People Who Don't Wear Deodorant or Seemingly Bathe Regularly, Why?

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?

loganberryq,

Depressed.

RustedSwitch, (edited )
@RustedSwitch@lemmy.world avatar

Or Hippies

sadbehr,
@sadbehr@lemmy.nz avatar

This is the way.

squiblet,
@squiblet@kbin.social avatar

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.

0x4E4F,

And this is why I don’t do deodorants and perfumes.

And I don’t explain as well, I just steer away from that person.

jeffw,

You can find unscented antiperspirant, FWIW

qooqie,

That’s what I do and if I need to smell nice for a fancy gathering I’ll put on a small amount of something nice smelling (beard balm, cologne, or something else)

0x4E4F,

Yes, but they’re a lot more expensive than the mainstream ones.

jeffw,

Can’t say I agree with that

www.walmart.com/ip/…/10810917?wmlspartner=wlpa&am…

d3Xt3r,

Holy mother of URLs, Batman!

Here’s a cleaned up version without all those nasty trackers attached: www.walmart.com/ip/…/10810917

0x4E4F,

Yeah, I clicked it though, cuz… it’s from Wallmart, what are they gonna track here, I don’t live in the US, lol 😂.

0x4E4F,

Dude, I don’t live in the US 😒.

skybreaker,
@skybreaker@lemmy.world avatar

That’s disgusting. You’re seriously telling me you prefer week old BO over the average deodorant? That’s exactly why it’s called de-“odor”-ant. OP wasn’t talking about covering yourself in axe body spray or copious amounts of perfume, he asked why people don’t shower and use deodorant.

AnonTwo,

You know not everyone smells as bad as you do without Deodorant, right?

Like you have a really strong opinion for something that genetically is different person to person both in what comes out and what is perceived.

Zahille7,

Different from person to person, yet all the people I could smell all smelled very similar, like sweat and feet mixed with ass and bad breath. Every. Single. One.

InEnduringGrowStrong,
@InEnduringGrowStrong@sh.itjust.works avatar

There’s a bit of a selection bias though.
Obviously you don’t smell the people who don’t smell, but not all of them wear deodorant.

skybreaker,
@skybreaker@lemmy.world avatar

I have never smelled anyone’s natural body odor that smells good. Do you think poop smells good too? That’s natural.

AnonTwo, (edited )

Sounds like a you problem. Moreso that everything smells like poop to you if it's not artificially created.

I want to try to be a bit nicer but wow you went from body odor to poop to argue natural smells. Isn't the typically poetic phrase of smells to "smell like flowers" you know...a natural occurrence in nature?

skybreaker,
@skybreaker@lemmy.world avatar

My point is that natural isn’t always good. I know, a hard concept to understand. Human BO doesn’t smell like flowers

AnonTwo, (edited )

Also means it's not always bad. You can't dictate what people should do and decidedly say it will always be gross off of a "sometimes" like you've been doing in this thread.

You're honestly arguing a lot of "maybe" for what other people say while being very black/white yourself. Might want to check that.

squiblet,
@squiblet@kbin.social avatar

Yes, because it doesn’t give me an allergic reaction. Clearly you’ve never experienced that but maybe you could imagine the difference.

DogMuffins,

week old BO over the average deodorant

That’s a false dichotomy though. The obvious third option is to shower every day and wear clean clothes?

shalafi,

I had a really weird thing years back, never since then.

Middle-aged white women wearing something, no idea what, would gag me out. I don’t mean it was merely offensive, I mean I’d hold my breath near them. Made me low key nauseous.

Had that problem for a couple of years, haven’t smelled that for maybe 10 years. Anyone have a clue what I mean or what it might have been?

LOL, and you would hate my wife. She’s Asian, so I’m not sure she’s capable of body odor, but she’s so paranoid about it she bathes twice a day and hoses herself in perfume, hair too. I love it up close, but I don’t think you would pick it up from 5’.

squiblet,
@squiblet@kbin.social avatar

I've become familiar with several different classes of horrible fragrances that people use. There's the one that smells like salty roses, one that smells like 'old ladies' (this gross light flower-lavender scent?), one that's like a bunch of synthetic grapes and other fruit, the 'cotton candy' kind of dryer sheet scent, some that smell like flowers mixed with burning plastic... not sure which one you might have encountered. I find if I take antihistamines it's more 'huh, I smell that' vs. a toxic emergency, but I prefer to just avoid it. I do hold my breath in some circumstances, like if I have to walk down the laundry detergent aisle in the grocery store.

