Just a warning though. Aluminum antiperspirants can cause skin irritation and absolutely cause aluminum salt stains on clothes (bright yellow pits on white shirts).
Also there is a correlation link between aluminum levels and Alzheimer's, but nobody had proved causation so it may be an unrelated coincidence.
Easier just to shower, scrub well, and use deoderant. That is usually enough for the average person, just not heavy sweating people or people in very hot environments.
PSA: Also wash your clothes (without fabric softener) and stop buying polyester. Much of the "BO stink" is from sweating in polyester clothes and not washing them for a few more wears. Plastic doesn't absorb and dry out the bacteria so it is much much worse than cotton, linen, or wool. Also use vinegar as fabric softener, it doesn't smell after the final rinse cycle and it doesn't leave a waxy film on your clothes that keeps the bacteria nice and comfortable like formula softener.
Aluminium antiperspirant stains are actually pretty easy to remove if you soak your shirts in something acidic - I use sulphamic acid (commonly sold as the main ingredient in coffee machine descaler, so pretty safe, and not as smelly as vinegar) and just leave things for a day, then any residue that's left just comes out in the wash. The reason it stains is that long-acting antiperspirant seals the aluminium salts in tiny wax beads which break open over the course of the day to keep releasing more, and wax needs a lot of exposure to soapy water to dissolve, but it's protected by the aluminium salts jellifying when wet, and they in turn are protected from rinsing away by the surrounding wax. Acids can attack both.
Counterpoint, aluminum is bad for you, anti-persperaint is hard to clean off your body and cloths, humans are allowed to smell a little. As long as you're not smelling like a highschool gym and shower regularly and after exercise, a light application of deodorant should be plenty for the majority of adults.
Can‘t disagree more. You just need to buy a proper one and not Axe or similar deos that smells like ass.
The deocream from Greendoor works like a wonder and is not an anti-transpirant, and I sweat a crazy amount.
Third PSA: deodorant smells fucking awful. I would rather smell your natural stink, though I'd most prefer if you just bathed regularly.
Fourth PSA: your surface microbiome can be cultivated through diet and washing habits. If you have a healthy lifestyle, your pit stink will be mild even when you've been exercising. (However, your microbiome is inherited from your parents, so if they were disgusting, you might need probiotics)
I actually just don't go to the office anymore but basically the temperature most people find comfortable is hot for me and also I get sweaty walking. I'm built for a nordic winter.
At home I can keep temperatures comfier for myself, prefer about 18 indoors.
I stopped wearing deodorant a few years ago. Clean clothes and showering. I do get funky after being soaked in sweat for hours so maybe if I worked in a kitchen right next to people that'd be a different story
Do you have any Asian genetics in your ancestory? There's a gene that causes you to not have BO, which is common in Asia.
My wife has the gene, although it's from her native American ancestry (either 1/4 or 1/8). We can go camping for a week and she'll maybe smell like sweat, while you can smell my BO from a mile away a few hours after showering and new deodorant.
I'm smell sensitive and work for an international company with a lot of South-Europeans running around.
No additional deodorant or aftershave! Please!
People most often smell like they've put a pine forest through a blender and took a bath in it and in worst cases it lingers 15min after they're gone. I'd rather smell BO.
I'm so glad I work in a scent-free building honestly. Does it sometimes smell like my boss's running shoes? Sure a little, but I never spend the entire day coughing and with a headache from some asshole's cologne.
those are clip-on earbuds. they're not in-ear. they're intentionally left open, so that you hear more of your surroundings. they work well in quiet to medium loudness scenarios where you're supposed to hear more of your environment, for example in an office or at home. and that's a perfectly valid way to wear them. they go around the edge of the ear, with the battery and electronics sitting behind the ear and the speaker sitting in front. you can position them along most of the edge of your ears, and different positions make for different comfort and different volume.
they're not actually that bad, and most brands offer silicon tips on them that feel quite nice. i like them more than airpods-style buds that aren't anatomically shaped but still supposed to fit in your ear.
Could you have a fan that sends the smell somewhere else. Does not need to be powerfull, just enough to send the smell away. Or do you actually enjoy it or use it to know when to talk about said coworker?
56 replies
Pro tip: Work at home
Unfortunately that's where the stink is
PSA: deodorants don't do shit if you don't shower before applying. If anything, it might make the smell worse.
Second PSA: Deodorants never do shit, use an antiperspirant.
Just a warning though. Aluminum antiperspirants can cause skin irritation and absolutely cause aluminum salt stains on clothes (bright yellow pits on white shirts).
Also there is a correlation link between aluminum levels and Alzheimer's, but nobody had proved causation so it may be an unrelated coincidence.
Easier just to shower, scrub well, and use deoderant. That is usually enough for the average person, just not heavy sweating people or people in very hot environments.
PSA: Also wash your clothes (without fabric softener) and stop buying polyester. Much of the "BO stink" is from sweating in polyester clothes and not washing them for a few more wears. Plastic doesn't absorb and dry out the bacteria so it is much much worse than cotton, linen, or wool. Also use vinegar as fabric softener, it doesn't smell after the final rinse cycle and it doesn't leave a waxy film on your clothes that keeps the bacteria nice and comfortable like formula softener.
