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Comment by jasode | Hacker News Reader

Of the few people I've worked with IRL that proclaim they don't shower and insist they don't need to, all of them have an unpleasant odor to others. I also remember this one guy that does shower but only with water and never any soap and he always had a metallic or copper residual smell (maybe from sweat?) that was very off putting.

The issue many don't account for is olfactory fatigue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olfactory_fatigue

It's similar to people with bad breath not being aware that others can smell their bad breath.

Maybe there are some folks with a natural body chemistry that can rinse with just water but I've never met a real example of this.

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I was in no soap mode for a year, had to quit because other people would notice my light odor and, those close to me, would call it out. It was simply out of the social norm.

Still, I loved it. I liked my odor, and I like or dislike others body odors, they are signals and part of what we perceive of someone. What I can't handle are perfumes and cosmetic smells. When the elevator was used by the oldspice, shaving cream, half bottle perfume neighbor I can't go afterwards. The 30 secs trip is too much for my nose and palate. I would rather have the sweaty after gym smell. Perfumes are like masks.

I would really like to go around smelling like me. I also have a big nose.

> people would notice my light odor and, those close to me, would call it out

I do not know nearly enough about this situation to make a judgement and can only talk about my environment, but if anyone, close or not, would comment on my looks or odor then none of them would ever think of the term "light". I've worked with homeless people, and it takes a lot for most to mention rather touchy subjects like this - exactly because a person's life circumstances are such a sensitive and private matter.

The only smell I absolutely cannot stand is the smell of cigarettes and people who just smoked one. Perfumes, sweat, strong body odor, who cares, it's not my body. But cigarette smell makes me want to avoid you like the plague. It's just too piercing to ignore.

Absolutely - pointing out that somebody smells is hugely awkward. You have to smell really bad for people to get over that awkwardness and tell you.

I do not smoke and I cannot stand cigarette smoke, but pipe smells so good. Not sure how it's smoke smells on clothes though.

Have you tried unperfumed products? I would assume in your situation that you've considered them, you can't make that elevator guy use them but they might help you out.

I rarely use perfume either, and not too fond of it, but I do shower mostly daily, with unscented shower oil.

Have you tried something like this?

https://incidecoder.com/products/eucerin-calming-body-wash-d...

It's as effective as a regular soap, but my skin is much less dry.

You can use natural olive oil soap and unscented deodorants and continue smelling like you.

People tend to think that all soap are same, but I only use olive oil soap made by people I know personally and use no shampoo.

Add some deodorant and presto. Healthy, natural and clean.

I think this is a "beauty is in the eye of the beholder thing", only with noses. Which smells you find offensive are a product of what you're used to. I'm not too fond of that typical "homeless musk" (which sounds offensive, but I'm struggling to think of a more neutral term). I can take or leave manure. But I absolutely cannot stand strong soaps & perfumes. YMMV, I suffer from migraines and my nose is particularly sensitive.

When I was young I did not feel the body odor on me either. I was put in front of the spotlight before lesson that I smell and I was told to use a deodorant (the teacher told me in front of the class). I felt so ashamed. Because of this experience I am very conscious of how I smell now. Extremely so.

Shaming people's natural body odor shouldn't be the norm. It's quite distasteful and intolerant in fact (even sometimes a clear sign of racism). If someone gets offended by someone's BO, I would suggest them to reevaluate themselves as a human being and try to be tolerant of other's human nature.

I shower irregularly, when needed. Obviously more after a special sweat inducing effort or getting dirty outdoor. I don't stink, I smell human.

I find it offensive that someone would be so insensitive to have the nerve to express a displeasure at my natural body odor, when most often than not they would be the ones flouting a strong headache inducing chemical deodorant and/or perfume smell.

Living in a diverse society doesn't mean that everybody should be as bland as possible, but instead that efforts have to be made to be tolerant of others as they are.

