Should it be illegal to stink and not wear deodorant @ gym?

[nubka]

People often tell me I smell good and I hardly ever use antiperspirant . I'm not a very sweaty person so I find I'm good with just showering and using scent on my neck or wrists. Plus it's next to impossible to find scent-free deodorants. I bought one a little while ago that was supposed to be "powder fresh" and I was hyper aware of smelling like baby powder ALL DAY. Talk about gross

I think baby powder smells very nice. My mom is also one of the lucky few that doesn't need an antipersperant. Even growing up under the blazing Arizona sun, she never needed it. Lucky!!

[my little pony]

baby powder smells really dirty or gross to me, i can't tolerate it

[nlyoung]

You haven't smelled nothin' until you've smelled well-used hockey gear...

We have a dedicated "hockey shed" in our backyard, but thanks to my husband's discovery of a "hockey laundry" (huge machines that disinfect all your gear for a hefty price) it is no longer such a problem. Fortunately, my 7 year old daughter's gear does not yet smell, though I think I have maybe one more year of freedom there...

[Civic]

I read somewhere that elite swimmers don't need to use deodorant. All those hours in chlorinated swimming pools keeps BO and prespiration to a minimum. Does anyone know if this is true?

[skateboy]

Ever been on a plane next to someone who chooses the "no hygiene" route? Traveling back from the UK, I actually got physically ill from the smell (threw up and everything, which I'm sure delighted this smelly passenger to pieces). Paybacks are a bitch.

O-

This, this, THIS! A woman sat next to me on a five-hour flight who clearly had not showered in days. It was so strong I thought I would puke--I kept breathing through my mouth, but it was still horrible. To make matters worse, she put perfume on over the horribly smelly body. I'm sure people could smell her five rows in front (and in back) of us.

When I got home, my partner could smell her odor on my clothes and commented on it the minute I walked in the door. Not sexy, folks!

[FigureSpins]

I read somewhere that elite swimmers don't need to use deodorant. All those hours in chlorinated swimming pools keeps BO and prespiration to a minimum. Does anyone know if this is true?

That could be true: I don't remember anyone on my swim teams smelling particularly bad and I know none of us brought anything to the pool other than suits, towels and goggles. Occasionally, we'd bring shampoo and soap, but I don't remember anyone using deodorant or antiperspirant. My high school had a pool, so we worked out 2-3 times a day and went to classes in between. Some people pointed out that we smelled like a swimming pool, though. Guess it was a tradeoff, lol.

I don't think the chlorine stops perspiration, but if the body odor comes from bacteria, most pool water will kill 'em all. By the same token, you can just use rubbing alcohol to do the same thing without immersing yourself.

I remember a few NYC high school pools that smelled worse than BO.

[galaxygirl]

baby powder smells really dirty or gross to me, i can't tolerate it

Baby powder smell reminds me of cat pee (some pet enzyme products are baby powder scented).

[IceAlisa]

We have a dedicated "hockey shed" in our backyard, but thanks to my husband's discovery of a "hockey laundry" (huge machines that disinfect all your gear for a hefty price) it is no longer such a problem. Fortunately, my 7 year old daughter's gear does not yet smell, though I think I have maybe one more year of freedom there...

Need to look up hockey laundry stat!

[bardtoob]

A lot of the offensive part of BO is bacteria growth in sweat over time after being excreted, not the sweat itself.

Gym BO (and hockey pad BO) is so bad because a lot of people do not wash their gym clothes between workouts. This is very common among men, who figure that gym clothes are just going to get sweaty again, so there is no need to frequently wash them.

And yes, some people do smell like the spices they eat.