Aluminium antiperspirant stains are actually pretty easy to remove if you soak your shirts in something acidic - I use sulphamic acid (commonly sold as the main ingredient in coffee machine descaler, so pretty safe, and not as smelly as vinegar) and just leave things for a day, then any residue that's left just comes out in the wash. The reason it stains is that long-acting antiperspirant seals the aluminium salts in tiny wax beads which break open over the course of the day to keep releasing more, and wax needs a lot of exposure to soapy water to dissolve, but it's protected by the aluminium salts jellifying when wet, and they in turn are protected from rinsing away by the surrounding wax. Acids can attack both.
Counterpoint, aluminum is bad for you, anti-persperaint is hard to clean off your body and cloths, humans are allowed to smell a little. As long as you're not smelling like a highschool gym and shower regularly and after exercise, a light application of deodorant should be plenty for the majority of adults.
Can‘t disagree more. You just need to buy a proper one and not Axe or similar deos that smells like ass. The deocream from Greendoor works like a wonder and is not an anti-transpirant, and I sweat a crazy amount.
I know people who think this, and they need an antiperspirant.
There's a very wide spectrum of BO.
Some people just flat out don't have BO; it's a genetic thing. And some people will smell regardless of showering and deodorant/antiperspirant use.
An unfortunate majority can’t smell their own BO and think they fall into that category.
I think you have your ratios wrong.
If you think you’re one of the people who doesn’t have a BO then I have unfortunate news for you.
Third PSA: deodorant smells fucking awful. I would rather smell your natural stink, though I'd most prefer if you just bathed regularly.
Fourth PSA: your surface microbiome can be cultivated through diet and washing habits. If you have a healthy lifestyle, your pit stink will be mild even when you've been exercising. (However, your microbiome is inherited from your parents, so if they were disgusting, you might need probiotics)
I used to be able to skip antiperspirant and just use non-scented deodorant.
And then I birthed a kid. My hormone balance has never been the same and I stink more. Deodorant is a necessity now.
People are different and need different levels of hygiene control.
Probably you are overthinking it. Even bathing is new to humans, you don't "need" it
Bathing is by no means new to humans. Plus, we've been masking our funk in different ways for thousands of years.
I suppose I should have clarified as "daily bathing"
Oh I adore when a stranger on the internet tells me I'm overthinking my own body.
Okay I'll just have a bath installed in the office then.
Just shower before you go out and wear clean clothes
I actually just don't go to the office anymore but basically the temperature most people find comfortable is hot for me and also I get sweaty walking. I'm built for a nordic winter.
At home I can keep temperatures comfier for myself, prefer about 18 indoors.
I stopped wearing deodorant a few years ago. Clean clothes and showering. I do get funky after being soaked in sweat for hours so maybe if I worked in a kitchen right next to people that'd be a different story
Do you have any Asian genetics in your ancestory? There's a gene that causes you to not have BO, which is common in Asia.
My wife has the gene, although it's from her native American ancestry (either 1/4 or 1/8). We can go camping for a week and she'll maybe smell like sweat, while you can smell my BO from a mile away a few hours after showering and new deodorant.
Nope I'm honky as shit
God no!
I'm smell sensitive and work for an international company with a lot of South-Europeans running around.
No additional deodorant or aftershave! Please!
People most often smell like they've put a pine forest through a blender and took a bath in it and in worst cases it lingers 15min after they're gone. I'd rather smell BO.
deodorant without any smell exist.
And they seem to think it covers up the smell of cigarettes.
It never does, you're right.
Exactly that. I hate the artificial stink with a passion.
Oh yes.
One drop is enough. No need to take a bath in it!
I'm so glad I work in a scent-free building honestly. Does it sometimes smell like my boss's running shoes? Sure a little, but I never spend the entire day coughing and with a headache from some asshole's cologne.
Her colleague has a book titled: "should I tell my coworker they wear their earphones wrong or just resign?"
those are clip-on earbuds. they're not in-ear. they're intentionally left open, so that you hear more of your surroundings. they work well in quiet to medium loudness scenarios where you're supposed to hear more of your environment, for example in an office or at home. and that's a perfectly valid way to wear them. they go around the edge of the ear, with the battery and electronics sitting behind the ear and the speaker sitting in front. you can position them along most of the edge of your ears, and different positions make for different comfort and different volume.
Ouch, just looking at them hurts.
I have light cauliflower, and a lot of headphones hurt my ears.
But not these. Also they keep your ear open for, y'know, hearing.
They're kinda awesome
they're not actually that bad, and most brands offer silicon tips on them that feel quite nice. i like them more than airpods-style buds that aren't anatomically shaped but still supposed to fit in your ear.
I own a pair similar to those. They’re basically weightless, I actually forget I even have them on sometimes
Interesting
There are earphones that do sit like this though. Shoks, for one, but I'm sure there's other brands that do the same.
Nope, still wrong :)
I had to tell a co-worker " can you start rocking some deodorant"
A reddit suggestion was "n***a you smell like hot dog water"
Even more awkward if you work from home
ugh i tell my WFH coworker not to wear deodorant because I’m nayyysty bish
That's cool and a smart idea. 💡
I can't say anything about the smell, but her q-tips are too large.
I have a coworker who resides in the cubicle diagonal from mine. I can usually tell whether or not he's there when I can smell his breath.
Could you have a fan that sends the smell somewhere else. Does not need to be powerfull, just enough to send the smell away. Or do you actually enjoy it or use it to know when to talk about said coworker?
best smelling book for personal hygiene
Do they have one for not sipping your loud ass water bottle every five SECONDS LIKE WE ARE IN THE SAHARA
b.j. nomnom 😆
And her shirt is NOMNOM
And her earbuds are garden hoses.
Almost as if this was a marketing campaign.
Maybe take out your earphones and talk to them first.