Multiple Remedies
★★★★★
(Sunrise, Fl, Usa)
09/08/2011
★★★★★
Body Odor:
Ever since I was 13, no deodorant completely worked for me. I made the mistake of trying every chemical-laden deodorant on the market. I didn't realize, until I weaned myself off of commercial deodorants, that it is the DEODORANTS that are the problem!! I switched to rock type deodorants (there are several different brands, you can buy the kind with the rock or spray-on liquid) about 4 years ago and I will never go back to any other kind of deodorant ever again. In fact, when I do put on regular deodorants now, my body completely rejects them and I break out in horrific, very painful rashes. A few tips for effective use:
1) You need to give your body time to "detox" after using regular deodorants before the natural crystal rock kinds work for you. About 1 or 2 weeks is usually sufficient before you notice a real change.
2) Follow the directions carefully or the deodorant won't work! Apply IMMEDIATELY after getting out of the shower. For a rock deodorant, wet the rock under running water and apply about 20-30 strokes per armpit (yes, really, that many). For a spray deodorant, apply 4 or 5 sprays under each arm.
3) If the natural deodorant doesn't work for you on its own, you can also apply baking soda to the armpit area. Be forewarned though, baking soda can be a little harsh and can leave you with raw skin if used everyday.
- If you are experiencing a lot of body odor, also try the following things which addresses the issue from the inside out: oil pulling, taking coconut oil internally, taking ACV internally, eating an all-natural diet, eliminating toxins from your household, and using all-natural dioxin-free tampons.
Female Body Odor:
To prevent this, wash gently with a 100% natural glycerine soap everyday, which can be purchased very inexpensively for approximately $1 at most grocery or health stores. Don't use regular soap or body washes that are not formulated for use in this area - this is a very gentle region and a body wash that doesn't have a very neutral pH will sting and irritate the area. The more chemicals you can keep out of this area the better (latex condoms, tampons that have dioxide, douches). If you are still experiencing odor after keeping good hygeine, see a doctor, because it might be the sign of an infection.
Foot Odor:
Rock deodorants can be used for this same purpose - and it works! See the instructions above for application. I prefer the spray-on for ease of application.
Mouth Odor:
Good oral hygeine is key. Brushing after every meal and regular flossing are obvious solutions, but if this doesn't work on its own, see the EC posts for oil pulling, oil of oregano, hydrogen peroxide and sea salt rinses.
(South America)
09/09/2011
Great post!
I have been using baking soda for over 5 years and nothing else. It's the only thing that works for me and it works perfectly, I could even go a few days without a shower if I had to (and I live in hot South America). I'm sure the rock deodorant kind works also but I have never been able to find it (plus soda is CHEAP and works, so why not).
I don't find that baking soda irritates the skin. What I do is after showering I put a little soda on the palm of one hand, and with the other drop some water so the mix is in watery form. I mix with both hand and then *gently* apply on both pits and let air dry. If you rub it too hard you will irritate the skin and it will burn. I suppose the same happens if you do it after shaving.
Milk of magnesia equally works but it's more expansive and it leaves a "gooey"/stick feeling.
(Mpls, Mn)
09/09/2011
Multiple Remedies
★★★★★
(Tokyo, Japan)
01/02/2010
Does anyone think that shampoos and soaps actually cause BO? I've been shampoo and soap--free (thanks to borax) for about a year. I change clothes daily, but I often think I don't need to--even socks. Could shampoo and soap be stimulating the body to produce oils to replace oils removed and/or to remove toxins? I'm starting to think so, but does anyone have any thoughts?
Multiple Remedies
★☆☆☆☆
I'd like to think my diet is very alkilinizing & drinks fluids, Im too poor to level out meals with meat. i dont take much sugar either
I need help because I'm TRYING to get a JOB . Ted, Somebody HELP PLEASE
(Ny)
07/14/2011
★★★★★
(Los Angeles, Ca)
09/05/2012
(Carson, Ca)
12/10/2012
Hey Mom is Milk of Magnesia and it works at preventing odors. take a shower clean your pits and then I just rup some on underarms and let it air dry, then I apply a light oil or lotion and let it dry and it works at stopping odors.
