For much of my adult life I’ve smelled good with or without deodorant and rarely sweat much. Lately whether because of a hormonal change or something wrong I’m unaware of, my smell has changed completely. No amount of deodorant helps, no amount of showering helps. In fact, I often end up using deodorant as a last resort, because whatever bacteria is taking over seams to turn all types of deodorant into vinegar & onions in a matter of minutes, as if it’s feeding off the deodorant. The smell seems to be improving over time, according to other people, not just me. But it has given me additional sympathy for people going through this. When its bad, I can lather my body head to toe in the shower 4 times and come out smelling the same as I went in. Sometimes smells are hard to tackle. You shouldn’t assume it’s a hygiene thing.

I was this kid all throughout my school years.

Parents never taught me any kind of personal hygiene, and my house was filled with a thick smog of smoke, so my sense of smell is still shot to this day. To give an idea how bad it was, I was asking for dentures when I was 14 because my teeth were literally falling out. The water in our house was spotty at best, on top of the hygiene thing, so baths were maybe once every 2 weeks or so. My parents always had a fridge stocked with Coca Cola, but almost never drinkable water.

Besides pointing at my parents, I don’t really have an explanation for you, but I’ve definitely “been there.”

It took a lot of effort, but I’ve come a looooong way since then. Like… unrecognizably so, thankfully - other than the dentures, at least.

If anyone is reading this, and in a situation where their home life or depression or whathaveyou is putting you in this kind of situation: Just know that things can and will get better. I know how difficult and embarrassing it can be when you’re deep in it, but all you gotta do is be a little bit better than yesterday (when you’re able). It takes time, but it’s totally worth it.

People should shower regularly, but I find the aromas wafting from people who use many fragrance products far more offensive and offputting than someone smelling like a human. Some people’s shampoo, laundry detergent and deodorant (not to mention body spray, cologne or perfume) are so strong that I can smell them from 5 feet away, and the odor lingers for several minutes after they leave an area. I don’t really care what it smells like as much as that I seem to be allergic to these fragrances, and sneeze, get red eyes, my nose starts running my lips swell a bit. This is why some places have instituted a fragrance-free policy - as many as 25% of people have an allergy to various components of these perfumes. Unfortunately it’s a very touchy thing to explain to people as the average person thinks they’re doing something virtuous by wearing a bunch of fragrances and it makes them more appealing to be around.

A deodorant does not replace washing your body. The combination of both smells is the most terrifying. I hate the smell of all deodorants, so don’t use them. But I shower sufficiently, you won’t smell me from a distance. Promised.

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.

I was once a stinky man and while I don’t want to use this as an excuse, I had a not so great childhood and struggle with mental illnesses. I’m still not always the best at taking care of myself but I’m better than I was and I make sure I’m mostly clean.

I don’t think you’re going to find anyone that admits to smelling bad. I assume people who smell bad do it because they don’t know that they smell, so they don’t try to change anything.

Depressed autistic

I shower regularly. I do not wear deodorant/anti-perspirant. I got tired of it ruining my clothes/just buying it, and as I’ve gotten older and further away from puberty I found that just regularly showering does most of the heavy lifting. I don’t need to smell like sunshine and rainbows all the time lol

That being said, I often keep a stick around for nicer events and such or maybe a really important meeting

I live in a tropical country, showering daily or more than once/day is a necessity (at least it is to me). As for a decent and safe deodorant, try Milk of Magnesia.

The older I get, the more I sympathize with Agent Smith from the Matrix. What is it with people and their stink?

Sometimes I’ll go a few days when I’m working from home and not going anywhere out of pure laziness. But if I’m going to be interacting with other people, shower guaranteed beforehand.

Believe it or not, most of us don’t actually need to shower every day. If you’re not doing a lot of physical work or don’t work in a place with a lot of grime, you can honestly get away with showering less often. Technically the same goes for deodorant but I wouldn’t go a day without it lol.

I personally shower once every day, but I don’t shampoo my hair nor use body wash all over my body every day. I’ll usually use conditioner only for my hair and I will regularly wash my pits, feet, privates, butt, and ears with body wash, but I only really use shampoo and use body wash everywhere like twice a week or so. I also apply deodorant every day. No comments about bad smells from everybody including a people who will straight-up comment on stuff like that, and I’ve actually got a lot of compliments about my hair :)

Didn’t someone just ask this like, a week ago?

So, I’m kindof an outlier, I guess…

I bathe regularly and I have always used Safeguard antibacterial soap. I work physically…construction, handyman, remodeling, woodworking, etc. I live in a tropical climate. In spite of all that, I rarely sweat (most likely due to climate because I sweated like a pig when I lived in SE US). When chatting with clients, I’d make an apologetic comment about my smell and they always respond with “you don’t smell.”

I assumed that this was just being nice and cordial, but my wife says “no, they’re right. You don’t smell”. I assure you that she is NOT trying to be cordial, and it turned into a conversation in which she insisted that I don’t smell. “I can tell you’ve been working, but you don’t smell bad or anything…”

So I would occasionally “forget” to wear deodorant. Eventually I stopped wearing it altogether. Same thing: not smelly. I HAVE to assume that it is because the soap killed all the smelly bacteria.