How to smell good: showering, deodorant and laundry

To smell good, wash your armpits, groin and feet with soap at least twice a day, wear clean clothes, use an antiperspirant or deodorant, and change your socks. The NHS gives that advice for body odour, and it also suggests natural fabrics and not too much spicy food or alcohol. Fragrance goes last, because washing and clean clothes deal with the cause and fragrance only adds to it. This is general information, not medical advice.

Body odor is normal, and everyone sweats. The rest of this is practical: the order that works, and what to do when it doesn't.

Why you smell

The Cleveland Clinic says deodorants work on odor-causing bacteria, and the NHS's self-help list starts with washing, drying and clean clothes. A common explanation is that sweat sitting on your skin and in your clothes lets odor build, which is why the plan below starts there.

It's hard to judge your own smell, since noses tend to adapt to smells they live with. If you're unsure, ask a friend or a sibling you trust to be straight with you. That's advice, not something from the health pages below.

The order that works

1. Shower

The NHS says to wash your armpits, groin and feet at least twice a day with soap and dry thoroughly. One way to do that is a full shower daily, plus a quick wash of those areas later in the day if you've been active. Dry well, especially between your toes. The NHS says a pharmacist can suggest soap substitutes that are gentler on your skin if soap bothers it.

After the gym, a shower the same day is a sensible habit. Sweat sitting on your skin and in gym clothes is what you're trying to avoid.

2. Antiperspirant and deodorant

They aren't the same product. The Cleveland Clinic says antiperspirants reduce sweat, and that aluminum salts, a main active ingredient, block the pores on the outer layer of the skin. Deodorants don't stop sweating. They target odor, with ingredients that neutralize odor-causing bacteria and fragrance that masks smells. Some products combine both.

The NHS says to use antiperspirants and deodorants, and that a pharmacist can suggest stronger antiperspirants.

Timing: Lauren Zamborsky, CNP, a dermatology specialist quoted by the Cleveland Clinic, says antiperspirants work best applied at night, when sweating is at a minimum, so they have six to eight hours to work before you wash them off in the morning. A common approach is to add deodorant in the morning for odor during the day, and to apply either to clean, dry skin, though that part is general advice, not from the Cleveland Clinic.

A note on aluminum, since people ask. The Cleveland Clinic article says research hasn't proven that aluminum can cause breast cancer, and that the American Cancer Society finds no strong studies linking antiperspirant use to breast cancer risk. If you'd rather avoid aluminum, the Cleveland Clinic's comparison lists deodorants as aluminum-free, and they work on odor, not on sweat. It's a personal choice, and no brand is recommended here.

3. Clean clothes

The NHS says to change and wash your clothes regularly. Beyond that, how often to wash depends on the item, and it's a matter of common sense and labels:

• Underwear, socks and undershirts: every wear.
• T-shirts and anything that touches your armpits: every wear, or air out only if you didn't sweat.
• Jeans, hoodies, jackets: these can go several wears if they don't smell, but check, since you won't notice your own clothes as easily.
• Gym clothes: straight into the wash after, not the bottom of a bag. Damp clothes in a closed bag don't improve.

Put damp towels and clothes in a hamper that lets air in, not a heap. For laundry itself, follow the care label and use the amount of detergent on the pack. If clothes still smell after washing, try a longer or hotter cycle if the label allows it, and make sure the machine isn't overloaded. The NHS also suggests natural fabrics like cotton, wool and silk, and avoiding tight clothing and manmade fabrics, which can matter if you sweat a lot.

4. Feet and shoes

The NHS says to wear moisture-wicking socks and change them at least twice a day. Its page on excessive sweating suggests, for sweaty feet, absorbent socks changed at least twice a day, leather shoes, and avoiding enclosed boots and sports shoes. The same page says to rotate your footwear. Letting each pair dry out for a day, and taking insoles out to dry, is general advice, not from the NHS pages. A pharmacist can suggest foot powders for sweaty feet, the NHS says.

5. Food and drink

The NHS's body odour page says to avoid eating too much strong-smelling or spicy food and drinking too much alcohol. How much this changes your smell varies from person to person.

6. Fragrance, last

Cologne or body spray goes on after everything else. Two or three sprays is a common starting point, and how to wear cologne without overdoing it covers where to spray and how to pick one. If you only have time for one, washing comes first.

When it isn't just hygiene

The NHS says to see a GP if body odour hasn't improved after self-treatment and:

• it's affecting your self-esteem,
• you notice a change in how you usually smell, or
• you suddenly begin to sweat much more than usual.

The NHS page on excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis) says to see a GP if the sweating has lasted at least 6 months, happens at least weekly, interferes with daily activities, happens at night, runs in your family, or you take medicine for another condition. A GP may refer you for tests. If nothing explains it, a dermatologist might suggest tablets that reduce sweating, a cream, iontophoresis, Botox injections for underarm sweating (which may not be available on the NHS), or surgery. Those are the NHS's descriptions, and which fits you is for a doctor to decide. Don't self-treat a sudden change.

Pocket kit

A small stick of deodorant or a travel antiperspirant, a spare t-shirt if you're going out right after work or the gym, and sugar-free mints (see fresh breath and teeth). The grooming checklist has the full list for a night out.

What to do next

1. Tonight: wash armpits, groin and feet with soap, and dry well.
2. Put antiperspirant on at night and deodorant on in the morning, on clean, dry skin.
3. Every day: fresh underwear and socks, and a clean top. Gym clothes go straight into the wash.
4. Get moisture-wicking socks (the NHS suggests them) and rotate two pairs of shoes.
5. Only then, choose a fragrance, using two or three sprays.
6. See a GP or pharmacist if the smell or sweating is sudden, heavy, or lasting despite all this.

Sources

• NHS: Body odour (opened in full)
• NHS: Excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis) (opened in full)
• Cleveland Clinic: Antiperspirant vs. deodorant (opened in full; the American Cancer Society statement is reported there, and the ACS page itself was not opened)

The laundry schedule, shoe rotation and fragrance counts are general advice, not research findings. No products are ranked.