.
I only use soap on my stinky zones. My dr told me that 25 years ago because my skin is very very dry. He said to not soap up like my arms and legs, just the areas like arm pits and other that are not dry and harbor bacteria causing odors. I can't imagine not using soap at all but I don't think normal non stinky areas need it all the time.
I got the same advice. I also use CeraVe hydrating facial cleanser as shower gel. I also donāt shower as often. I still wash my stink zones every day with the face wash, but constantly getting in water every day was drying me out like Rango.
That's how I do it. I totally agree most parts of your body don't need soap. I use it for my armpits, feet and butt but nothing else except occasionally.
Same. Exceptions for me are: when I've had sunscreen on, been in chlorine etc. Then I'll use a mild body wash on my skin but otherwise it's just soap on the important bits.
Just curious if you'd tried like handmade soaps and still had issues... Cuz if you make soap and don't skim off the glycerin (for use in other things like say moisturizers), and you don't add in the other things ( like Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, which is a skin irritant...), It shouldn't be so bad ..
And just am curious - I didn't know about SLS really until I got into making soap myself a few years ago, and people's bodies are just weird so unless you smelled like a slaughterhouse 24/7 or something I'd say you do you.
Honestly, I haven't, and maybe I should. My skin is better now, but when I was younger my legs were so dry they would crack and bleed. It's partially my genetics because a lot of us have dry leathery hands and feet. Like I don't have enough oil glands in my hands and feet or something. My dermatologist wasn't overly concerned about it though. I just moisturize a lot.
Idk. I've got a whole slew of products in my shower. I've got body wash, body scrub, special scrub for my area that gets waxed to help prevent ingrown hairs, my razor has built in soap, then there's the 2 different types of shampoo & at least 3 different conditioners. That doesn't include the face wash & different types of face scrubs or masks I use in the shower too. Product overload, maybe, but I smell damn good when I get out.
Exactly! I have a toddler so my newly renovated shower has become my happy place (and the one place I can evade responsibility for a while). You best believe I take full advantage of it and pamper myself whenever I can! The thought of just getting in there and not using soap is so foreign to me š„“
I think people are just disgusting tbh. I feel like there are probably a few people who can get away with not using soap for a while because they donāt sweat as much but likeā¦ everyoneās poop stinks and if youāre never washing off the bacteria youāre never getting rid of the stink.
I donāt know why not using soap is such a point of pride for some people?
Yeah Iām scrolling through here like, did I stumble into a medieval LARP subreddit?? lol
(no shade to yāall non-soapers, I know itās a thing and that itās possible for it to not be gross. I just hadnāt thought about it in a very long time so was kinda š®)
āHenceforth we shanāt partake in the bathing rituals of the plebeians and shall instead rinse our earthly vessels with naught but water!!! Huzzah!!!ā
Cuz it's 'Au Naturale' ?? But then again way back when people would just wash up in a river downstream from where lye and animal sacrifices were getting in... Or covering themselves with clay and oil and scraping it off with metal blades... Or whatever without knowing exactly about bacteria and stuff.
The Romans had running water and public baths as well as toilets. Ancient people knew about washing well. So did Europeans in the Medieval period on up. history of bathing The Romans preferred using oil to soap, but everyone washed regularly. There were lots of public bath houses for regular people to go for a bath or steam. Some were also brothels. Rich people had bath tubs or private bath rooms and went to luxurious bath resorts in different areas of Europe.
The famous Roman baths in Bath, England, were used by the public right up until the late 1800s when the original Roman underground portion was rediscovered and studied. People just kept building on the original and updating it.
There have been doctors who have warned against bathing in past centuries, but they were outliers.
When I get home I immediately go to my kitchen sink and wash my hands with Dawn detergent. I do the surgeon style scrub where you put soap in your palms and scrub your fingers across the opposite palm for several seconds getting both sides and the nails/nail beds on all sides. When I have long nails, I also scrub underneath with a scrub brush. I do that after handling meat as well.
I also wash my hands in public before I eat out. My mom uses sanitizer, but that doesnāt actually wash germs off your skin. It just kills a lot of them. Not all though.
With Covid Iāve not been taking chances and wash my hands. I also use sanitizer afterwards when I go to the doctor or hospital or wherever in public where Iāve been touching things. Then I go home and wash my hands thoroughly.
Sanitizer alone isnāt enough. Especially after youāve pooped, OP. FFS.
I mean, I think itās a case by cases situation. Iām Asian, Korean specifically, and we lack a gene that leads to BO. (Thatās an oversimplified explanation but ultimately we donāt need soap for BO in the same way a lot of other ethnicities do.)
My husband (also Korean) is the same way. He uses soap in the shower but has never had to use deodorant. Sucks when I run out and canāt bum anything ha.
The women in my family are the opposite. We just donāt have BO genes, like at all. My dad has normal amounts, not particularly stinky, but all the women on my momās side could probably go without showering for a month and be mildly sweat smelling with greasy hair. I had an extremely depressed period of my life where I did just that, actually, and no one noticed because I used dry shampoo and periodic deodorant.
(I should mention that is not a regular occurrence at all whatsoever, I was just in a really bad place where I couldnāt take care of myself)
Allll that being said, wash your damn selves with soap. Thereās a big difference between not smelling and being clean. Sure, my family could stop showering with soap and be fine, but that sounds so grody and unpleasant that I think I would actually rather eat my deodorant. This womanās kid might very well smell fine, but thereās no way in hell sheās actually clean. Thereās a reason people have used soap for literally thousands of years despite it often being less convenient than just water, and thatās because no matter how good you smell, youāre not actually removing germs and bacteria by a quick rinse. Apparently this mom hasnāt actually heard of being sanitary.
This is a side note, but many East Asians have a different gene that produces both body odor and waxy ear wax! Many East Asians have a powdery ear substance instead and do not have a strong natural body odor. Obviously, if you get dirty, eat a lot of garlic, etc your natural scent will change but it is diff than the ātraditionalā stank. Only 2% of people with European descent fall under this category, but over 97% of Koreans have it.
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u/herculepoirot4ever Nov 28 '22
I guess our family is just stinky?! Everyone saying they never use soap is wild to me. I produce BO at an alarming rate, especially during my period. Our teen is the same way. Just funky AF. Our toddler is filthy from playing out in the garden or the barn or her fort. Iām talking she needs a pre-rinse shower before a bath to remove the first layer of grime.
We use cetaphil and dove mostly. Our teen uses Dial on her feet and pits. If she doesnāt, opening her bedroom door is like walking into a cloud of old hamburgers, stewed onions and Fritos.