So F* your teacher, shame on them

I suppose I can understand if some people are put off by it, but I do not think that I should have been told this in front of the entire class like that. I have not felt more ashamed in my entire life than I did then. She should have talked to me about it in private, perhaps after lesson or something I do not know, but not shaming me in front of the entire class like that.

Too poo is also human. That teacher was a massive jerk, but walking around reeking because it is human is not much better.

Yeah, "I don't smell" is an oxymoron because how one smells is something determined by others, not oneself. I bet these people reek.

There is a literature on hunter-gatherers who wash infrequently but do not smell. The phenomenon exists.

The differences in lifestyle are so numerous, though, that it isn't really understood what's going on.

The theories I know there are centered on different compositions of skin bacteria. Sweat is decomposed over time by certain bacteria, producing a characteristic "old sweat" smell. People you interact with can transfer some of their skin bacteria to you, equalizing smell within a social group. Environmental factors such as use of soap, clothes, UV radiation on the skin and nutrition also influence which bacteria are able to live on your skin. So it sounds entirely plausible that there are populations of humans that do not smell, even without washing.

But I agree that this is far from settled from what I've read.

I expect that if someone stumbles on a true "fix" for body odor, it'll involve inoculation of better microbes, from live soil maybe (many animals love to roll in dirt for some reason), and then avoiding killing those microbes. Also finding a diet that creates less odor for you. Maybe always rinsing off sweat as soon as it shows up. And so on.

But not that you simply stop washing and keep living as normal.

> But not that you simply stop washing and keep living as normal.

Eh, it's worked in the past. Japanese encountering Europeans for the first time recorded their complaints about the Europeans' odor. This was presumably not an issue for the Europeans among themselves.

If everyone stopped washing, there wouldn't be an odor problem. There would be odors, but they wouldn't be a problem. Why is that worse than the "washing" mode?

Because you’d rather people not in your social group not smell foul to you. The “con guy” stereotype is real and it’s quite unpleasant.

Isn't it odd that Europeans didn't complain about Japanese odor?

No, why would it be? We're stipulating that the Europeans had an odor the Japanese didn't. But how was that a problem for the Europeans?

I mean, it sounds like the Japanese objectively did not smell bad. You also hear about the Latin Americans complain about the stench of Columbus and his crew. Was it just the stench of sailors, or did these cultures know a fix?

Repeating something I've read on the internet: there are people who lack the sweat glands which produce the kind of sweat that stinks. It's a somewhat rare genetic mutation. Their sweat is basically almost only water. They can wear the same shirt for a week and the shirt, after drying up, is as if they was just washed!

I am that anomaly. I change my shirt twice a week, not because it smells but because it gets dirty from the environment (spills, rubbing against something etc).

It takes about 7 days of no showers to have a noticeable smell. However I prefer showering daily or every other day because I enjoy taking a shower at the end of the day.

I also don't need deodorant. I used it once as a teen and saw no purpose for it.

I’ve had many people tell me that have this special mutation. They all stunk.

I suppose it is possible and I’m around them all the time without knowing. But I’ve probably encountered 30 people who said this and it’s kind of an odd thing to mention to coworker or classmate or casual friend. But they all had an unpleasant odor. Aside from maybe 1-2 close friends I never argued with them or confronted them, but thought it was funny how they would go out of their way to say they don’t stink but they actually do.

Helps remind me that I’m probably wrong about many things I deeply believe are right.

How do you meet 30 people who, apropos nothing, change the conversation to them not stinking? Do you live in some hotbed of weirdness? (like San Francisco perhaps).

I’m old and have met thousands of people. I’d say I’ve had at least an hour long conversation with at least a thousand people through dinners, classes, parties, work, etc

I certainly don’t change the conversation to this topic and that’s why I’ve noted that I think it’s odd that 30 people would mention how they don’t need to wear deodorant due to their lack of stinking.

The annoying thing is that more people think they have this trait than actually do. Then you're in the awkward position of not only telling them they stink, but having to fight the uphill battle of changing their mind rather than just making them aware

The ABCC11 gene. The odorless version is very common in Asia

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