Baking Soda is the best alternative to deodorant I've come across. Seriously if you are funky anywhere take some baking soda and at some water to make a paste rub on smelly area let sit for 30-90 seconds then hop in the shower. will kill any and all odors immediately then after shower I take a half or a teaspoon of baking soda and add enought water to my palm to dissolve it and rub hands together then rub on armpits let it airdry then I add a good moisturizing lotion because baking soda can be drying and a little abrrasive for some I have sensitive skin and then works wonders. No more Odor. You will still sweat but you won't stink at all. Just try it a box of baking soda is around 50-90cents and some people like to make the deodorant instead of this method they add corn starch and baking soda and put that powder mix on their pits to kill odor, that powder method was too harsh and gave me a rash that turned my pits black so I now to the baking soda and water and lotion and haven't had any issues. One year of no deodorant use. YAY hope this helps
Over the Counter
A good deodorant is one without leaving residues and odours behind. I've been using UARMSOL deodorant for many years now, even when I sweat, I have no more underarm or armpit odours. I applied 1 pinch and it's all to it for the whole day without worries about any smell afterwards. There's no chemicals, oil or fragrances added. No staining clothes too. There's no after sport smell or odour masking. And the best thing is I don't have to shave!
Ozonated Olive Oil
★★★★★
(Vancouver, BC, Canada)
03/01/2009
(Minneapolis, Minnesota)
02/23/2010
(Medford, Or, Usa)
08/16/2010
Potassium Crystal Deodorant
★★★★★
Jenny
Potassium Crystal Deodorant
★★★★☆
Potassium Crystal Deodorant
★★★★★
Powder With Cornstarch
★★★★★
Rubbing Alcohol
★★★★★
Rubbing alcohol, shower with soap, rubbing alcohol
(I just poured it on a paper towel and rubbed it on)
I think that cured me. Now it is just back to soap and deodorant.
—
But let me give a long rant as to why I got this way as hopefully it'll help prevent you from getting in my situation.
In Arizona, my sister's boyfriend would always have a lingering smell after he used our bathroom. We would make fun of him for it (in a loving way as we were close, though I'm sure he was self-conscious of it as we all would be). I never really thought of why he had that problem until I got older as I found out he lived in a really old house...
About 10 years ago I joined the no soap, no deodorant group. It worked. Click the "Stop using soap" in the body odor page to see testimonials back from the 2000s. When I did sweat it smelled sweet, it smelled good. I'm not joking. And being vegan at the time, my bowel movements were very clean. Actually, that area had zero smell when I didn't use soap, verses when I used soap and ate meat there was a little bit of funk on my hands after cleaning that area that I couldn't get rid of no matter how much soap I used (which makes sense since soap only strips the oils off your skin, not the actual bacteria and bacterial waste that causes those smells, and by not using soap your skin builds a protective layer against all that literal crap). I just had to wait for that smell to go away on its own (but now I know rubbing alcohol was probably the answer). No longer using soap, I no longer had that problem.
It was very zen like to go into the shower and only use water to clean with (I had stopped using shampoo and shaving cream too). Trust me, I lived with people who would complain if I smelled in the slightest and they never complained.
There wasn't such a thing as soap in the caveman times, yet we all lived together somehow...
To do this no soap method, you just use friction and water. You have to allow the good bacteria colons to build up on your skin. This isn't always a guarantee so sometimes you have to use soap and start all over again. But after having to use soap once or twice, I never had to use it again once the good bacteria had taken over. While I never wore synthetic fabrics back then, I would risk it if you decide to use this method.
All this changed about 3 years ago when I went to live with my grandpa in his old house.
It was all falling apart. Being his grandson I felt compelled to help. Mold and mildew everywhere in the house. Rat shit in the garage and barn. I used a lot of bleach (unfortunately). Still, I couldn't really get it clean as it got to a point that you really needed a professional. His attic (which I couldn't walk in for my own safety as I might have fallen through) with a ton of black mold had an A/C unit with holes in it sucking in that filthy air, and he refused to pay any money to get it fixed. Whenever I found something new to clean like window curtains, all this yellow stuff would start to come out of it as I washed it. I hate to say this, I should have just left. His boys (my uncles and my dad) should have put him in a home a long time ago (he doesn't have the mental capacity to take care of himself). It wasn't fair to me to put up with these living conditions. Besides, all he bought was white bread, sugary foods, and meat to eat. So, yeah, a very unhealthy environment.
