Asklemmy

I look forward to reading what an online community that specializes in Linux and Star Trek memes has to say about personal hygiene...

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.

Depressed.

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.

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.

My girlfriend finds showering and bathing extremely painful due to several very severe skin conditions. She’s also allergic to almost every deodorant that doesn’t cost a ridiculous amount. She doesn’t sweat a whole lot so it’s usually not an issue, and can get away with only one shower a week usually. Her conditions are pretty rare so I’m not saying everyone who doesn’t shower regularly has what she has, but there might be factors at play for some that give them legitimate reason not to shower. Or it could just be laziness

A lot of people simply don't know proper hygiene because they were never taught it.

A shower doesn't mean let the water run over you for a few minutes and then spray on some deodorant. Lather some soap in to a flannel and scrub every part of your body, and if you sweat badly use antiperspirant.

But it's recent thing you've noticed. People might be cutting back on things due to budget. Not many people would admit that they're not showering because of financial worries.

The few people I know with this issue fall into one of two categories.

1. Access issues. There are some kinds of road blocks accessing a quality shower/bath. Which makes showering/bathing is an uncomfortable activity for some reason. Maybe it's that their shower is really small and cramped, with a low quality shower head. Maybe it's an issue where the water quality is low in the shower they have access to. Low quality water can have an odor people find uncomfortable, or it can dry out their skin making their skin feel dry even while under the water. People naturally avoid things that make them uncomfortable even subconsciously.

2. Mental Health. I suffer from this occasionally. I love showering, it's extremely relaxing, but for whatever reason the process of getting into the shower is such a huge barrier to overcome. You feel like absolute dog shit. You know that a shower would make you feel better, but for whoever reason no matter how hard you try, you cannot push through the transition of wanting to shower, to taking that first step towards doing it. And it all compounds together to make you feel like an even bigger piece of shit for not being able to do something so basic. Until eventually you've doom scrolled the entire day away and now it's dark out and you're tired and you've got a stress headache because you've barely even ate today either while you just stewed in your own filth.

Copying and pasting my answer from the same question just 2 weeks ago:

How do you know they all weren't wearing it?

There are a lot of people who do wear it but continue to smell because of underlying medical conditions. For example, fruity smelling body odor can indicate diabetes. People with a rare genetic condition called Trimethylaminuria can smell strongly of fish. It all depends on what bacteria (which outnumber your own body cells by 10 to 1 even though they are only 2% of your body mass) and what balance of enzymes you may or may not have.

Reducing perspiration can and often does help, concealing the odor with different ones can help, but sometimes people's bodies just aren't right for whatever mass produced product they have bought. Sometimes that can be fixed with medication. Sometimes it can't.

https://kbin.social/m/[email protected]/t/638513/-/comment/3647566

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 :)

Wearing deodorant has nothing to do with bathing regularly.

You can bath regularly and not need deodorant, every body is different. Also depends on the activities done between each bath/shower.

Now some people do not bath regularly and use deodorant or perfume, that never ends up well in terms of odor.

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.

My experiences with stink.

• Old people. Some were raised to shower infrequently because regular bathing wasn’t a luxury they had access to growing up. They carry this habit with them now. Source: I used to work with lots of old people.

• People from cold climates who move to warmer ones. Sure, in Amsterdam you can shower once a week but move to Australia and you stink. Source: My ex-father-in-law is Dutch, living in Australia.

• People who avoid soaps and deodorants because they prefer natural alternatives or ‘splashing and rinsing’. They think they don’t stink. Most girls I’ve met with bad smelling vaginas fall into this category. Source: Dating.

• Teenagers who haven’t worked out puberty yet. Source: Used to work in a school.

• Re-wearing unwashed clothes too many times. Source: Figured this one myself.

• People who prefer to stink. When you don’t bathe and don’t use deodorant, you get used to the icky feeling and the smell to the point where you prefer it, and a shower and soap then makes you uncomfortable (itchy/tingly). Source: Ex-girlfriend.

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

sorry, i shower twice a day and wear deodorant but i just sweat so damn much that i end up smelling within a few hours no matter what :(

I'm a Reddit moderator with over 2 million karma I don't have time to bathe. When I do bathe it's useing a garden hose because I weigh 450 pounds

Depressed autistic

What's your job that you're running into so many people with poor hygiene?

It appears that a number of people in this comment section just downvote everyone that does not use deodorant for any reason. As a test: Deodorant never quite grew on me, I started hating the rather extreme and sometimes even pungent smell as a teenager. I shower (twice) daily to every third day depending on season, daily routine and other factors.

Regular bathing isn't what you want, frequent bathing, that's important. What good is it if someone bathes with great regularity on the first of every month?