Every time we sweat, the skin feels cooler but there is also an unpleasant odour. Body odour can be highly embarrassing for one, and also for those around one. The problem is heightened in the summer months, when the body sweats more and the temperature rises. But body odour need not rule your life – you can control and manage it with some tweaks to your daily personal hygiene routine.
What causes body odour?
The body has its own personal cooling system, and it is called ‘sweating’. As the temperature rises, the millions of sweat glands in the skin are activated to remove excess water from the body. This excess water, known as sweat, is expelled through the skin’s surface. The body’s heat then evaporates the sweat, causing a cooling sensation. Thus, the body is cooled down if it gets too warm.
On an average, there are up to four million sweat glands in human skin, but the sweat itself is not smelly in nature. The real culprits are the bacteria present on the skin, which interact with the sweat and break down the acids present in it. They can multiply rapidly in sweat, and hence, it becomes doubly important to maintain good personal hygiene so that sweat and body odour are reduced – even in the hot summer months.
How can I manage body odour?
Managing body odour is easy if the sweat-prone areas of the body are kept clean and fresh with the right products. This is how you can do this:
- Take daily showers. Bathing daily using cold or warm water and an antibacterial soap washes away the sweat and kills odour-causing bacteria on the skin. You should shower twice a day on very hot days or if you have been sweating more than usual. Keep yourself clean and fresh in the hot months using Dettol Cool Bar Soap.
- Clean your armpits thoroughly. Bacteria multiply rapidly when they can feast on the protein and fatty acids in sweat, and especially in areas where sweat collects, such as the armpits and groin areas. So be sure to clean these areas more thoroughly with Dettol Skincare Bar Soap.
- Use a dry towel. Take care to dry the skin with a clean and dry towel after your shower. Bacteria find it difficult to multiply on dry skin.
- Apply a deodorant or antiperspirant. Once you’ve showered, dry your armpits thoroughly and apply a good deodorant or antiperspirant. Your armpits will smell fresh all day.
- Wear natural fibres. Your skin can breathe easily if you wear clothes made of natural fibres such as cotton and jute. These fibres allow sweat to dry faster.
- Wash your clothes often. Bacteria can breed on skin and your clothes, too. So be sure to wash your clothes after every use and wear freshly laundered clothes every day. Never repeat a pair of socks you have used once without a wash, since your feet can get really sweaty. Dettol Disinfectant Multi-Use Hygiene Liquid or Dettol Antiseptic Liquid can kill the germs on your clothes if you add them to your laundry.
Body odour can be contained easily if you keep yourself and your loved ones fresh and clean. A little extra precaution and using Dettol soaps can help you enjoy the summer without body odour. Dettol’s bar soaps can keep your body clean and fresh all through the hot summer days.