Beauty | 23 August 2011 13:28 CET

Causes and symptoms of body odour

By ADA DIKE

Body odour is the unpleasant smell that oozes from a person's body because of the bacteria growing on it.

The notion among people that perspiration or sweating causes body odour is wrong. It may surprise you, but it is not perspiration that causes body odour; rather, it is the bacteria that get accumulated on the skin. The bacteria release unpleasant smelling chemicals which, in turn, cause body odour. These bacteria multiply rapidly in the presence of sweat and this is why people smell more when they perspire.
Using deodorants only worsen the situation as it contains various toxic chemicals, which further aggravate the problem.

However, the problem of body odour can be sorted out by resorting to home remedies.

Home remedy for body odour

· To prevent body odour, drink a glass of water in the morning on an empty stomach with 500 mg wheat grass. The chlorophyll present in the grass will help in reducing body odour.

· You can also apply baking soda to your armpits and your feet to reduce body odour.

· While bathing, add alcohol or white vinegar to a mug of water and use it to rinse the armpits. This will definitely help in lessening the body odour.

· One of the simple home remedies for body odour is to put a few drops of rose water in the bathtub before taking bath. It will give you a long-lasting freshness and serve as a good substitute for deodorant.

· To reduce the pH of the skin and eliminate armpit odour, one can use apple cider vinegar, instead of deodorant. Put it in a mug of water and use it to rinse the armpits while bathing.

· Take showers, at least, thrice in a day when you tend to sweat a lot.

· Prepare a homemade deodorant with the juice of about two dozen radishes and 1/4 teaspoon glycerin. Mix the liquid well and pour into a spray-top bottle. Spray this in the armpits to fight body odour. Remember to store it in fridge.

· During hot season, you can apply the baby powder or talc to your armpits in place of deodorants.

· Pour some white vinegar on a cotton ball and wipe your underarms with the cotton. While the vinegar smell would fade some time, you would remain smell-free for the rest of the day.

· Mix two drops of the tea tree oil (essential oil) and one ounce of water. Pour this in a spray-top bottle and use as a deodorant. Since tea tree is an antibacterial herb, it will act favourably in preventing body odour.

· Mix 10 drops of the essential oil in 30 ml water. Apply this mixture on the armpits to reduce body odour.

· Turnip juice is also effective in removing body odour. Grate a turnip and squeeze the grated pieces to extract the juice. Apply this juice on your underarms.

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