11 Best Ways To Treat Body Odor

Body odor: the name of the issue is self-explanatory, but there are a handful of different things that can cause the bothersome smells.

What causes body odor is the bacteria on the body breaking sweat down into different acids that give off smells. Things like diabetes, puberty, and hyperhidrosis can cause you to release different amounts of body odor. While sweat occurs everywhere, there a couple of different places that build up more sweat. Those places include the following: behind the ears, the belly button, genitals and groin, armpits, and feet.

# Hygiene

Stay clean as best you can and it’ll help to keep the bacteria that causes body odor to be less in number. It’s also good to keep body hair to a minimum because the hair traps moisture and it takes the body a long time for the sweat to evaporate so the bacteria has a longer window of time to break it down.

# Baking Soda

Baking soda absorbs sweat and it also fights odor bearing bacteria off changing your skin’s pH. To use baking soda, mix it with a just a little bit of lemon juice and water. You only want to use enough water and lemon juice to make a paste. Once the paste is ready, you apply it to your underarms and let it dry before washing it off.

# Antiperspirant Deodorant

Antiperspirants help to slow or stop the sweat glands in your underarms and deodorant lessens the chances bacteria has of thriving because your skin becomes more acidic. You should be careful when buying antiperspirant deodorants because some can be connected to prostate and breast cancers. When in doubt, buy deodorants that are made with natural ingredients.

# Socks, Shoes and Bare Feet

To limit or lessen the sweat production of your feet, wear clean socks every day. There are even special socks made to help with sweaty feet.

During the summer, spring, and fall, try to wear shoes that have a least a little mesh or that aren’t made from only man-made materials. Mesh at the toes of the shoe can let your feet breath and allow for more sweat evaporation. Shoes made of things like leather also allow for more and better breathing.

When you’re just walking around the house, try walking around barefoot. Having nothing on your feet is the best way to stop most- if not all- sweat production.

# Natural Clothing

Clothing made of man-made materials affect your body the same way plastic or vinyl shoes affect your feet. Wearing natural fibers like wool, silk, or cotton, are much healthier for your body.

# Avoid Hot Food

Food with either (or both) temperature heat or spicy heat can make you sweat even more. So even though chili or the Cajun dish sounds good, trying using a bit less spice than you normally would. This is an especially important home remedy to keep in mind when the weather is hot. It is less likely to affect body odor when the temperature is cool.

# Pumice Stone

After a shower, two or three times a week, try gently scrubbing the bottoms of your feet to remove dead skin. The bacteria that causes feet sweat can feast and thrive on that dead skin.

# Lemon Juice

Lemon juice is rather acidic so it stops sweat causing bacteria to thrive. Cut a lemon in half or cut two slices off at a time. Rub each half or slice on each underarm, making sure the juice gets into your skin, and let it dry on its own. Once it’s dry, shower like you normally would. You can repeat this every day until the odor is gone.

For some people, straight lemon juice is too strong or their skin is too sensitive. If you find you have this issue, then dilute juice from one half the lemon in half a cup of water and apply it to your underarms with a cotton ball. Rinse the juice and water off after ten minutes (whether it’s dry or not) and shower like you usually do. You can also repeat this daily until the odor is gone.

# Sage

Sage is an incredibly good smelling herb that is both good for fighting bacteria and for slowing the production of sweat glands. You can use sage tea to get this home remedy benefit.

To make your own sage tea at home, get two tablespoons of dried sage leaves steep in boiling for ten minutes before using the sage water to rinse your underarms after it cools.

Alternatively, make your own deodorant spray by mixing the five drops of essential oils from sage, lavender, and coriander with two ounces of distilled witch hazel. Using either of these sage home remedies will help to fight off body odor.