How to get rid of smelly underarms: Grooming and hygiene tips

Wondering how to avoid armpit odour? When sweat mixes with bacteria on the skin, it can cause some less-than-pleasant scents that, though natural, aren’t always welcome. While deodorants help, your hygiene and grooming also play a major part in managing bad body odours.

 

From answering ‘does shaving armpits reduce smell?’ to easy tips to avoid underarm smells, keep your pits fresh with our guide to armpit grooming.

What causes the underarms to smell?

 

The good news is that sweat itself is actually odourless. This means you can be really sweaty and not actually smell, making a session at the gym before a train ride home a little easier to deal with.¹

 

When looking into ‘does shaving underarms reduce odour?’, it’s useful to know that smelly armpits are caused when your odourless sweat comes into contact with the bacteria on your skin.¹ How you smell depends on the type of bacteria present and how they react with your sweat, and it’s this combination that can lead to some pretty strong and unpleasant scents.

 

In particular, you’ll need to watch out for areas where there’s a lot of body hair, like under your armpits. Hair can collect bacteria and, when mixed with sweat (which there’s plenty of thanks to the 2-4 million sweat glands across the whole body²), it creates body odour. But what impact does removing body hair have on this? Well, this leads us nicely onto our next section exploring ‘will shaving armpits reduce smells?’ – so read on to find out more!

Will shaving armpits reduce smells?

 

If you shave your armpits, does it smell less? The short answer is yes – potentially.

 

If you’re looking for a way to avoid smelly armpits, shaving your underarm hair can reduce the surface area on which bacteria thrive. With less surface area, you might see a reduction in the bacteria around your sweat glands, making it easier to keep your skin clean and odour-free.

 

So, if you’re wondering whether men should shave their armpits, it might come down to a question of hygiene alongside your personal preferences.

 

Obviously, this is not the only influence on body odour, sometimes some underlying health conditions can cause bad body odour, and simply shaving to avoid smelly armpits will not quite cut it – but we’ll cover this in a separate section further down.

How to get rid of smelly underarms

 

When exploring how to avoid armpit odour, remember that grooming and personal hygiene are crucial. Now that we’ve answered the question of ‘does shaving underarms reduce smell?, this is a great place to start.

 

Try trimming or shaving underarm hair regularly to reduce body odour. A device like Philips OneBlade Intimate offers a gentle, skin-friendly way to shave or trim armpit hair without irritating your skin. Designed specifically for sensitive body parts such as underarms and intimate areas, you can shave in any direction thanks to the bi-directional blade, making it easier to reach every spot of your underarms. Shave your hair off completely or attach the trimming comb for a little more length.

 

Do you like to shave in the shower? OneBlade Intimate is 100% waterproof for a shave that suits you.

 

For a super smooth underarm shave that will help you on your quest of how to get rid of smelly underarms, grooming best practices include:

 

• Cleaning your armpits first to remove deodorant and dirt buildup
  
• Using shaving cream to reduce friction and irritation for a smooth and gentle shave
  
• Making sure you use a sharp, clean razor blade
  
• Shaving with short strokes in all directions - up, down, and sideways to catch all the little hairs

 

Will shaving your armpits reduce sweat? Give it a go and see the results for yourself.

Hygiene tips to avoid underarm smell

 

It’s not just shaving that can help you avoid smelly armpits. Other tips to avoid underarm smells include:

 

1. Washing daily with an antibacterial soap
   
2. Exfoliating (such as with a gentle yet effective body scrub or glove) once or twice a week to remove bacteria build-up
   
3. Drying your underarms thoroughly after washing to avoid new bacteria growth
   
4. Using a deodorant or antiperspirant that suits your skin type
   
5. Wearing breathable fabrics, like cotton and viscose
   
6. Avoiding fabrics like polyester and nylon

 

There are also a few lifestyle changes that you can consider to avoid smelly armpits. Spicy foods, onion, and garlic could all make your sweat smell more pungent, for example, while diets higher in fruits and vegetables are associated with pleasant, sweeter-smelling sweat.³

Wondering ‘why do my armpits smell after shaving?’. Your razor might be too old. For optimal performance and to reduce bacteria, replace your blade at least every 4 months.

When to seek medical advice

 

If cleaning daily and answering the question of ‘does shaving underarms reduce smell?’ isn’t cutting it when looking at how to get rid of smelly underarms, it might be time to seek medical advice. Persistent or unusually strong smells could be a sign of an underlying condition that leads to excessive body odours, like diabetes or hormonal imbalances.⁴

 

You may also experience excessive sweating. In this case, answering ‘does shaving underarms reduce odour’ and the hygiene tips above can help, but you may also need medical treatments to reduce the amount you sweat.

 

From ‘will shaving my armpits reduce sweat?’ to tips on how to keep bacteria at bay, you’re now armed with everything you need to tackle smelly underarms. Remember, too, that the right grooming tools – like the OneBlade Intimate – and smart lifestyle choices can make a big difference in keeping underarm odours under control. Switch up your hygiene routine to ditch bad smells for good.