I actually can smell many people's scents from 5 feet away and still smell their fragrances after they exit an area. I'm probably more sensitive because I don't wear clothes coated in this stuff and sleep in sheets soaked in it.

impudentmortal,

People become nose blind to their perfumes and deoderants so they put on more and more over time to smell the same (from their perspective). My mom has the same issue but claims it’s all in my head.

squiblet,
@squiblet@kbin.social avatar

My mom and dad's hair products are about the worst thing imaginable. After they take showers I can hardly go in the same room as them for 3-4 hours and the scent even lingers for 5-10 minutes after they walk out. She said 'huh? it has a scent?'

claycle,

Every single day, when I am out walking my dog, a jogger comes by smelling of like a shit-ton of soap/perfume/deodorant/body spray - I nearly gag. These guys (and sometimes girls) are so terrified they might smell sweaty when doing something, you know, sweaty, like jogging a couple of miles…it boggles my mind.

Who taught people we have to smell like artificial bouquets of flowers all the time, even when exercising, ffs?

squiblet,
@squiblet@kbin.social avatar

Yeah, and when your body wants to sweat, you MUST stop it. I've wondered with all the different scented products people wear at the same time, why they want to smell like the average of 12 different synthetic flowers.

const_void,

Who taught people we have to smell like artificial bouquets of flowers all the time, even when exercising, ffs?

Detergent and perfume companies

Cralder,

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.

skybreaker,
@skybreaker@lemmy.world avatar

Actually, I saw two people saying they prefer BO. Bewildering admission if you ask me

Cruxifux,

Yeah that weirded me out too. Comes across as someone making excuses for not wanting to practice basic hygiene though.

FaceDeer,
@FaceDeer@kbin.social avatar

And I saw someone being an asshole regarding their preferences.

Deceptichum,
@Deceptichum@kbin.social avatar

Preferences?

Not stinking up a whole room goes beyond a preference into a biohazard warning.

FaceDeer,
@FaceDeer@kbin.social avatar

Make that two, I suppose.

What is it with this extremism? People don't instantly turn into heaps of rotting garbage the moment they neglect to put some chemicals on their underarms.

sour,
@sour@kbin.social avatar

extremism ._.

FaceDeer,
@FaceDeer@kbin.social avatar

Yes. Is "biohazard warning" not hyperbolic in the extreme?

skybreaker,
@skybreaker@lemmy.world avatar

So, expecting basic hygiene from people is extremism now?

FaceDeer,
@FaceDeer@kbin.social avatar

No, calling a smell that you find unpleasant a "biohazard" is extreme.

If, hypothetically, I found body piercings to be distasteful, wouldn't it be kind of an overreaction for me to demand that paramedics come fix the "stab wounds" on people with piercings that I encounter?

Zahille7,

I mean actual shit smell is a biohazard, though. Like if someone didn’t wipe well enough, that’s a biohazard (very minor, but still).

squiblet,
@squiblet@kbin.social avatar

Covering that up with perfume wouldn’t help though.

SpaceNoodle,

I prefer it to perfume.

De_Narm,

Yep, that’s likely the problem with most people. It’s nothing you usually talk about and people won’t change problems they aren’t aware off. We should probably normalize talking about it without anyone being offended.

PP_BOY_,
@PP_BOY_@lemmy.world avatar

Deodorant is for children. I wear an antiperspirant and perfume

Chuymatt,

Many people are allergic to antiperspirants.

jeffw,

I got a reaction when I switched from deodorant to antiperspirant, but it went away in like a month.

wreckedcarzz,
@wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world avatar

imagining a body builder applying purfume after washing off at the gym

“I WEAR IT BECAUSE I’M NOT A CHILD. YOU WANNA GO?!”

0x4E4F,

I just don’t like them. I like the natural body odors, even with women, I hate it when they cover that up with some heavy perfume.

skybreaker,
@skybreaker@lemmy.world avatar

Gross. This person prefers BO to deodorant.

0x4E4F,

It’s how we’re meant to copulate, as mamals. We smell each other. Deodorant and perfumes just cover that shit up, so I could say the same about people that use them.

Deceptichum,
@Deceptichum@kbin.social avatar

And yet perfume and soaps were some of our earliest inventions.

We’re meant to go shit in the woods, but I bet you live in a house.

skybreaker,
@skybreaker@lemmy.world avatar

Seriously. You’re right. Their logic is basically, “we’re animals so we should behave like animals.” I’m glad I don’t run in to those kind of people most of the time. Few things are as unpleasant as people with serious BO.

0x4E4F,

Each to his own I guess 🤷.

0x4E4F,

Soap, yes… for hygene… and not one of our earliest inventons (if you’re thinking of speers and the wheel, that sort of thing). Perfume… have no idea to be honest. Yes, it’s been around for thousands if years, but I have no idea if it’s even close to the invention if soap (time wise).