Going outside to get away from it wasn't even an option as his concrete backyard was full of all his greasy motor vehicle junk and dying tress covered in mold, algae, and slimy mushrooms. His immediate neighbors were just as bad with rotting fences full of fungus...
Anyway, I spent 3 years cleaning up his place and trying to fix his health. Pressure washing, painting, pulling up dying bushes, throwing out old food, etc. I was fine at first. The first six months wasn't an issue in regards to my health. After getting into an argument with one of his neighbor friends and my grandpa refusing to talk about it or even acknowledge what his neighbor did to me, I left. I should have stayed gone. But I originally went to my grandpa's to get away from harassment in my parent's neighborhood (I swear I'm not a troublemaker, I think it's just the issue of a bad community not wanting a good person to be in their neighborhood... the world is strange like that). After getting harassed again at my parent's neighborhood, I went back to my grandpa's as it was just one neighbor I wasn't getting along with and his sons, the only people he'll listen to, took my side in the situation as they wanted me to care of him for free...
But at about the 1.5 year mark is when weird things started to happen to my body: chapped lips (even the summer), heel cracks, a lot of body hair loss, bowel movement problems, and BO.
And my grandpa would make fun of me for all of this, but NOT in a loving way. He had some real metal/self-hatred problems. He beat his wife in the past and tried to commit suicide twice (his sons wouldn't get him any mental health help unless it was free from the government). Later, I found out my grandpa suffered from all of this health problems but he learned how to thoroughly take care of the symptoms but not the cause. And the cause seemed to be bacteria/fungus from his nasty, old house.
(I also got gray nose hairs, a long gray hair on my forearm, a lot of belly fat, and my face started to look old. But I think that had more to do with my grandfather's abusive behavior. And, yes, he made fun of me for those features as well.)
Even when describing my bowel movement problems to him, he got an evil look on his face and was able to describe the rest of my symptoms exactly cause he had/has them and was enjoyed seeing someone else suffer with it. I'm talking about being constipation for days, having to strain really hard to go (and I'm the guy who would only eat colorful fruits and vegetables and easily go in one minute), wiping to no end, and the bathroom just smelling for half an hour to an hour afterward (sorry if this is really gross for you all to read).
Now it made sense why he used the small bathroom in the house (the only one with a vent) and hosed it down with freeze, used baby wipes, and stayed in there for half an hour cleaning himself; why he always had ChapStick around; why he wore socks and used a ton of moisturizer (to prevent heel cracks); and shaved his ENTIRE body (he walked around naked in the house more than once...). But I never really figured out what he did for his armpits besides shave his pits.
But I thought I fixed my BO problem by just starting to use soap and deodorant (I use the stuff you'll find at a health food store as the typical deodorant has a chemical smell I can't stand).
(I think I screwed up when going no soap, no deodorant at his house cause I would use his head and shoulder on the essential areas as "insurance" but apparently soap removes your acid mantle and your protect oils. Still, I never had such a horrible smell problem with no soap, no deodorant until I started living at his house. One day, it had a VERY slight sour milk smell to it. I knew something wasn't right with my body. Later, on a holiday of all day, I wore a shirt, that I thought was all cotton, with some synthetic fibers outside while bringing food in from the neighbors. It wasn't a good situation.)
My grandfather passed recently. After moving back with my parents a few months before that, everything fixed itself for the most part up. My heel cracks went away on their own (even though I still wear sandals all the time), my chapped lips went away, my bowel movements went to back normal after three months (more on this later), and, like I said, I had fixed my BO problem back at my grandpa's (so I thought...)
While my bowel movements got better at my parent's apartment, it didn't completely go back to normal (a horrible smells that lingered for about 30 minutes even with the vents on) until I started working at a warehouse. I had to walk for about 10 hours a day (cardio stimulates your immune system which 80% is in your gut), got sick the first week and got put on an antibiotic, and I took Saccharomyces boulardii (a yeast probiotic that fights candida, SIBO, and FIBO).
