Soap questions.

I am a 16 year old guy. I have BO and plenty of it. As such I use very strong smelling dollar store (dollar general to be exact) shower gel, but it occasionally makes my skin (particularly in sweaty places like pits and nethers). I am very soon due for some more soap, and I was wondering what y'all's suggestions would be in. Either bar or gel form. The soap needs to be very good at covering teenage BO, and would preferably not cause random itching fits.

Thanks!

I used to like Irish Spring and Old Spice body washes if you're on a tighter budget. If not, I recently came across Bath and Body Works brand body wash and CO Bigelow body wash. They have a good selection of scents and are pretty high quality.

Good luck with everything!

Primarily, you should look for a soap that cleans the bacteria away, over one that just smells nice. Killing the bacteria that stinks, is much more effective than masking it with something that just smells nice. I agree with "abragus" on Irish Spring or Old Spice, if you are on a budget and if body washes work for you. For me, body washes just go on too easy and wash off too easy leaving a nice scent behind only. Once the refreshing scent wears off, look out! I find I get best results scrubbing with a wash cloth and a good lather from a soap bar. When the scent wears off, I'm still left feeling clean with very little to no odour. Good luck finding what works best for you! If your budget allows a higher priced, quality soap there are about a billion great choices for you to consider in the Soap of the Day thread.

Check out Dial...the white version is (obviously...) without colored dyes.

I use Dial...I wish everybody did! [channeling commercial from the 50s...]

What about this soap? http://www.ebay.com/itm/151417696154?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I have never used it, but seems pretty inexpensive and if it kills bacteria, that should handle the BO issue as noted above.

Good luck.

Apart from the suggestions of others, I have a something for you to possibly consider... The itching might be due to colder and/or dryer weather. I live in Michigan where it can get very cold and very dry in the winter. As much as I love taking hot showers during the winter, I have to turn the shower temp down a bit, or else my skin gets dried out under my armpits and on my elbows. If you're spending extra time washing your pits and other spots, this might dry the skin out even more.

One of the frustrating things about being a teen is that you go through so many bodily changes, so it's hard to find routines and products to lock into to. I hope you find something that works!

Some gels are detergents, which can strip too many natural skin emollients away. Many also contain lots of chemicals. I avoid them.

Try some old fashioned, traditional soaps. I find they dry my skin out less and are superior in a variety of ways. And, you can easily find some not very expensive one's with ingredients so simple you recognize everything.

I like Dr. Bronner's soaps, which are very natural, wholesome, have great fragrances, and are pretty widely available at health food and natural joints, including Whole Foods and Trader Joes (who, btw, both carry other good, natural soaps and personal care products). Try glycerine soaps, which can be gentler on the skin. Consider a natural deodorant, as well.

You cant go wrong with a bar of pure olive oil soap and a alum block (crystal brand or simalar ) as a deodorant. All I use and believe my after years of itching pits and down below it stopped it dead. Transpired I have a reaction to any kind of aluminium in anti pesrperants or canned deoderants. Took 30 plus years to go and see a dermatoligist.

I've found that bar soap works better for me than body washes.

dwsteen said:

Primarily, you should look for a soap that cleans the bacteria away, over one that just smells nice. Killing the bacteria that stinks, is much more effective than masking it with something that just smells nice.

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This is exactly right. Listen to me when I tell you: use Hibiclens. Hibiclens is a surgical handscrub that obliterates microbes, but is gentle on the skin. Here's how you use it:

- wash up with a normal soap, and rinse off

- turn off the shower, apply Hibiclens under your arms, and leave it on for at least a full minute

- rinse off, towel off, apply deodorant

You should notice a definite improvement; it might even do away with your BO altogether. No other regular soap will have the same effect. I once recommended it to a friend who had a problem with BO similar to yours; it helped him a lot. It also helps when used on your junk. (Sorry if this sounds odd, but you'd be amazed how many men - not just teenagers - don't realize that their nether regions can get rather funky smelling. Using Hibiclens down there will take care of that problem, too.)

Hibiclens can be a little spendy. In terms of price, the best place to get it is at Costco, via the pharmacy. No prescription is required; that's just where they carry it. It can be found at pretty much any major drug store, too, like Walgreens, and also Wal-Mart. Grocery stores often don't carry it, though.

Edit: forgot to mention, trimming or shaving your underarm hair will help control the odor as well. Doing so allows your deodorant to come into better, more direct contact with the skin, and eliminates surface area where bacteria can congregate.

All soap is anti-bacterial. Soap bonds with bacteria and dissolves it away. The label "anti-bacterial" on soap is rather silly. See this article:

http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/news/20070817/plain-soap-as-good-as-antibacterial

However, there are certain essential oils that are blended with soaps that increase the anti-bacterial properties even further. The most potent of which is tea tree oil.

I will also say that activated charcoal is incredible at absorbing odor. I personally wash with a coconut oil/activated charcoal blended soap, and it removes ALL odors from my body.

