Vinegar
Cure for Under Arm Odor That Works!!
To solve under arm odor, at the end of my shower I use plain vinegar under my arms (not apple cider). I use a palm full under each arm (I keep it in my bathroom in a plastic bottle). It really works and lasts a day or two!!! I tried it in summer (August)!!
I did not try it to run a marathon or engage in a lot of exercise. You have to let it dry for the vinegar smell to go away, but IT REALLY WORKS!!!!!!
EC: Plain vinegar = distilled white vinegar
Vitamin C
★★★★★
Vitamin C for body odour
I have tried several remedies listed on EC for body odour after I suddenly started perspiring profusely this summer and noticed a strong and unpleasant smell coming from one armpit. I stopped using soap, tried ACV, baking soda, coconut oil, witchazel, zinc ointment, green clay, all with varying degrees of success. However, they were no match for the hot and humid SA summer we are experiencing and had to be re-applied during the day.
Two weeks ago, I hit on a simple remedy which works spectacularly well - Vit C. I have been experimenting with remedies to replace soap and hit the jackpot when I mixed one crushed Vit C tablet with about two tablespoons of baking soda and discovered that the mixture prevents body odour. I also use the mix to brush my teeth. Later I discovered that Vit C works well on its own as a deodorant.
Here's what I do: I crush a Vit C tablet (ascorbic acid 500mg), lightly dip a damp finger in the powder and apply to damp skin once a day. One tablet is enough for many applications since you need a miniscule amount to be effective. I have also noticed that it not only prevents BO but also instantly removes any odour if, for some reason, you neglect to apply it in the morning.
(Palm Beach, Fl)
03/04/2009
Thanks for this remedy. I started it this morning by grinding up an orange flavored vit c in my mortar and pestle. I also might try applying colloidal zinc at some point to see if that won't work too. I bought it ages ago and haven't touched it more than once. Any kind of zinc brings on serious acid reflux. But under the arms might work!
(Gauteng, SA)
03/05/2009
@ Tess from Palm Beach: Is your orange flavoured Vit C the fizzy type? Might be a ticklish affair ;) However, I will be interested to hear if it works as well for you as it does for me.
I also meant to mention that Vit C is excellent as a topical application for cuts and grazes. Whenever I suffer an injury I increase my Vit C intake and dissolve a tablet in a bit of water and apply to the wound several times a day. It heals twice as fast. Regards.
(Palm Beach, FL)
03/05/2009
(New Hope, PA)
07/09/2009
★★★★★
I USED ONE YOUR CONTRIBUTOR'S ADVICE TO TAKE 1 TABLET(250MG)VITAMIN C, CRUSH IT AND TAKE SOME OF THE POWDER AND TOUCH IT WITH A BIT OF WATER TO MAKE A PASTE AND APPLY IT TO UNDER ARMS. THE ODOR WAS GONE FOR DAYS. THANK YOU. ALSO IT MAY BE A WAY OF GETTING MORE C INTO YOUR SYSTEM
Wheat Grass
★★★★★
I will not go into detail concerning the torture that I went through for almost 2 years searching for a cure for underarm odor. But, I will say that I tried it all!!
I wasted alot of money buying things to treat a symptom. Eventhough I thought I was pretty healthy. I eat the right things, excercise, drink water, take whole food supplements, etc. But, this smell would not go away!! To combat this issue internally. I started out with a colon cleanser that didn't do the trick. The very first day that I consumed 7 wheat grass tablets. It did the trick (My body was toxic. ) Now all that I use for deodorant is Coconut Oil, and I got my normal fresh smell back. To God be the glory!!
White Vinegar
★★★★★
I've never had extreme body odor, but since I have gotten off of Depo Provera (birth control) two years ago, and stopped using conventional deoderant/antipersperant about a year ago, my body odor has definitely been interesting at times. Lately, and it might just be related to crappy eating and having a really bad viral cold, my armpits have been giving off a distinctly spicy food smell-- sometimes I smell like some Indian people who eat a conventional indian diet. Which isn't as awful as some BO that I've smelled, but it smells weird to me and definitely when I'm going to work in a bar (and there's no more smoking to mask one's smell) it's not something I want to continue. The past couple nights I've worked, I've had to take a break, take my shirt off and go to the ladies room and wash my underarms with soap and water. The spicy body odor would come back within an hour or so.
I did use a natural deoderant for awhile that I got from Whole Foods and smelled like a creamsicle-- I liked that a lot. It would fail probably after four hours and smell a little musty but it was good. But I think that eventually I left it in the car too often and the heat degraded the ingredients' ability to kill off the armpit bacteria.
Anyway, so last night, after I got out of the shower, I figured I'd come here and check out some options. Zinc didn't work for me. I thought I saw a difference supplementing with zinc, but over time, no dice. I also got some zinc baby bottom paste and that just made my armpits smell musty. I had tried vinegar once, just running out the door and it did kill the smell but I never tried it again, for whatever reason. So I looked at the different options for immediately killing BO for the night, and decided on white vinegar.
