Natural Remedies for Body Odor

pure coconut oil and bicarb for body odour

While I have not tried this personally, I was told by a friend that she very successfully makes the above ingredients into a paste and applies to her armpits, then wipes away residue when dry.

I will sugest coconut water vinegar, apply to affected areas before shower for at least 5 minutes. This work for me so far, do not use antiperspirant or deodorant,

I've been having very good luck with Milk of Magnesia, the cheap kind without any other additives. The more expensive brand has bleach or something added to it, which we don't want, so check the label. I dab it under my arms with a piece of gauze.

My place is very hot and humid all year, so I sweat all day. Sadly, this causes my armpit to smell really bad, but usually my deodorant can cover it up (I rotate deodorant every 2 days - the theory behind it is so that the bacteria will not immune with deodorant). But recently, I found that the smell gets worse, but only on my right side (the left still smell, but not so much) and it happen so sudden!!! I thought it was because of my hormones, but after sticking to healthy diet for a month, still, no effect. I try using lemon and lime, but the effect is no better than normal soap. And baking soda irritates my skin. Four days ago, I try using hand sanitizer as deodorant, just for experiment. And for 4 days it works wonders!!! My armpit didn't smell AT ALL!!! But this is only 4 days, don't know when will it get back to being smelly again.

But just now I try to drink ACV as lots of people in EC suggested. I wanna drink it, but man, IT IS SOOOO SOUR!!! 1 tablespoon ACV diluted with 1 glass of water, and my throat feels the pain. I wanna try with honey, but some people in EC say AVC not suppose to be consume with honey. Is it really?

Maybe I should just use it for topical use only... Wish me luck!!! P/S: But seriously, if you're travelling for a couple of days, just bring along hand sanitizer for your armpit. No hassle!

Aluminum destroys the nervous system preventing the glands from sweating... Not a good solution. Once the aluminum is in your body it travels to the brain causing more havoc.

Using "Aluminum chloride" on my underarms has cured my excessive underarm sweating which caused the awful body odor. No more sweat, no B. O. I bought it over the counter at a drug store. Its very effective. You apply it last thing at night in bed. Its a roll-on. One or two swipes is enough. But make sure your underarms, feet or affected areas were dry for at least an hour before applying. Then wash it off with soap in the morning. No more any need to apply deodorant or antiperspirant afterwards. Just dust some Baking Soda instead. And your SWEAT-FREE and ODOR FREE the whole day. But make sure before applying the aluminum chloride that 24hours had passed before or after shaving. Application is every night for two weeks then every other night then gradually twice a week usage. But baking soda is maintained everyday. I'm using the brand DRICLOR by Stiefel Lab Ltd. Its a very expensive topical deodorant compared to the usual ones. Price is almost 6 times higher. But in the long run, using it only twice a week, it proves to be the cheapest and most effective. 185ml lasts for 3 months at the least.

Fresh limes, (not lemons for some reason unknown to me) cut in half and save half in fridge and use other half under arms and pits at top of legs after shower and allow to dry (I use blow dryer) lasts 2-3 days for me. Three limes of any size a week should be enough unless you are a daily shower person. We are all individual but the salt deoderant stopped for me and I learned of this and it works amazingly for me!! Gotta love it!

My theory on why one armpit has odor and other one doesn't is related to lymph glands in the underarm area. If they are not flowing freely, the odor seems to happen. In my case, it was sitting for a long time using my laptop.. Arm close to my side, especially the right one. Not sure this was the cause, but seemed to help when I massaged under the arm in the shower.. You'll find tender spots. To prevent lymph blockage from happening, try taking breaks and moving the arms in circles, or massaging under arms if you are doing activities that keep your arms at your sides (typing, driving, writing, on phone, etc. ) Note: Tight clothing under arms will also create the same problem. Hope this helps.

I remember that it happened to me too. I also smelled like ammonia when I was bathing. That was long time ago. I toughed it was normal. I started two months ago drinking ACV with mother and all body odors are gone. I feel like when I was a kid. I am still amazed and I am even scared. Drinking ACV with mother have changed so much my skin for the better that I don't know if it is normal. Body odor is normal why is it gone? Please, somebody answer what is ACV with mother doing to me? I love the change but is it normal? I am over 50, why my skin is softer it feels great. I drink one tablespoon of ACV with the mother mixed with V8 before bed time. Today I added another drink before lunch. I feel the odor change in the whole body hair, feet, armpits and even mouth.

I just searched and it looks like either:

1. You are too acidic.
2. An infection with helicobacter, the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers, or by eating too much protein.
3. Foods you are eating.

