Content creator Alexis DiMaya made a bold claim in a TikTok post this past August: “I never wear deodorant, and I don’t stink,” she told her more than 500,000 followers.
“I thought it was completely normal to not use deodorant and not smell because I haven’t used deodorant for years now, and I sweat all the time,” DiMaya, who is training to be a pilot, shared. “Like, I sweat all the time when we are in those planes. There is no AC, so we are sweating our butts off — and I come out of the airplane smelling fine.”
According to DiMaya, she actually gets “compliments” about smelling good — and the fact that she does so without wearing deodorant boggles the mind of her boyfriend, friends and quite possibly you at home, who may be wondering … how? After all, many of us have been wearing deodorant since puberty, a time when hormonal changes increase sweat production, and rely on it to not only keep sweat at bay but also smell fresh and, well, not stinky.
But there are folks like DiMaya who don’t have to worry about body odor due to a number of factors. Here’s what experts say about why people smell (or don’t!) and what might be influencing your natural scent.
First, why do we smell?
Contrary to popular belief, sweat doesn’t stink on its own. It’s mostly just water, along with a small amount of other substances, such as sodium and chloride. However, the type of gland that sweat comes from impacts how smelly we get.
There are two major types of sweat glands involved here: the eccrine and apocrine glands. Eccrine glands produce a watery, odorless sweat to cool the body—the kind you’re experiencing when you’re out on a hot day. This sweat evaporates off your skin.
Then there are apocrine glands, which have the potential to produce a more foul odor, dermatologist Dr. Connie Yang of PFRANKMD by Dr. Paul Jarrod Frank tells Yahoo Life. “Apocrine glands are located in hair-bearing areas like the underarms, groin and scalp and secrete a thicker sweat,” she says.
As with eccrine gland sweat, this sweat doesn’t smell immediately after it’s secreted. But when it comes into contact with bacteria on the skin, the proteins and fatty acids get broken down, “leading to that all too familiar body odor,” Yang says.
Yang explains that when we’re stressed or anxious, we sweat through our apocrine glands, which means we may be more likely to smell during high-pressure times than, say, if we were sweating during a sunny day at the beach.
It’s also possible for medical conditions to cause body odor. Trimethylaminuria, a metabolic disorder, produces a fish-like odor in sweat, breath and urine. Kidney issues, diabetes and even liver failure can all cause your body to produce a stronger odor.
Why don’t some people stink?
Now we know why people smell — but why do some people just … not? There are a few reasons why some people don’t have much body odor.
Dermatologist Dr. Hannah Kopelman tells Yahoo Life that a genetic variation common among East Asians affects the production of a protein called ABCC11. “This gene variation means that certain populations are less prone to body odor because their sweat contains fewer proteins that bacteria can break down into smelly compounds,” Kopelman says. While the variation is presents in 80%-95% of East Asians, according to NBC News, it is only is only present in up to 3% of European and African populations, according to a 2010 study. (Interestingly, a separate study also found that most participants who carried the ABCC11 gene variation still chose to wear deodorant.)
Outside of genetics, what you eat also impacts how you smell. Certain foods can make you smell worse, with red meat, garlic, onion, cruciferous vegetables and alcohol as major culprits of body odor — so, if someone avoids these foods, they may ultimately smell better than someone who eats them routinely. Additionally, spices such as curry, cumin and fenugreek contain compounds that can linger in the body, leaving behind a potentially strong smell.
Then there’s the emotional factor that comes with body odor: “Stress sweat is very real and more likely to smell worse than typical sweat,” San Antonio-based dermatologist Dr. Annabelle Garcia tells Yahoo Life. This is because more sweat is produced from your apocrine glands when you are stressed. Finding ways to stay calm during emotionally challenging situations, such as through meditation practices, might make your body odor less severe.
Is it possible I just don’t know I smell?
Yes, according to Kopelman. “It’s possible for people to become ‘nose blind’ to their own body odor,” she explains. “This happens because our brain tends to filter out constant stimuli, like our scent, over time, which allows us to focus on new smells in our environment. As a result, we might think we don’t smell bad when, in fact, others around us can still detect an odor.”
So, if your friend tells you that you smell, it might be true, but you simply can’t detect it yourself. Fortunately, there are ways to combat stinkiness before a friend gently nudges you:
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Shower regularly and maintain good hygiene.
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Wear breathable clothes that won’t trap sweat.
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Drink lots of water — it can help dilute sweat.
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Avoid foods that may cause bad odor, like garlic and onion.
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Use deodorant and/or an antiperspirant, the latter of which helps stop sweat in the first place.
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Try a benzoyl peroxide body wash under your arms — it may kill armpit odor.
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Avoid anxiety-producing situations and find ways to calm your nervous system so you stress (and sweat) less.