I had already showered so I didn't want to shower again, so even though I shaved my armpits and was wearing a halter top I braved the possibility of angry red bumps, and took a cupped handful of white distilled vinegar and applied it to my pits, slightly rubbing it in. I let it dry while doing other stuff.
I am pleased to report that over six hours, the vinegar did not fail me, despite sweating and air drying several times. I detected a slight vinegary smell, but it was nothing compared to the humid spicy food-type wall of body odor that was coming from me before, and easily covered with a couple of sprits of body spray. So yeah-- rock on white vinegar!
(Ontario, Usa)
07/02/2010
Witch Hazel
★★★★★
I've tried several natural deodorants and none seem to work. Apply Witch Hazel ( I use Thayers Brand) on a cotton round after a shower. Works all day. Reapply after workout. Also a good toner for your face.
Xylitol
★★★★★
For years I tried numerous remedies and supplements like chlorophyll, apple cider vinegar and charcoal internally and externally to lessen armpit odor. I don't have bad body odor but it definitely gets worse in the summer when it's humid out. I read on here that caffeine was a big culprit and cut back on it. That helped a bit but what stopped my pits from smelling was simply switching from a teaspoon of organic brown sugar to a teaspoon of xylitol in my morning and afternoon coffee. I wasn't trying xylitol for body odor, I was trying it to keep my blood sugar in the normal range (which it does), so this is an unexpected side effect. I am very pleased.
I hope others will test this and let me know if it's the same for them.
Zinc
★★★★★
The cure for body odor is zinc. I heard from someone that if you take zinc you won't stink. Sure enough it works. I take 50 - 100 mg/daily.
(Denver, Co)
09/14/2016
Zinc
★★★★★
I know someone who had bothersome body odour until he started taking zinc (15 mg per day). Now there is NO problem! What an easy solution to a nasty problem.
(Newark , NJ)
04/30/2009
★☆☆☆☆
Zinc
★★★★★
My husband used to have a problem with body odor. I read somewhere that zinc could help with that and other problems he had, so convinced him to try it. He takes 25 mg of zinc per day and, although he may still sweat, it doesn't smell! Really cuts down on washing...
Zinc
★★★★★
Okay...I get severe body odor and I am a vegetarian! I take acidophilus daily, zinc and cal&Mag vitamin, so far I stay away from onions and garlic and I eat a well balanced diet. The best thing that worked for me was zinc. At least 25 mg. I suffered my whole teenage,20's and early 30's with this problem. Drysol worked for sweating but not odor. Now I am pregnant and it is worse! But unable to take all those vits...I bath and wear double t-shirts. It is rough, hard and depressing. But I stay strong and remind myself it is almost over after baby born. Good luck and stay positive.
Zinc and Magnesium
I've read that some people who had bodyfoot odor problems despite good hygiene were low on zinc and/or magnesium. Of course, check with doctor first.
Zinc Oxide Ointment
★★★★★
Zinc Oxide Deodorant: In Dr. Hulda Clark's books, she recommends zinc oxide powder as a deodorant. Over the years it has worked just fine for me. Just place 2 tbs in a small jar and add enough water to make a paste. Smear the past onto your arm pits or groin area. Odour is gone immediately.
There is a bit of residue left on your fingers from smearing it on, but that soon leaves. Or you can use a paint or bingo dauber and not touch the paste with your fingers. If you don't sweat much, the paste will keep you odour free for several days. But it is not antiperspirant, and it washes off quickly in the shower. Zinc oxide can be bought from Self Health Resource Centre in California, and in Canada. It can also be bought in 500 gm sizes direct from Fisher Scientific if you have an account with them. Very inexpensive. Thanks.
Leo
Camrose, Alberta.
(Nashville, TN)
06/20/2009
Thanks for this info. I too have tried the zinc oxide ointment and it works great, much better than anything I have ever used. However, the ointment has talc and parabens in it which I am not so crazy about. I had been thinking of asking my compounding pharmacist if they could compound into a natural cream or lotion base for me. Now, I will try the powder with water.
(The Beach, Canada)
06/21/2009
not all zinc creams have talc and parabens, i dont know if they will show this but a baby zinc ointment called butt paste, if they block the name look in the baby isle you will find one without that stuff, has no fillers or anything that may harm you. sara
EC: Butt Paste Ingredients:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boudreaux's_Butt_Paste
"Boudreaux's Butt Paste is a skin cream used to treat skin ailments such as diaper rash, minor burns, and insect bites. The product has gained notoriety mainly due to its unusual and humorous name.
Ingredients
The combination of ingredients is:
* 16 percent zinc oxide
* a proprietary blend of Peruvian balsam
* citric acid
* castor oil
* mineral oil
(Arnaudville, La, Usa)
10/13/2012
I am going through menopause which has caused hot flashes and night sweats. Not just a few but at least hourly. Besides being aggravating it also caused extreme body odor which I have never experienced before. I remembered the "think zinc and don't stink" saying I heard years ago and started taking zinc. I guess I'm inpatient but after 2 weeks or so of taking more than the bottle said I saw no difference. I found this web site and saw where someone had used the zinc mixed with water and put it under their arms and it worked so I tried it. Sure enough it worked immediately. I went to drug emporium and found deodorant cream which has zinc as the third ingredient in it. It's fantastic. Even after having a flash or night sweat I have not smelled the BO.