About 2 months ago I noticed when showering that when I applied soap to my skin I got a strong odor of ammonia. At first I thought it was the soap but after changing brands the smell remained strong enough to burn my eyes. My only choice was to bathe with baking soda which works. I am in decent health for a 64 year old except for reflux which I have been using the vinegar recipe to help with. What causes this smell? Help please.

Hello, what was the exact brand name of the lye soap you bought? thank you

Try drinking liquid mint flavored chlorophyll 3x a day (2 tablespoons in 8oz water) and take a good quality probiotic. Also try adding more vegetables and fruits in your diet. Minimize/eliminate processed foods, coffee, soda, sugar in general. Get tested for any food allergies as well. Hope this helps ;)

Which product exactly are you taking? Mint chlorophyll?

How did you take the liquid kelp drops? was your body too alkalized and was that the reason for your bo?

Hello Granny laura, I would like to know how exactly you did it to get rid of your underarm odor. I believe its due to candida and I want to stop this embarrasing problem. Please help. Im desperate and depressed :(

Hi guys, I just want to share the solution I found for my body odor. I think I started having this awful odor in my underarms when I was in high school. It was so embarrassing and didn't enjoy my teenage life. I had always stayed at home because I was always afraid that my friends would smell me. It was terrible and I tried different ways to solve it but nothing worked. I took shower 3 times a day but just after a minute out of shower my underarms would stink. My clothes smelled bad. I really prayed that God would heal me and he answered my prayer. What I did was, I bought a bottle of Active charcoal. Here in the Philippines you can buy it for $3.47. It contains 50 capsules. I take it after lunch and dinner. When I shower I use a loofah in my underarms but I only scrub lightly. After shower I pat baking soda on it. On the first day I did it, it worked immediately. I've been doing this for 3 weeks now and I always smell good. The temperature here is always 35 degrees and I always sweat but I don't worry anymore because I don't smell bad. I'm so happy that I can do anything I want now. I washed my clothes with baking soda too, I mix it with the detergent. It was effective. I also tried rubbing allum on the armpit of my clothes and it was effective too. Now all my clothes don't smell bad anymore. I also had the vaginal smell but it was gone since I started taking active charcoal. I hope these solutions can help you too. Don't give up.

Drinking ACV made my body odor go away.

P.S. A quick fix for Body odor is a drop of handsanitizer on the armpit

For body odor try liquid chlorophyl internally. Most health stores carry it. Taken by 1teaspoon 2x day in glass of filtered water. Most are mint flavored so it tastes good.

With regards to aluminum in the crystal deodorant, 'potassium alum' and 'aluminum' are two different things. I believe the crystal to be safe and I use it every day.

Noelle, u r a funny man and I enjoyed ur post. im gonna do it just like you did, but I will have to get some grip tape for my shower. I dont wanna defeat the purpose by trying to get rid of b/o and break my neck dancing in the shower. That would be like the pharmicuticl companys saying here take this it will help with ur depression but whoops it destroys ur liver, just a minor side effect.

A huge breakthrough my friends!!! After spending a fortune trying to find a 'natural' alternative to the toxic deodorants on the market, I stumbled upon this homemade miracle:

You can follow the exact recipe or adapt it. I used around 55 grams of Bicarbonate Soda, 30 grams of corn flour and around 8 Tbs of coconut oil. (add more if you need to)
Mix it into a good consistency... Not too, runny not too thick. Put it in a glass jar. Voila! Rub a little under your arms and that's that. Your search is over. I swear by this. It truly works... And keeps on working. Yay! The manufacturers have just lost millions. :)
PS: I just had to share this one. I truly love this site. It's helped so many people. Many many thanks to Earth Clinic for all that you do.

WARNING!

I just heard that calamine lotion contains mercury and I checked the ingredients and there it was so beware!

I agree completely with Tom from Regina. For those people who doubt or are afraid of Lugol Iodine's efficacy, it would be useful to research the older history of Lugol Iodine's use -- which started round about 1829 when lugol's was discovered. Since this time, Lugol's Iodine was used quite successfully against the Asian Flu Epidemic of 1918, used for hypo and hyperthyroidism and was used regularly as a successful cure for allergies such as asthma in 6-9 mgs amounts as well as for a host of other ailments, including candida(Google "Orian Truss Candida").