Personally, I think I had an overgrow (either fungal or bacterial) into my small intestine which blocked my bile from being reabsorbed. Bile kills off bacteria (not all or else it would naturally take care of your SIBO problem for you) and makes your poop slimy and greasy, so that's probably why my poop was hard to pass and smelled so bad: your poop it supposed to have live bacteria in it not dead bacteria. It's hard to say what worked the best, but I would guess it was the antibiotic first, then the special probiotic, and then the cardio.
Basically, my system needed a kick start to get my system back to normal (as I definitely didn't want to wait another 1.5 years for digestive health/bacteria to change again).
So that finally brings me back to my body odor problem.
Like my digestive problems, I needed a kick start to help get rid of all the bacterial colonies that was there from that nasty house.
This battle against bad bacteria is something I learned about in my no soap days, and apparently normal soap alone wasn't strong enough to kill whatever I got.
While soap and deodorant seemed to work, if I really dug my finger into my armpit, I would definitely get a smell. Not straight up BO, but it was a funk. On Christmas day of all days, my mom is yelling at me (needlessly) to hurry up as I'm getting out of my shower and I yell back forgetting to put on deodorant in the rush. Then I decided to wear that polyester shirt my dad gave me cause it looked really nice with my new jacket that is very tight on me (but it was pretty much a warm day for being Christmas cause we live in Texas) and I haven't had a BO problem in a long time and my sister keeps her house cold. But I ended up being outside for a long time and I was later stuck at my sister's house all day while smelling. :(
I knew I had to fix this. Like my bowel movement problem, I needed a little bit of help. Rubbing alcohol was the first thing I tried. The smell got really intense, both the alcohol and the BO, so I knew something was happening. Then I took shower. Did the alcohol again but this time no smell at all. The next day after returning back to my normal routine (same soap and same shampoo), I really rubbed my finger into my armpit and smelled it. This time, no smell whatsoever. I also noticed that the slight tannish stains in my armpit were gone (got them after using a coconut oil based deodorant, pretty sure it had absolutely nothing to do with the smell problem though).
So that's basically it.
But this is the real reason I got in this situation:
I feel like a lot of my major problems in life (health, relationships, finances, etc.) came from not respecting myself and not sticking to my principles. Because if I had I wouldn't be in those bad situations to begin with. Lord knows that I would have never of stayed in such a nasty house if it wasn't for my grandpa. While it might have been noble of me to stay with and help him, I should have drawn the line when he showed his true colors. I see this same pattern in my life over and over again.
Not only did my grandpa become abusive to me when I came back, the rest of the family when from having an excellent opinion of me cause I was taking care of him and wanting to be my friend to hating and making fun of me (even though I hadn't changed as a person at all).
Just about every major problem I had could have been prevented if I didn't ignore people's bad behavior. Instead, I would justify it by saying he's my grandpa or parents and I have to do this or that despite the bad feeling it gave me and intuitively knowing the situation is wrong.
You don't need to know if the person is a narcissist or whatever, you just need to know that this behavior shouldn't be tolerated and do what you gotta do. And if you can't leave the situation, then start making on plans to leave the situation. Don't try to change or reason with the person, that's not your job.
I did turn to the rest of my family for help, but they encouraged me to put up with his bad behavior cause "he's going to die pretty soon and he'll probably leave you a lot of money for everything you've done for him." When he passed, he didn't leave me a cent. Yeah, he did pay me while living with him, but just the bare minimum so I could cover my bills so I couldn't save up money to leave. Even if he did leave me a lot of money, it still wouldn't have been worth it. There isn't a price you can put on your dignity.
Unfortunately, I'm starting to realize that the people who encouraged me to stay with my abusive grandpa don't really have my best interest at heart and are abusive to me in their own ways.
By the way, since leaving my grandpa's abusive house (I did it a few months before he passed away) I lost my belly, my nose hairs are no longer gray, and my face looks a lot younger. I could even watch that one hair on my forearm have color grow back in from the root since the day I left (I think my mom's blackberries did the trick).
I never wished my grandpa ill will, and I still don't. But you gotta know when to let people go.