I'm also experimenting with the ACV with Mother for the hot flashes. So far I have seen a decline in the number and intensity of the flashes. I've been using it for just 2 days so I'm pretty excited about that too. The ACV took my breath away the first time I tried it because I tried taking it plain. I forgot that I read to mix it with water so I now use the 2 TBS with 6 oz water and 4 drops of stevia. It's still not real pleasant but it's worth it to get some relief from the hot flashes.
Zinc Oxide Ointment
★★★★★
Get a tube of 20% zinc oxide ointment from a drug store or Walmart. After your shower and dry off, smear this on instead of deodorant. My wife and I have used this for many, many years and NEVER have under arm odor. It works better than any deodorant we have ever used. We don't even need it everyday. I use a dab about the size of two green peas under each arm every other day, but you can experiment with the amount and frequency. If you use too much, your pores might get temporarily clogged, so don't over do it. Zinc oxide is the main ingredient in many diaper creams. It simply kills the bacteria which cause underarm odor.
(Washington, DC)
05/31/2009
★☆☆☆☆
I used the 20% Zinc oxide under my arms, and it didn't work at all. I followed your directions and applied 2 pea sized amounts under each arm and rubbed it in really well. As soon as I started to sweat, I had under arm odor. Am I doing something wrong? To me, the ACV worked better, but after constant use, it starts to lose its efficacy.
(Springfield, Mo)
06/16/2009
I don't know what to say. It works for my wife and me, and several others on this site have reported it worked for them. As an experiment, try using it every day after your shower for a week and see if it becomes more effective; plus use clean shirts. It has been so long since I started using it that I can't remember how effective it was at first, but I think it worked from day one. One thought that crossed my mind is that there may be some bacterial residue in your shirts, even if they have been laundered, that then start to grow when the moisture from your sweat provides a more favorable environment. Can you tell if the smell is coming from your shirt or your armpit? If the smell is coming from the shirt, try using a little lysol in your washing machine when laundering your shirts to kill the bacteria.
Zinc kills bacteria which would otherwise cause the odor. Killing bacteria is why different commercial deodorants have things like aluminum or alcohol in them. Even baking soda has an anti-bacterial property because of the sodium in it (ever pour salt on a garden slug?).
I don't think there is anything inherently smelly about sweat, but it just allows bacteria to reproduce more effectively. Knock out the bacteria and there should be no odor.
(Salina, KS)
06/17/2009
I have to add that body odor can be caused, not just by bacteria, but if you are detoxing in some way your sweat itself will smell very badly. Keep up the detox, drink lots of water, exercise, and do castor oil packs over the liver, and it will eventually go away. Zinc ointment works for me somewhat, though there is limit to what it can do when doing heavy detox. When I am not detoxing, the sweat is absolutely odorless.
Zinc Oxide Ointment
★☆☆☆☆
Warning
WARNING!
Warning about the zinc oxide ointment for body odor. I agree, it works great. I've been using it for the past 2 weeks, every other day like one of the posts suggests. But... it's not just zinc oxide you're applying -- there's also light mineral, white beeswax and white petrolatum listed as ingredients. Not great things to have absorbed near your armpit lymph nodes! After reading the contents on my tube this morning, I may go back to ACV even though the zinc oxide has been great.
(Wisconsin)
08/20/2022
★★★★★
Zinc Oxide Ointment
★★★★★
In the discussion of baking soda remedies, I notices more than one comment about baking soda as a deodorant.
I have not tried barking soda for deodorant, since for the last 20 years my wife and I have used zinc oxide as a deodorant. It works better than any commercial deodorant I ever used. You don't even need to used it every day; just every second or third day does the trick, even in the summer. Never fails.
What I am talking about is the tube of 20% zinc oxide that you can pick up at a drug store or at WalMart here in the USA. Just smear on a little dab under each arm pit after your shower. No stains, no smell, no irritation. If you are concerned about safety, look at diaper ointment; it contains 20% zinc oxide.
The only problem I ever had was when I first tried it and used too much and used it every day and it caused a small swelling in my sweat glands under one arm, I think from blocking perspiration. The swelling went away when I started using it just every other day, on which day I used nothing.
The way I happened on this was my mothers giving me a mineral rock she got at a health food store that was supposed to be used for deodorant. I thought she was nutty, but my wife tried it a couple of times and said she thought it worked a little. We wanted to avoid aerosol and deodorants that contained aluminum, so I looked at the health food store for whatever else they had. Since the mineral rock contained zinc as one of the ingredients, I decided to buy a very expensive cream deodorant that contained zinc as one of the ingredients, and it worked very, very effectively, except that it cost a fortune. I happened to see zinc oxide in a tube at the drugstore for only $0.65 per tube (20 years ago) so I tried it instead of the expensive health food zinc cream, and it worked.