this post was submitted on 08 Dec 2023
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People should shower regularly, but I find the aromas wafting from people who use many fragrance products far more offensive and offputting than someone smelling like a human. Some people's shampoo, laundry detergent and deodorant (not to mention body spray, cologne or perfume) are so strong that I can smell them from 5 feet away, and the odor lingers for several minutes after they leave an area. I don't really care what it smells like as much as that I seem to be allergic to these fragrances, and sneeze, get red eyes, my nose starts running my lips swell a bit. This is why some places have instituted a fragrance-free policy - as many as 25% of people have an allergy to various components of these perfumes. Unfortunately it's a very touchy thing to explain to people as the average person thinks they're doing something virtuous by wearing a bunch of fragrances and it makes them more appealing to be around.
People become nose blind to their perfumes and deoderants so they put on more and more over time to smell the same (from their perspective). My mom has the same issue but claims it's all in my head.
My mom and dad's hair products are about the worst thing imaginable. After they take showers I can hardly go in the same room as them for 3-4 hours and the scent even lingers for 5-10 minutes after they walk out. She said 'huh? it has a scent?'
Every single day, when I am out walking my dog, a jogger comes by smelling of like a shit-ton of soap/perfume/deodorant/body spray - I nearly gag. These guys (and sometimes girls) are so terrified they might smell sweaty when doing something, you know, sweaty, like jogging a couple of miles...it boggles my mind.
Who taught people we have to smell like artificial bouquets of flowers all the time, even when exercising, ffs?
Detergent and perfume companies
Yeah, and when your body wants to sweat, you MUST stop it. I've wondered with all the different scented products people wear at the same time, why they want to smell like the average of 12 different synthetic flowers.
I had a really weird thing years back, never since then.
Middle-aged white women wearing something, no idea what, would gag me out. I don't mean it was merely offensive, I mean I'd hold my breath near them. Made me low key nauseous.
Had that problem for a couple of years, haven't smelled that for maybe 10 years. Anyone have a clue what I mean or what it might have been?
LOL, and you would hate my wife. She's Asian, so I'm not sure she's capable of body odor, but she's so paranoid about it she bathes twice a day and hoses herself in perfume, hair too. I love it up close, but I don't think you would pick it up from 5'.
I've become familiar with several different classes of horrible fragrances that people use. There's the one that smells like salty roses, one that smells like 'old ladies' (this gross light flower-lavender scent?), one that's like a bunch of synthetic grapes and other fruit, the 'cotton candy' kind of dryer sheet scent, some that smell like flowers mixed with burning plastic... not sure which one you might have encountered. I find if I take antihistamines it's more 'huh, I smell that' vs. a toxic emergency, but I prefer to just avoid it. I do hold my breath in some circumstances, like if I have to walk down the laundry detergent aisle in the grocery store.
I actually can smell many people's scents from 5 feet away and still smell their fragrances after they exit an area. I'm probably more sensitive because I don't wear clothes coated in this stuff and sleep in sheets soaked in it.
And this is why I don't do deodorants and perfumes.
And I don't explain as well, I just steer away from that person.
You can find unscented antiperspirant, FWIW
Thatβs what I do and if I need to smell nice for a fancy gathering Iβll put on a small amount of something nice smelling (beard balm, cologne, or something else)
Yes, but they're a lot more expensive than the mainstream ones.
Canβt say I agree with that
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Arm-Hammer-ULTRA-MAX-Solid-Antiperspirant-Deodorant-Unscented-2-6-oz/10810917?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=5229&adid=2222222227810810917_117755028669_12420145346&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-2290367806927&wl5=9007243&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=10810917&wl13=5229&veh=sem_LIA&gclsrc=aw.ds&&adid=2222222223810810917_117755028669_12420145346&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-2290367806927&wl5=9007243&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=10810917&veh=sem&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADmfBIqI9hFYUeEgJZfSJlIYlZqzV&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhdmf1daBgwMV0mBHAR2fXg5VEBwYAiABEgJra_D_BwE
Holy mother of URLs, Batman!
Here's a cleaned up version without all those nasty trackers attached: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Arm-Hammer-ULTRA-MAX-Solid-Antiperspirant-Deodorant-Unscented-2-6-oz/10810917
Yeah, I clicked it though, cuz... it's from Wallmart, what are they gonna track here, I don't live in the US, lol π.
Dude, I don't live in the US π.
That's disgusting. You're seriously telling me you prefer week old BO over the average deodorant? That's exactly why it's called de-"odor"-ant. OP wasn't talking about covering yourself in axe body spray or copious amounts of perfume, he asked why people don't shower and use deodorant.
Yes, because it doesnβt give me an allergic reaction. Clearly youβve never experienced that but maybe you could imagine the difference.
You know not everyone smells as bad as you do without Deodorant, right?
Like you have a really strong opinion for something that genetically is different person to person both in what comes out and what is perceived.
Different from person to person, yet all the people I could smell all smelled very similar, like sweat and feet mixed with ass and bad breath. Every. Single. One.
There's a bit of a selection bias though.
Obviously you don't smell the people who don't smell, but not all of them wear deodorant.
I have never smelled anyone's natural body odor that smells good. Do you think poop smells good too? That's natural.
Sounds like a you problem. Moreso that everything smells like poop to you if it's not artificially created.
I want to try to be a bit nicer but wow you went from body odor to poop to argue natural smells. Isn't the typically poetic phrase of smells to "smell like flowers" you know...a natural occurrence in nature?
My point is that natural isn't always good. I know, a hard concept to understand. Human BO doesn't smell like flowers
Also means it's not always bad. You can't dictate what people should do and decidedly say it will always be gross off of a "sometimes" like you've been doing in this thread.
You're honestly arguing a lot of "maybe" for what other people say while being very black/white yourself. Might want to check that.
That's a false dichotomy though. The obvious third option is to shower every day and wear clean clothes?