Dr. Rosenberg's Ten Tips on Smelling Well

Much of body odor comes from bacteria which break down secretions from our armpits. Dr. Rosenberg's research on body odors has led to novel formulations for deodorants, deodorant soap, and shoe spray. Here are ten tips for smelling well:

1. Wear fabrics made of natural materials such as cotton and wool. Polyesters are notorious for contributing to body odor.

2. Shower regularly, cleaning odorous areas (underarm, groin and bottom) with soapy wash towel. By the way, unless you work in a grimy job, you don't have to soap most of your body when you shower. The important areas to soap regularly are the head, neck, underarms, belly bottom, groin and bottom, and feet. Dry your whole body well after showering.

3. Much of our body odor comes from our armpits. Deodorants help prevent odor by inhibiting the bacteria that produce them. Antiperspirants prevent the armpit from sweating (thus depriving the bacteria of nutrients and moisture), but they may not be wholesome. Antiperspirants contain aluminum, which is a compound that I try to stay away from.

4. Wash your shirt/blouse. It smells much worse the second time you wear it (so does underwear, of course).

5. Try, if possible, to wash your bottom after you defecate. Toilet paper can spread the mess around.

6. Give your feet a chance to 'breathe'. They weren't created to spend the whole day in shoes and the whole night in socks.

7. Shower and change clothes after being in a smoky place. The cigarette smoke lingers on your clothes and hair. The same also goes for smelly places, such as pizzerias.

8. Because the bacteria that cause body odors thrive on warmth and moisture, people tend to smell more in hot, humid environments. Keep groin and feet as dry as possible.

9. Throw out old perfumes, colognes and aftershaves. They go bad after a few years.

10. Buy reputable good quality perfumes. Cheap ones can smell really awful. By the way, perfumes do not smell all that different on different women, as sales people would have you believe. What does have an effect (sometimes not a good one) is using a variety of scented products at the same time.