What the Heck is Body Odor?
Body odor is what happens when your sweat mixes with the bacteria on your skin. Our skin is covered by a number of different bacterial species. Sweat itself doesn’t have a smell. The odor is really a result of the bacteria on your skin combining with your sweat. When we sweat, the water, salt and fat present in sweat combines with bacteria and causes an odor. The smell from B.O. can vary, it can be pungent (think onions), sweet, tangy or have no smell at all.
What Affects Body Odor?
There are various factors that can affect body odor, including diet, stress, and certain health conditions. The types and amounts of bacteria in the armpit vary among individuals and can even change over time.
This implies that certain individuals are naturally less susceptible to body odor, whereas others may require extra steps to regulate it. It also means that your B.O. will change depending on the products you use and consume. For example, high consumption of meat, alcohol and garlic is linked to a more pungent B.O.
Further, the smell of sweat is not related to how much you sweat. A person can have a strong body odor without sweating much, whereas another can be drenched and not smell at all. This is because body odor results from the byproducts of bacteria and how they interact with your sweat.
The Link with the Skin Microbiome
This may come as a shock, but there are actually billions of microscopic organisms like bacteria, viruses, fungi and more, that live on your skin. Just like those found in the gut or mouth, the microorganisms known as the ‘skin microbiome’ play a crucial role in maintaining the health of your skin.
Bacterial communities on your skin keep it healthy by preventing foreign microbial infections and imbalances of the skin’s pH.
The same way our gut lining is our line of defense against microbes, the skin bacteria work hard to keep everything in check. However, when that ecosystem is disrupted, the skin becomes vulnerable to a shift in pH, and inflammation, making it susceptible to infections, rashes and skin conditions like acne and eczema.
The Problem with Conventional Deodorants and Antiperspirants
As highlighted in the piece "What You Should Understand About Deodorants & Antiperspirants", conventional antiperspirants and deodorants not only obstruct the natural sweating process of our bodies and pose potential health hazards, but they also appear to disturb the microbiome in our underarms.
The ingredients found in the products on the market today are antiseptic (think antibiotic) which means they kill bacteria that causes body odor under your arms. Unfortunately, these chemicals don’t just kill the bacteria that causes B.O., they also kill the good guys in your microbiome which are fundemental to your skin’s health. As your microbiome is destroyed, this initiates your body’s immune response known as inflammation - which rushes blood and nutrients to the area in the form of irritation to help the area heal.
How to Keep your Underarm Bacteria Happy
Even though you may be going about your day, thinking you found the perfect deodorant for your constitution. You may be thinking ‘I found the right scent and I don’t sweat’! Think again. When you stop using that product or make a switch, you will notice a pungent smell, which comes from the bacterial communities that have adapted to your previous daily armpit routine. Everyone using these products are messing with their skin microbiome on a daily basis.
With the increasing data available pointing towards the influence of our bacteria on everything from immunity, mental health, to obesity and chronic disease, it's no surprise the bacteria in our skin impact B.O.
So what can we do to keep the microbial peace in our armpits? That’s easy, we need to transition to natural deodorants. If you’re interested in making the switch and want a smooth transition, be sure to check out our post Detox Your Pits: How to Transition to a Natural Deodorant.