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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[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (7 children)

I shower and wear deodorant everyday, but around late afternoon the deodorant just gives out and I start to smell

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago

I didn't use to either shower or bathe but it was a mental health issue: I went though both depression, which didn't help, and I didnt have good showering habits due to being kinda aquaphobic. If water hit my face at all I would think I'd die (pretty dumb I know). Nowadays I bathe pretty much daily. Having a detachable showerhead helps a lot so I don't have to deal with water on my face.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago

Drought. When you live in the bush and only have tank water for everything, drinking water comes before showering/bathing. When things are bad, shower once per week and use a bowl of water and wash cloth to freshen up the rest of the time. Still end up with a smell though. You can smell the drought on the people in a rural areas when you go into town.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

I shower when I feel like I need to. Usually every 2-3 days, unless I've been sweating or working in a dirty environment. Wife says I never stink and she has the nose of a god damned bloodhound. Guess it depends on body chemistry and the PH balance of the skin. I use gentle soaps. I do wear antiperspirant everyday though. So I dunno. But I did find this:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/showering-daily-is-it-necessary-2019062617193

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

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

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