Essential etiquette to get through the summer
A STEAMY hot summer is on its way! Not only is the heat unbearable for us, but the intoxicating body odors from various body parts are simply too much for our poor noses. The Yonsei Annals presents to you some unbelievably simple yet surprisingly effective methods to evict the unpleasant smells from your precious body. All you culprits of haunting smells: please take note and let us breathe some fresh air this summer!
For your fragrant feet
As you perspire, the sweat breaks down layers of dead skin on your feet and causes an unpleasant odor. In addition, tight socks, stockings, and shoes do not let the air in or out, making the odor worse. Frequently removing dead skin from your feet and letting your feet breath can help. If these do not work, try these methods.
- Foot bath
Prepare: lemon (or vinegar or green tea bag or green tea powder), a bucket of warm water, soap, and towel
1. Put a half of chopped lemon (few drops of vinegar, two or three tea bags, or few spoons of green tea powder: do not use them all. Pick only one ingredient) in a bucket of warm water
2. Dip your feet in the bucket and massage them for about ten minutes
3. Lather your hands with soap then rub your feet thoroughly
4. Wash off the soap with clean water and dry your feet with a towel
Special tips: Use a blow dryer to dry your feet thoroughly then apply plenty of moisturizing cream on your feet.
- For smelly shoes
<With 10 won coins>
Place new 10 won coins inside your shoes (at least ten coins per shoe). 10 won coins are made of copper, which sterilizes the bacteria and removes the odor.
<With used tea bags>
Stuff your shoes with used green tea bags when you are not wearing them. Green tea bags absorb the smell from your shoes, so you should change the tea bags once a week.
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For your sweet breath
| Causes of bad breath | Solutions |
| Leftover food bits and dead skin cells | Brush your teeth thoroughly. Additionally, try flossing which is has not been fully adopted in Korea. Flossing can remove leftover foods effectively. |
| Eating garlic, onions, spring onions, mustard, etc. | These are the foods that have strong odors. If you cannot keep yourself from eating them, chew parsley afterwards. The strong flavor of parsley will neutralize the smell. |
| Drinking and smoking | If you want to get rid of the smell of alcohol and cigarettes quickly, again chewing parsley will refresh your breath. |
For your fresh armpits
Armpits are usually sweaty and the bacteria from sweat cause the skin to break down and give off pungent odors. Vinegar and ginger have natural sterilizing ingredients, so they eliminate all bacteria that cause the odor from the armpits.
- With vinegar
1. Soak a soft cloth with vinegar.
2. Rub and clean your armpits with the cloth once a day.
※ Be careful if your skin is sensitive!
- With ginger
1. Put ginger in boiling water and make a ginger extract.
2. Soak a soft cloth in the ginger extract.
3. Rub and clean your armpits with the cloth once a day.
※ Be careful if your skin is sensitive!
| Self-check box for your body odor level | ||
| 1. Do you eat a lot of meat or greasy food? 2. Do you sweat easily? 3. Do your clothes easily get sweat stains? 4. Is your skin oily? 5. Do you have a lot of body hair? 6. Is your earwax moist? 7. Do you have a lot of stress in your daily life? 8. Has anyone around you ever commented on your body odor? |
If you answered yes to more than three of these questions, you have to start making endeavors to get rid of your body odor.
Commentary on culprits of body odor
Meat and greasy food puts stress on your stomach, which then emits odor up through the esophagus. Sweat will break down dead skin cells to grow bacteria, which will cause body odor. People with oily skin have more discharge on their skin, and thus have higher possibilities of having osmidrosis axillae, which means perspiration that is smelly. Having a lot of hair will lead to more bacteria near the roots of hair thus more odors. Above all, body odors smell worse with physical or emotional stress. Therefore, remember a no-stress day keeps odors away.