Teenage Niff Combative Soap

[kdm]

You know the way teenagers develop a certain ... aroma? Even if they wash twice a day, they still have teenager smell? Clearly not everyone can detect it (or there'd surely be a remedy) but I can. Which means others can.

Anyway, can anyone recommend a recipe for (or an additive to) a bar soap which might ease the problem?

I recognise that the majority of soap exists to take away the pong of people, but there must be something which can target teenage biology?

Thanks,

 

[Catscankim]

I used to always yell at my daughter that she smelled like a wet dog lol.

And they seem to go through a greasy hair stage... even if she showered in the morning, she came home with greasy hair and smelled like a wet dog LOL

Maybe it was from gym glass, I dunno. One night she came in bed with me to watch a movie im like “You smell like scalp go get a shower!!”

My ex bfs nephews head used to smell like vinegar. We used to call him vinegar boy. She started shaving his head, but it didnt work for cutting the smell.

 

[earlene]

They are producing a lot of hormones and I suspect that has a lot to do with the odor, but also diet contributes a lot to body odor as well, and from my experience they just don't eat the same way we do as we get older or start to care about nutrition.

Anyway, I personally have not found a soap that can truly deodorize skin in a lasting way. Once its washed, rinsed and dried, the skin will do what the skin does, which is to secrete via sweat a variety of body by-products. Greasy hair also comes from sweating these body by-products and from eating the way we eat, as well as environmental factors.

The trouble with hoping for a soap that will eliminate or decrease natural odors (yes, it's natural), is that soap only works while it is being used, and it doesn't really have any time-release option like some medications.

I'd suggest diligent & frequent linen changes, aggressive laundering practices, & make daily or twice daily showers a requirement on days of excessive exertion. Why even, a rousing game on the XBOX can make person sweat excessively! Oh, and insist they use soap. My granddaughter has been known to take an extended shower and NEVER even touch the soap. That does very little to remove any body odors. And yes, I think they may be oblivious to the odor themselves.

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

I use Rosemary EO to combat the smell of my dogs' stinky frito feet. Maybe that would help.

 

[maryloucb]

Oh my gosh--the stench of a teen or 'tween hockey player is indescribable! If you find anything that works, let me know!!

 

[kirsten.]

Ok, I don't claim expert on much, but I work with teens in an inpatient hospital setting, and I am gonna call this one - It's not the soap, my friend, it's the technique!

You can't assume they're actually WASHING their hair, or rinsing it, or spreading actual lather on their skin... Time in the vicinity of running water does not a clean teen make.

Looking forward to another long day of talking in close quarters with the closest-smelling kin to goats.

 

[user 49910]

Peppermint oil scent in soap works great! When I was in my 20's I used Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Castile Liquid Soap and it worked wonders for strong body odor due to me working outside in the heat and such.

Twenty years ago I got into making liquid soaps using rosin as an oil and pure Peppermint Essential oil. Made great thick luxurious lather and most people who tried liked it better than Dr. Bronner's. Catherine Failor's book - Making Natural Liquid Soaps - has a couple of great liquid soaps using rosin.

 

[AliOop]

When we lived in Texas, my pits stank non-stop, no matter how often I washed or what deo I used. Out of desperation, I dropped about $50 on a spray bottle of Mother Dirt's AO+ Mist. It contains beneficial bacterial that supposedly reset your skin's bacterial balance. It did wonders for me as long as I used it faithfully. Thankfully, when we moved to a drier climate, I no longer needed it.

Might be worth a try for those of you with stinky teens around, although I agree, their particular smell may have more to do with hormones and diet.

 

[Mistrael]

You know the way teenagers develop a certain ... aroma? Even if they wash twice a day, they still have teenager smell? Clearly not everyone can detect it (or there'd surely be a remedy) but I can. Which means others can.

Anyway, can anyone recommend a recipe for (or an additive to) a bar soap which might ease the problem?

I recognise that the majority of soap exists to take away the pong of people, but there must be something which can target teenage biology?

Thanks,

Kids have to care before they'll wash well enough to stop stinking. Also, the quickest cure for oiliness - be it hair or face - is less washing, not more. Don't wash hair more than every other day (rinsing is fine), don't wash faces more than twice/day and then use toner (pref Thayer's) and a light moisturizer. Washing more often causes oil production to increase. If you can get a kid to use a washcloth you'll get better results, but it can be a heck of a battle.

But the problem isn't just their own personal funk. It's also the way our mostly cotton & polyester clothing absorbs and holds onto that funk. It's their clothing, bedding, hats, anything they wear or spend time with. Make sure their beds are stripped & everything washed well every week. I prefer free & clear detergent (still got to make a laundry soap) with bleach or oxiclean and/or borax as needed. Deodorizing spray for shoes, regular washes of footwear & accessories, and spray the mattress with deodorizer too. Add a mattress pad if you don't already have one, make sure that gets washed often too.

 

[kdm]

Ok, I don't claim expert on much, but I work with teens in an inpatient hospital setting, and I am gonna call this one - It's not the soap, my friend, it's the technique!

Oh, I hear you! I can tell when the shower head has ben left pointing at the window sill that my offspring has only just been in the "vicinity" of the water...!

 

[Ugeauxgirl]

I agree. I caught my teen "rinsing" at a hotel when I went to shower after him and the soap hadn't been unwrapped. Really?

 

[earlene]

I agree. I caught my teen "rinsing" at a hotel when I went to shower after him and the soap hadn't been unwrapped. Really?

Same (with my granddaughter).

 

[user 49910]

Why Won't Your Teen Take a Shower?

This explains it in a nutshell. I have also heard from a couple of doctors in the past that some teens are more sensitive to the pheromones their bodies produce and become "fascinated" by the odors / attractions caused by those pheromones. I am one of those individuals whose olfactory senses are more attuned to human pheromones than the general population so I understood what they meant.

Anyone remember the movie SCENT OF A WOMAN? In that movie, it was not implicitly expressed but subtly implied by the character Al Pacino portrayed.

 

[kdm]

I am one of those individuals whose olfactory senses are more attuned to human pheromones than the general population so I understood what they meant.

I think I'm in that club. My wife can't seem to smell kids' BO at all. Most folk don't seem irritated by it, and I wonder if they're just being polite, because it drives me loopy.
On reflection, I think I was one of those who was fascinated by the smells. I still am. I'm pretty sure I can tell what the weather was like the day our clothes were put out on the drying line ... or if they got rained on while outside. I think in a past life I might have been a drug sniffer dog.