The best way to prevent smelly armpits is to wash daily and after sweating. Using antiperspirant or deodorant and shaving the armpits can also help. Avoiding alcohol and certain foods, such as onions and garlic, will also help prevent smelly armpits in some cases.
Try this: sniff coffee or charcoal for a full minute. Then go back and take a whiff of your underarm or other potentially offending area. In a pinch, you could even smell the crook of your elbow, which contains few sweat glands.
Apocrine glands
Hair follicles are the tube-like structure that keeps your hair in your skin. You can find apocrine glands in your groin and armpits. These glands produce sweat that can smell when it comes in contact with bacteria on your skin.
It would be amazing if you could sniff yourself and immediately pick up on any emanating odors, but alas, life isn't so simple. According to Lifehacker, it can be quite difficult to detect your own body odors because the receptors in your nose shut down after smelling the same scent for too long.
ODOR AFTER A SHOWER IS DUE TO LINGERING BACTERIA
So the key to eliminating body odor is to tackle the bacteria growth that exists in our armpits with a proper armpit washing routine, using an antibacterial soap.
It's easy to keep your vagina clean without making it smell like a flower shop. You just need to shower or wash every day with a mild soap and plenty of warm water. Some girls like to take warm baths during their periods to help relieve cramps.
Even the smallest change can throw off a person's PH. So, the healthiest way to clean the vulva (which is the external genital area around the vaginal opening) is gently—this skin is soft and sensitive y'all! — with water and unscented soap; or even just plain water. The vagina (the internal part) is self-cleaning.
Poor hygiene is the most common cause of smelling yourself through your pants. This could be due to not showering regularly or not changing clothes often enough. Bacterial and fungal infections are another potential cause, as they can produce a strong odor that may be noticeable even through clothing.
Showering destroys these happy bacterial colonies; they're completely wiped out by all of our frequent rubbing and scrubbing. And when the bacteria washed off by soap repopulate, they tend to favour microbes which produce an odor – yes, too-frequent showering may actually make you smell more.
You'd smell
Unsurprisingly, a person would develop quite a funk after 365 showerless days. Rokhsar said your stench likely would come as a result of the bacteria and dead skin accumulating on you. After a year, he said, you'd have a build-up of skin stratum corneum, or dead skin on top of your skin.
If sweating is excessive, it can cause smelly armpits even if a person washes regularly and uses deodorant or antiperspirant. The first thing that a doctor will recommend is usually a prescription strength antiperspirant. Sometimes, these might burn or irritate the skin.
Two percent of people carry an unusual form of a specific gene (ABCC11) that means their armpits never smell. The finding came from new research involving 6,495 women who are enrolled in the Children of the 90s study at the University of Bristol, England, and was published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
Body odor is caused by bacteria breaking down the sweat from the apocrine glands in your armpits, groin, and pubic area. You may be more prone to body odor if you are overweight, eat certain foods, have certain health conditions, or are under stress. Genetics may also play a role.
Trimethylaminuria (TMAU) is an uncommon condition that causes an unpleasant, fishy smell. It's also called "fish odour syndrome". Sometimes it's caused by faulty genes that a person inherits from their parents, but this isn't always the case. There's currently no cure, but there are things that can help.
Many doctors say a daily shower is fine for most people. (More than that could start to cause skin problems.) But for many people, two to three times a week is enough and may be even better to maintain good health.