Rubbing Alcohol
★★★★★
Salt
★★★★★
Salt
★★★★★
I am battling several illnesses right now, and ever since I got sick I have the worst armpit odor! Soap doesn't remove it. I've tried baking soda, apple cider vinegar, and hydrogen peroxide (separately) and they all work fairly well, but they all feel harsh on my skin and I don't like it.
The other day, I discovered a better solution: iodized salt. I had bought one of those himalayan salt stones for the shower—big mistake. Little crevices in the smooth-looking salt crystal actually SCRATCHED me and literally put salt in the wound! Will never do that again.
However, it gave me the idea of simply mixing some salt into water and applying that right in the bath after washing with soap. Works like a charm! The effect was immediate—no smell whatsoever until the next morning (and then only faint). And I didn't even use deodorant!
I chose iodized salt because iodine is a powerful antimicrobial in its own right. I mix the salt with about two parts warm water (some will not dissolve) and keep it in a little jar in the shower. At the end of the shower (soap and rinse first), I just pour some of the saltwater into my hand and splash it under each arm, being careful to get the whole underarm. When the liquid gets low, I just add some water from the shower for next time
Plastic is best for use in the bath because of the risk of glass breaking. Might be convenient to get one of those dispenser bottles with the pointy top!
(Chicago, Illinois, Us)
06/10/2012
UPDATE: OK, there's bad news and good news. The bad news is, the iodized salt I was using on my underarms stopped working after three days. Don't know why, maybe it killed off one sort of underarm-dwelling bacteria only to be replaced by another one that doesn't mind salt?
The good news is, I combined two other remedies from here on Earth Clinic and for the last two weeks they've been working great!
The remedies are "stop using soap" and fresh lemon juice in place of soap and deodorant. This combo eliminates ALL odor for me and lasts almost two days... Without using deodorant! Today it was 90 degrees in Chicago and my underarm smells exactly the same as my forearm, no joke. I still can't believe it!
Here's what I do. Once every 5 days or so, I take three small lemons and run them through my juice extractor whole. The remedy page suggested just squeezing them, but it's easier to run them through the juicer for me and anyway, the skin contains essential lemon oil which is a powerful germicide in its own right.
I put the juice in a small plastic spray bottle with two tablespoons of salt just for the heck of it. I think the salt keeps the lemon fresh longer, too, since I just leave it in the shower rather than refrigerate it. When I get in the shower, I spray under my arms, dampen a clean washcloth with warm water and rub back and forth a bit before rinsing. Then, when the shower is over, I spray the lemon again as a deodorant (no rinse).
It doesn't burn, except maybe the tiniest bit if I push too hard while shaving (no soap or gel), and it lasts me beyond the next morning! My health is kind of a mess at the moment (the reason I started smelling so bad), so sometimes I skip a day showering when I don't have to go anywhere. Ever since the no-soap-lemon-juice trick, I can skip a day and go out, even in hot weather! I wouldn't have believed it if someone told me, but it's true.
I've noticed a couple of things about this. The washcloth is key to making it last longer, and it should be a CLEAN washcloth, or at least a clean side of one. My washcloths are the giant spa kind and take forever to dry, so I fold them in half and keep track of what side is clean (I wasn't a washcloth person before this, only use them for this).
Also, I really do think the combo is what does it. I tried using soap followed by lemon juice and it didn't work quite as well. I think it's because the soap is very alkaline, so it cancels out the acidity of the lemon. Also, as people note on the no-soap page, it leaves a film that bacteria can feed off of.
Even though I didn't have real problems with this until I got sick, I've never smelled this fresh in my life! And without deodorant!!
So grateful for this site. :O]
Severe Body Odor
I have been in many a meeting where the room was cool, but some were sweating profusely under their arms. Dear hearts, they were in nervous city. Thermal sweat has no odor unless you don't bath and it turns putrid. Emotional sweat always has a foul odor, and if you let your armpit hair go, only makes it worse. Our dad always made us trim our under arm hair. He was ahead of his time. I had several friends who were clean, but stunk to high heaven. My regret is that I never told them. Guess I was not a good friend after all. Here is the article from yesteryear.
I know dang well that this will send 99% of you to school on sweat.
========ORH=========
Severe Body Odor
Best wishes!