I have shit in the woods, more than a few times, it’s great, you should try it, it’s really a just great, whish I could do it more often.

And no, I live in a condo.

shalafi,

Some people don’t require deodorant or anti perspirant. I doubt my Asian wife could sweat or smell bad if she tried.

sour,
@sour@kbin.social avatar

you don’t like showers

0x4E4F,

I do, but not excessive showering. Sure, once a day in the summer, 2 or 3 times a week in the winter, I think that’s fairly normal.

Vej, (edited )

I shower once a day. I don’t generally wear deodorant. I get away with it I think because body odor is largely impacted by meat intake. I swear I don’t smell bad, I’ve asked others. This is the Internet and so no one will believe me unless OP comes to my house and smells my arm pit.

ShortBoweledClown,

I get away with it because body odor is largely impacted by meat intake.

I’ve encountered plenty of smelly vegetarians and vegans.

I swear I don’t smell bad, I’ve asked others.

How sure are you they weren’t just being polite?

Vej,

I am 100% sure that I don’t smell bad and people are not just being polite. I definitely would have been called out by now.

And again, no one will believe me either way. This is the Internet.

wreckedcarzz,
@wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world avatar

I’ll smell you. I’ll smell you so good.

Vej,

deleted_by_author

    •
    Zahille7,

    Whoosh

    Son_of_dad,

    Meat intake? I’m a vegetarian and if I don’t use deodorant, my pits stink within hours.

    Vej,

    No idea. Personally I never had much of an issue with it.

    shalafi,

    Diet plays a role, but I’ve found it’s far more down to the spices one consumes. I’d bet the strongest component is hormones and genetics.

    Deceptichum,
    @Deceptichum@kbin.social avatar

    Vegans are always hilarious. They blame so much on meat and pretend they’re better for not eating it.

    I had a vegan ex once, I remember her getting drunk and throwing up going “This can’t happen I’m vegan” as if somehow her super diet made her beyond a mere mortal and gave her a super stomach.

    You remind me of her.

    Vej,

    I’m not claiming I am better than anyone else. I have one perk to this lifestyle. I have many more downsides. I need to take supplements because I’ve been anemic. I fart constantly.

    I’m allergic to eggs and lactose intolerant. I will eat dairy. I usually have to stick to yogurt. I don’t eat meat because as a child we had to push expiration dates and got sick a lot. Meat just grosses me out. My wife is not a vegetarian. I’m not in this for moral reasons. I don’t fault anyone for eating meat. I’m not pushing a lifestyle here. I’m just saying I don’t smell much.

    And, I do throw up. I’m a lightweight when it comes down to drinking. I also generally don’t like other vegetarians because they do act superior. I like to point out random facts that are in opposition of their view, and call them out. Then when they play the moral high ground card; I can do the same.

    MentallyExhausted,

    I eat a lot of meat and have confirmed with people that I don’t smell (I don’t wear deodorant). Diet can play a part I’m sure, but meat isn’t it.

    Vej,

    I was told by others that it was diet. But I never cared much to do research on that.

    Witchfire,
    @Witchfire@lemmy.world avatar

    I rarely ever eat meat (and almost never red meat) and my BO still smells if I don’t shower or use deodorant daily

    quotheraven404,

    Apparently it could also have to do with the microbiome on the skin too, there are a couple companies developing probiotic deodorant based on the flora of people who naturally don’t smell very bad. It’s a balance of good bacteria versus stinky bacteria and I can see how things like antibiotic use and diet can have an impact on that balance just like it does in the gut, but a decent portion of it does seem to be genetic.

    Vej,

    That’s pretty cool. I didn’t know that was a thing.

    cod,
    @cod@lemmy.world avatar

    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

    kratoz29,

    and can get away with only one shower a week usually.

    I gotta ask, what is your weather like where you are, because no one could get away with one shower per week where I live (about 26 to 32 Celsius on average), let alone if doing some physical activity, whether for pleasure or work.

    cod,
    @cod@lemmy.world avatar

    During the summer it can get up to 30, during the winter down to -20 ish. -5 up to 20 is the normal range though. Not sure how but she rarely sweats. She’s always freezing cold. Her sweat also doesn’t really smell much, not sure if that’s a pH balance or what, idk much about that.

    BolexForSoup,
    @BolexForSoup@kbin.social avatar

    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

    snooggums,
    @snooggums@kbin.social avatar

    I found antiperspirant to stain clothes, but not deodorant.

    DaPorkchop_,

    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 :(

    shalafi,

    How about anti perspirant? Or is that what you meant? I’m a major fan of Arm & Hammer everything. Works, not perfumy, inexpensive, all that.