Current research by the Iodine Project highlights the benefits of larger dose iodine -- backed up by the most current and up to date independent research, and also highlights something called "iodophobia" -- the successful spread, by the drugs companies, of the fear of iodine poisoning in order to belittle and sidetrack lugol's efficacy and thereby to simultaneously promote their own horrific synthetic drugs instead. Why else is lugol's iodine now sold only in 2 oz bottles? And why else is it so hard to purchase the original strength 5% Lugol's now? And, if it's so dangerous or poisonous, why is it so easy to buy Lugol's Iodine for you're dog, cat or horse from the vet?

It is only since the 1950s -- with the advent of the notorious Wolff-Chaikoff Effect report on Iodine's efficacy, that suggested iodine was both poisonous if taken in higher amounts than 1 mg and therefore useless if taken for hypo and hyperthyroid conditions. Dr Abraham's demolished the Wolff-Chaikoff findings as truly amatuerish research, that was simply used as "spoiler research" or "scare research" in order to destroy lugol iodine's useful medical reputation.

Here is Dr Abraham's rebuttal to the Wolf-Chaikoff research findings:

The Wolff-Chaikoff Effect: Crying Wolf?

And here is a link to a huge amount of other independent research on iodine -- which seems to heal everything from flu to fibroids to fibrocystic breast disease to candida to cancer -- but only in amounts over 100 or 1000 times greater than the current RDA of 150 micrograms a day. Here is the link to alot of the current iodine research:

Iodine Group Research

Could you provide a URL link and/or a short snip segment where you got that?

It's very deficient in basic chemistry and nutrition science, to say the least. It could be that the rare person with kidney disease will have electrolyte balancing problems, but the amount of K in LUGOLS or SSKI in mere drops is puny compared to any amount of food. Directly injecting ANY substance or element into the blood without it passing FIRST through the digestive system for proper surveillance and possible sequestration WILL have deadly consequences. In a large amount, it's called a lethal injection for exactly that reason and purpose! Case in point: squalene, found naturally in shark liver oil and olive oil, where it's just one of many substances the body uses. It's a major component of the nerves' myelin sheath insulation in mammals. Yet it's been found in vaccines, and we have major autoimmune diseases like ALS, MG, MS where the body's nerve sheaths are under attack.

Plus nascent Iodine is outrageously expensive per mg of Iodine compared to LUGOLS! http://purebulk.com/atomic-iodine-2-nascent
How pure is your Atomic Iodine 2% (nascent)?
You will receive one or more dropper bottles (see above quantity) of 2% Atomic Iodine, approximately 400mcg per drop (also about 200% RDA per drop). LUGOLS has 6. 25 mg TOTAL iodines per drop, in a 2:1 ratio of KI:Iodine. So the Iodine portion is about 2. 1 mg= 2100 micrograms per drop. This is about 5 times per drop what nascent iodine products have, not even counting the blatant fact that THE PRICE is about 10 times per ml vs LUGOLS! (120 ml nascent iodine is $114, vs about $12 for a 100 ml LUGOLS)

Of course Lugols (and SSKI) has potassium in it! That's the 'K' in SSKI, and Mr. Lugol early 1800's discovered that the only way to dissolve both forms of iodine (Iodine and iodide) in water was to first dissolve the KI, then the iodine will dissolve in the water:
http://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/HISTHTML/MANUALS/LUGOLS.PDF

That's not even considering the fact that LUGOLS, since it has BOTH forms of iodine, can supply any and every organ, gland and tissue by itself:

http://www.anticancerinfo.co.uk/Iodine.htm
The thyroid gland primarily uses iodide as does the skin; the breast and prostate glands use iodine; and other tissues including the kidneys, spleen, liver, blood, salivary glands and intestines can use either form.

Warning: Lugols Solution
Be very careful about using Lugols Solution orally because it contains Potassium Salts. According to Dr Mark Sircus a form of Potassium salt is used for lethal injections. He recommends using Nascent Iodine which is safe.

Just a note, I found ozonated olive oil (by several different manufacturers... on Amazon.. Be sure to read reviews to find the most effective one).

This is in response to your great idea for using iodine for deodorant. Using iodine in armpits has other benefits as well. Iodine is known for discouraging breast cysts and is also thought to be a deterrent to breast cancer. Since you use it under the arms.. It will get into lymph glands.. Very beneficial as deodorant and in getting iodine into glands near breasts! (Note: I suggest using the decolorized iodine to avoid "orange armpits" :) If you can't find decolorized iodine.. put some vitamin C powder in a small amount of filtered water and put on over the iodine.. It decolorizes the iodine AND Vitamin C is also a great natural deodorant! I also take Lugol's iodine orally as a deodorizing benefit, as well as the many other benefits of iodine. Have I mentioned.. I LOVE THIS SITE! All these people sharing resources and spreading knowledge.. Wish the world operated this way.. Sharing knowledge and caring for one another in this way!