This is the soap I use:

http://store.elegantroseboutique.co...essential_oil_soap-facial_soap_bar-detox_soap

StuMcB said:

You cant go wrong with a bar of pure olive oil soap and a alum block (crystal brand or simalar ) as a deodorant. All I use and believe my after years of itching pits and down below it stopped it dead. Transpired I have a reaction to any kind of aluminium in anti pesrperants or canned deoderants. Took 30 plus years to go and see a dermatoligist.

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+1 on the alum block (I use thai crystal), but I find pure castile olive oil soap to be a poor latherer. It is incredible for your skin, no doubt, but I generally prefer a coconut oil/olive oil blend as a thicker lather helps better remove the smells.

ncsuactor84BNB said:

All soap is anti-bacterial. Soap bonds with bacteria and dissolves it away. The label "anti-bacterial" on soap is rather silly. See this article:

http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/news/20070817/plain-soap-as-good-as-antibacterial

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I agree with this statement, and don't use so-called "antibacterial" soaps. However, to avoid confusion, I will point out that the Web MD article was discussing consumer-grade soaps containing the active ingredient triclosan. Hibiclens is not in the same category. It is a pharmaceutical-grade, surgical hand scrub containing the active ingredient chlorhexidine gluconate.

According to Wikipedia, chlorhexidine:

...is particularly effective against Gram-positive bacteria (in concentrations ≥ 1 µg/l). Significantly higher concentrations (10 to more than 73 μg/ml) are required for Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. Chlorhexidine is ineffective against polioviruses and adenoviruses. The effectiveness against herpes viruses has not yet been established unequivocally

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So, I may have oversold it by saying it "obliterates microbes," since it is less effective against certain viruses than against bacteria and fungi. However, it should not be lumped in with the average "antibacterial" soaps prevalent in the home-use market.

I'll also point out that I'm not a shill for Hibiclens, and I have no stake in whether or not anybody uses it. I just have had good results using it myself, and figured it could help the OP.

Well, if you're going to perform surgery, then yes, perhaps you need a hand scrub with additional anti-microbial properties.

I actually looked up a few articles on preparation techniques that surgeons use before going into a sterile environment. They do recommend hand scrubs with chlorhexidine and triclosan (albeit in higher concentrations that what you'll find in grocery store soaps), but far more important is the amount of time spent actually lathering the hands and arms.

I honestly think that the quality of the lather and the amount of time spent scrubbing your hands will wash off far more bacteria than using a soap with an antimicrobial agent in it.

ncsuactor84BNB said:

...far more important is the amount of time spent actually lathering the hands and arms.

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Agreed, which is why I instructed OP to let the cleanser sit, undiluted, for a full minute before rinsing. For surgery, three minutes is more like it, but he just wants to get rid of stinky bacteria, not perform an operation with his underarms.

ncsuactor84BNB said:

I honestly think that the quality of the lather and the amount of time spent scrubbing your hands will wash off far more bacteria than using a soap with an antimicrobial agent in it.

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Remember, I'm recommending chlorhexidine to help combat armpit BO, not to get one's hands sterile enough for surgery. You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but my firsthand experience tells me that potent antimicrobial washes can do more to combat persistent, bacteria-caused bodily odors than plain soap can. People can choose to believe it or not.

I'll let it drop at this point, since, as I said, it really makes no difference to me if the OP gets rid of his stinky pits or not, assuming I don't have to share an elevator with him. But I don't really understand why you're so quick to poo-poo what could be an effective option for him. What's the harm in him trying it out?

Soaps aside, maybe you should try observing what you usually eat. A lot of people say that what you eat affects how you smell. Maybe you should try cutting down your processed or junk food intake. It could be that you like eating onions or garlic. These has sulfurous gases that may make your sweat smell bad. Drinking too much alcohol may also make you smell bad.

^All great points. At least for now, I would keep things simple and leave this as being a 16 year old teenage male as the culprit.

You may not want to hear this, but shaving your armpits is a great way to battle BO. It's weird at first, but I'm very happy that I do it. A lot of guys do.

I also prefer bar soaps to body washes. You don't want to rely on scent, to cover up the smell. You want to eliminate the source. I feel that soaps do a better job. Plain simple Dial or Irish Spring are great.

The Crystal deodorants are nice to.

Barbra Innis said:

Soaps aside, maybe you should try observing what you usually eat. A lot of people say that what you eat affects how you smell. Maybe you should try cutting down your processed or junk food intake. It could be that you like eating onions or garlic. These has sulfurous gases that may make your sweat smell bad. Drinking too much alcohol may also make you smell bad.

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YES! Very very true.

For whatever reason, I've become more aware of smells the last few years. I can usually tell pretty quick if someone has an issue with alcohol by way of their personal odor.

When I was in the Marine Corps, I was introduced to regular Dial. The yellow bar.
There was a phase in my 20's when I wanted to smell like some pretty guy and used the most advertised body washes in the hopes that the girls would flock to me. No dice.
So, I went back to Dial and have never looked back. It seems to work, as my wife is gorgeous and does not mind being close to me.
Good luck man, it's tough being your age with all the changes you're going through.
You will get past it though!