    Pons_Aelius,

    Your body is supposed to sweat. I shower twice a day rather than block my pores.

    Drusas,

    You might want to try a medication for hyperhidrosis.

    Very_Bad_Janet, (edited )

    My advice is to use a body wash or soap with salycitic acid. It's in products for preventing or treating acne - the salycitic acid kills the bacteria that causes body odor. You can also apply a toner with salycitic acid directly to your armpits (Stridex pads work well for this - they even make ones that are larger for use on the body). I do this and have zero B.O. Some people use other antibacterial soaps like Hibiclens or Paroxyl.

    Also make sure that you are wearing clean clothes (wearing the same tshirt a couple of days in a row is taking a chance).

    ETA: This won't help reduce sweating but it will help with the bacteria that feeds on the sweat.

    OmgItBurns,

    I know I will let myself go when I’m in the midst of being deeply depressed, but then again I usually don’t get much past my bed then. So that could be some of it.

    I used to have a buddy that stank to high heaven, good dude overall, but damn did he smell. Turned out that he never washed his clothes. Once he got in the habit of doing that the problem resolved itself quickly.

    The only other thing I can think of would be some Andrew Tate types going on about some made up benefits of 'natural male musk ’ or something like that. Not sure if anyone is doing that, but I could see some men taking to that advice.

    Devi,

    I had a workmate who was quite eco consious and used to rinse his clothes in cold water and then put them on the line. He was fine mostly, I never noticed a smell, but we had to have a chat when his 14 year old son got a meeting at school about how badly he smelled.

    Some people just don't know the norm.

    Poggervania,
    @Poggervania@kbin.social avatar

    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 :)

    a_mac_and_con,
    @a_mac_and_con@kbin.social avatar

    I’m not surprised. I forget when I looked up the research, but several hair typed definitely don’t need shampoo as much as people think they do. That we have another product (conditioner) yo undo the damage shampoo does to out hair is astounding.

    As for the overall bathing thing, I agree. It depends on what you do day to day, your environment, and genetics. With all three of those factors, some people need to bath more often than others need to.

    Most of my washing routine is actually for chronic pain. I don’t need to scrub for smell too much, but hot water feels good on pained areas.

    Devi,

    I do sort of agree, but also there's a lot of people who don't think they need to shower but really do. I know people who will argue that they only need to shower 2 or 3 times a week but they stink.

    proudblond,

    Maybe they say 2-3 times a week when the reality is that they’re hedging based on reaction and they actually shower closer to once a week.

    That said, I realized recently that I could smell someone else’s unwashed hair. I have no idea how recently they washed it, but now I’m semi-paranoid about how fast that happens. I shower (including hair washes) at minimum every other day, with an occasional weekend spent at home when I’m extra lazy and don’t shower all weekend. I sure hope my hair doesn’t smell like that on day 2.

    Devi,

    I think it really varies per person, I know people who genuinely shower twice a week and are fine, but I have one person in my mind now who showers daily and I can tell when I see him in the evening if his shower was in the morning.

    And yeah, I can absolutely smell hair grease, it's quite a lot once you identify the smell.

    Zahille7,

    You just described my usual routine. If I didn’t shower that day, I’ll put on some fresh deodorant and all.

    xX_fnord_Xx,

    Try an all natural solid bar shampoo. I went from my hair feeling lank and greasy in day two after a wash to only having to wash it twice a week.

    I feel like the chemicals in just mainstream shampoo reak havoc on hair and lock you in to a daily use cycle.

    Lauchs,

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

    all-knight-party,
    @all-knight-party@kbin.run avatar

    I'm sorry, personal what? Is there a GitHub link where I can compile that?

    Jtee,
    @Jtee@lemmy.world avatar

    Is this a joke I’m too C# to understand?

    DeepGradientAscent,
    @DeepGradientAscent@programming.dev avatar

    Yes.

    LunchEnjoyer,
    @LunchEnjoyer@lemmy.world avatar

    This had me rolling on the floor… 😅

    Evkob,
    @Evkob@lemmy.ca avatar

    When you’re so busy remembering to FOSS that you forget to floss 😢

    Damaskox,
    @Damaskox@kbin.social avatar

    Never tried using deodorant. I didn't like the idea of using it. Showering has been enough for me. (I'm 32)
    Nowadays I have a skin condition in my armpits so I don't think it would be wise to use that stuff anymore anyway.

    sour, (edited )
    @sour@kbin.social avatar

    am smell good without deodorant

    Imgonnatrythis,

    I’ve noticed a lot of people don’t do things the way I do them and it bothers me too!! Stomp your right foot with me if you agree!

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