Lemon and water cured my body odor
I have been suffering from very bad body odor all my life. I have to wash twice a day and use antiperspirants (which I am not so comfortable with). Then a friend told me about lemon water and it works wonders. First thing in the morning mix 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with a cup of water and drink. Make sure you don't have anything before it. Basically what it does is detoxes your liver so it has to be the first thing through your system. After a couple of days the odor was gone! No more antiperspirant! I do this everyday. If I miss a day, the odor returns. I have been doing this for about 8 months now and it is still just as effective.

I tried it, and it WORKS! For the past three days I have been outside in high temps doing physical labor and I have had ZERO smell! I keep checking, and am amazed at my lack of B. O. - At first I thought it might be residual effect from the antiperspirant I was using (so effective you can even skip a day was their old ad campaign) - But no, after the second day I should have stunk, and I didn't! I also love that MOM is not chock full of chemicals like the stuff I was using. Anything that gets chemicals out of my life is a good thing. :-) Thanks for posting on this Cat - much appreciation! Carly

MOM (Milk of magnesia) as a deodorant works sooo well! Without reapplying, my armpits stay dry and have NO smell. It is all I ever use now. My unconvinced husband, after much cajoling, decided to try it too. He's my big hairy guy who has rotated so many deodorants. They all worked for a couple of hours then quit. Not so milk of magnesia. It works outstandingly for him and he tested it a couple of days, constantly smelling his armpits. It was hilarious. Now, it is all HE uses as well. Bonus? He's more inclined to listen when I give him natural remedies, particularly when they are as cost effective as MOM. I think this much-needed site is pure genius. Peace out!

You can also use baking soda. I just wet my hands, pour a small amount in one hand, smear them together and swipe under each armpit! No more odor!

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!

I don't know what kind of reaction to the sun you are getting but...If you are taking antibiotics it is called photosensitivity. If your family has mediterranean blood, then it may be fungus. It kind of looks like darker patches of skin. If this is the case a dandruff shampoo (common blue store bought bottle) a couple of times a day works for me.

Delightful Home Made Baking Soda Deodorant...

Thoroughly Mix 2 tablespoons of Baking soda in water (About a cup of water but this really depends on the size of the spray bottle).

Once the baking soda has dissolved, pour the mixture into a glass spray bottle.

This method is easy, clean & works awesome!

* Special Note: Add your favourite essential oils to give it a pleasant scent : )

I have being using sodium bicarbonate, as deodorant, under my arms for almost 2 years now and never a problem. Do you shave it? because maybe that's why you feel pain. It really keep me without any bad smell all day.

I have tried almost all of the remedies posted on Earth Clinic for body odor the past few years -- apple cider vinegar, baking soda, milk of magnesia, magnesium oil, hydrogen peroxide, the thai crystals -- and they've all been pretty good... However, none have had long lasting results (ie, 24 hours) like lime juice.

I have been testing fresh lime juice on my armpits the past week and have to tell you all that this is BY FAR, the best home remedy for body odor that I have ever tried! After a shower, I squeeze a dime-sized amount of fresh lime juice into my palm and to apply each arm pit. The effect lasts all day, even through rigorous workouts and walks in the hot, humid weather with the dogs! What a phenomenal remedy.

Oh, by the way and in response to recent posts on the site about milk of magnesia for body odor, the reason why milk of magnesia may be effective for body odor is that one of the ingredients in it is chlorine (goes by the name sodium hypochlorite on some bottles of Milk of Magnesia)!! We confirmed it with manufacturer last year and stopped using it shortly thereafter. Read Connie's thread here for more info: https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/milk-of-magnesia.html#RF

P.S. If you apply the lime juice soon after shaving, it will burn for a good hour or more! I try to wait an hour or two before applying or I shave at night and then apply the lime juice first thing in the morning.

Hi Doctorwho732,

Consider going (if you're not already) with a mostly veggie and whole grain diet. For example, red meat - especially pork - changes the way your body smells, as does sugar. Sugar feeds a bacteria called candida - yes, same as what causes yeast infections in women - and it's present in all of us, all the time, but eating an unbalanced diet can make it thrive in your body and cause a host of crappy symptoms, among them bad body odor.

Also, stress body odor smells very different from sweat body odor - one's hard work sweat, the other smells bitter and stinky. If you're really tense, cut down on caffeine and get more exercise (a good idea in general). Try to figure out what's making you so anxious.

