While only 2 percent of Europeans lack the genes for smelly armpits, most East Asians and almost all Koreans lack this gene, Day told LiveScience.
ABCC11: the “no body odor gene”
People with the ABCC11 non-functioning gene variant have dry earwax and little or no body odor.
Scientists in recent years have shown that many East Asians, a group that includes China's ethnic Han majority, have a gene that lowers the likelihood of a strong “human axillary odor” — scientist-speak for body stink.
One large study failed to find any significant differences across ethnicity in residual compounds on the skin, including those located in sweat. If there were observed ethnic variants in skin odor, one would find sources to be much more likely in diet, hygiene, microbiome, and other environmental factors.
East Asian and Native American people were already known to have a form of the ABCC11 gene that causes the dry type of earwax and produces less underarm body order, compared with other ethnicities.
Although there is some controversy on the subject of "racial" variation in body odor, it is determined that African blacks probably produce the greatest amount of apocrine sweat, which is the known substrate for axillary odor.
About 2% of the population have this genetic mutation including most Koreans. They don't need to worry about stinky armpits because they carry this mutation.” He adds: "The ABCC11 gene is also responsible for your type of ear wax.
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.
Studies have shown that body odor is strongly connected with attraction in heterosexual females. The women in one study ranked body odor as more important for attraction than “looks”. Humans may not simply depend on visual and verbal senses to be attracted to a possible partner/mate.
The gene variant is known as ABCC11 and the study authors said that the consistency of earwax is a good indication of those who have it. People who have dry earwax as opposed to sticky earwax are highly likely to have the ABCC11 variant and therefore do not produce under arm body odour.
Self-grooming. Aside from being as clean (purified) as they are for prayer, male Muslims are expected to cut their nails, and trim their hair and beards. They must also not wear any scent, including deodorant. They have to wear ihram clothing, which is a white, seamless garment.
Aerosols are used by 50% of European men and women; roll-ons by 27% and sticks by 13%. Once again, it is in Russia and Spain where usage varies significantly: 18% of Russians prefer to use deodorant sticks, while 37% of Spaniards choose roll-on as their preferred format.
Your body should have fully adjusted to natural deodorant. It can take up to 30 days for your body to regulate itself, though for some people the detox stage is shorter or longer. You can now continue using natural deodorant every day to neutralize the smell of daily body odor.
At about age 40, the body subtly changes the way omega-7 unsaturated fatty acids on the skin are degraded. These acids get exposed to the air and create a compound called “nonenal.” Nonenal most likely gets produced due to hormone imbalances.
According to a group of researchers from the University of Bristol in the UK, 2 percent of people (at least in their survey) carry a rare version of the gene ABCC11 that prevents their armpits from producing an offensive odor.
It's completely normal to have a natural body odor and isn't necessarily related to how much you sweat. Sweat itself is odorless. Some medical conditions, genetics, being overweight or eating certain foods could make you more susceptible to bad body odor.
University of Kent research suggests that men can distinguish between the scents of sexually aroused and non-aroused women. The detection of sexual arousal through smell may function as an additional channel in the communication of sexual interest and provide further verification of human sexual interest.
Having the same percentage of 19.4, woodsy and musk are without a doubt the top main accords that men find attractive when worn. The 3rd place goes to vanilla-scented fragrances with 17.3%, 4th place for sweet scents with 15.3%, and 5th place for floral ones with 14.3%.
Summary of studies in healthy populations showing no sex differences in odor hedonic perception (non-specific odors and body odors). No sex differences. However, in both men and women, female axillary odors are judged weaker and less unpleasant than male axillary odors.
This study was published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, and according to it, the gene is the only determinant of whether your underarm smell or not. What's interesting is that almost all Koreans lack the ABCC11 gene. In other words, they are “genetically mutated” to have stink-free pits.
The frequencies of the A and G alleles vary markedly across different ethnic groups. The A allele is very common in East Asians, and as expected, most people in this population don't need to use deodorant. And so they don't use it—it's estimated that only 7% of North East Asians regularly use deodorant.
More than half of the Vietnamese males and females have concerns on their body odor. Besides from showering daily, deodorant products have been widely used to prevent the body odor. 92% takes bath at least once/ day.
Japanese people tend to sweat less and have a weak body odor. There is some quantifiable science behind this statement. The skin contains two types of sweat glands; the eccrine glands (that secrete through pores) and apocrine glands (which secrete through the hair follicles and hair).
“If you stop wearing deodorant or antiperspirant, you can develop a stronger odor over time,” Doyle said. “When you stop using (such products) and sweat more, this creates a breeding ground for bacterial and fungal overgrowth, which can cause odor to become stronger.”
What is considered body odor is coming from secretion from the Apocrine sweat glands and it is not a result of any difference in hygiene. Having this gland is relatively rare among Asians (10% or less for a Japanese) as opposed to near universality among Africans, and Caucasians are somewhere in between.