Look up 'candida diet' online, or go to a library / bookstore / health food store to learn more. Also research fungal infections (ie. athlete's foot, jock itch, warts) - fungus may also be contributing to bad body smell.... I suspect that improving what you eat and helping your immune system fight infections will help you a great deal. We are what we eat.

Good luck and happy healing :)

When I use baking soda for odor control I only use a tiny amount, If I add too much it does cause painful armpits. Or maybe alternate with a dab or apple cider vinegar.

use milk of magnesia, or an alum stone.

Have you tried milk of magnesia? It works just as good as baking soda.

I've just started to try coconut oil and it seems to be working. When I get up in the morning I put coconut oil under the arm, then I go for a brisk 1 1/2 hour walk. I used to smell terrible when I got home, now I don't. After I have my morning bath I use the coconut oil again. I don't know if it would last all day for everyone but I don't seem to have to reapply.I also ingest about 3 tablespoons per day, this could also be helping. The coconut oil is antibacterial, therefore killing the bacteria that causes the smell. Hope this helps.

Try Milk of Magnesium. It works wonderfully well for me.

Body Odor and Baking Soda

Hey everyone. So I've been going the holistic route in healing and I decided to try going without chemical deodorants. I've been without conventional deodorant for about 5 to 6 months now. However, I haven't been able to find any natural remedy that works. The baking powder one eliminates the odor, but causes me to have painful armpits. I also tried the acv remedy and it hasn't worked either. My BO is terrible and I would love some advice on what to do. I was thinking of maybe trying the baking soda with cornstarch to see if that helps any. Thank you for taking the time to help me.

I have the same issues you wrote about - how long did this take to work? I have tried EVERYthing, and nothing has worked so far....thanks so much for your time! Any other tips you could share would be great. Thanks so much!!!

In reading the posts on ACV and body odor I felt it important folks know that the generic brands are made from petrochemicals and NOT from food products like apples. Only the brand that starts with an "H" is made from apples along with the organic brands.

If the folks were using the store brand or generic brands then that could be why the ACV didn't work to rid them of the body odor - it's the apples that make it work! :o)

Actually it's spelled Hibiclens. For decades, I tried a zillion ideas for stopping underarm body odor. Recently I read about Hibiclens and it's the only one that's worked for me. I put it on when I get up in the morning, then rinse it off in the shower. It's really amazing how well it works. I bought it at for about $11/bottle.

I use liquid Cristal roll-on convinced that it was safe. It says Mineral Salt Protection. Paraben free. But in the ingredients I see: Aqua, Potassium Alum, Cellulose. It is made in the USA. One doesn't really know what to use... what is safe and not! They do have a website so I will contact them.

I use a natural deodrant stone from Thailand. The ingreidence say: Natural Mineral Salt, contains no harmful chemicals or aluminum. It is a product of Miracle....... Directions: simply wet the top of the crystal stick and apply underarms. This works for me, hope it helps others.

Thanks Marie...I have been using the crystal deodorant and wondered about it's contents. The lady at the health food store said it doesn't have aluminum in it but I wondered about it. I'll stop using it now.

Please do NOT use crystal deodorants! They are actually aluminium in raw form. You are simply adding to a much worse long term problem.

Body Odor

This is what I have found out from experiences with this embarassing situation that I had to deal with for a long time myself. I've done the ACV and hydrogen peroxide treatments and they do help but only momentarily and have to be applied constantly. A lot of the suggestion are just cover-ups to keep the smell down but does not really cure the problem or get to the root of the cause. The cause I have determined comes from a smelly colon. The stench from the colon backs up in the body and finds release through the sweat glands under the arm. I can bet that most if not everybody who has this problem also has smelly fecal matter. The body has to get rid of these toxins otherwise you could get very sick. I noticed that whenever I did a colon cleanse that my perspiration would have no smell but as soon there was any constipation the smelliness comes back. Therefore the solution is to keep your colon clean, eat foods rich in fibre, drink enough fluids to aid in excretion and your liver in top condition for that plays a very important role in waste disposal. You might need to do a colon and liver cleanse to clean things up and go from there. Epsom salts is a great way of cleaning the entire intestinal system...doesn't taste great but awesome results

A friend works for a toiletry manufacturer and he explained to me how antiperspirants work. Applied aluminum clogs the pores to stop you from perspiring and doesn't need to be applied every day because the aluminum stays in your pores.

After that I stopped using commercial antiperspirants and deodorants as I figured that can't be a good thing for my body. I have used a mineral salt deodorant stick ever since.