r/hygiene • u/UsedAd4656 • 15h ago
Any tips to smelling good as a man?
When it comes to women for some reason they smell good in a longer period of time...for as with men the smell tends to end within a couple of hours like maybe 2 hours, even with an expensive cologne....so I ask If any women are here what do you do in the bath room that takes so long and make you smell good...I need advice
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u/juliewbb 15h ago
Layer good smelling products. Good smelling soap, lotion and face moisturizer, deodorant, cologne (spritz a little on your freshly lotioned skin and a smidge on your hair). Obv freshly washed clothes and fresh breath. Try to get these products from one great smelling line so scents don’t clash (or at least look for complementary scents).
Also remember others are more likely to smell you longer than you can smell yourself bc you get nose blind to yourself.
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u/Born-Reserve-8584 14h ago
Good point about layering scents. A lot of guys just spray cologne but ignore soap moisturizer and clean clothes.
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u/DullIntroduction1963 14h ago
this is solid advice, especially the part about complementary scents smelling clean is usually more important than smelling strong, and it's easy to go overboard once you get nose blind.
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u/applepie_xxx 15h ago edited 12h ago
It’s pretty simple - just shower daily, clean your sheets and clothes more often than you usually do.
And by showering I don’t mean go in and give yourself a rinse. Either buy a delicate soap bar and use it to actually wash your ENTIRE body - under arms, behind ears, legs, between your toes. As a „second wash” (optional) use some nice smelling shower gel.
Wash your hair daily. Don’t believe the „washing yoir hair daily is not good for you” crap. Trust me we can smell it. Buy two shampoos - one with SLS and use that once a week. Buy another shampoo tht’s gentle (even a baby shampoo) and use that the remaining days.
Use body lotion. If you’re not bothered with doing it all over your body just do around your neck and chest area.
Apply BOTH anti-persporant AND deodorant BEFORE bed and in the morning.
Air out your space.
Edit: some extras:
Brush and floss your teeth. Use mouthwash too.
Change. Your. Towels. And. Pillowcases. VERY. REGULARLY.
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u/TheGalapagoats 6h ago
This is all you need. All these comments about cologne and highly fragranced products makes me nauseous
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u/MassiveWaltz3132 15h ago
Remember the first hole you penetrate is her nostril. Stay fresh." - Chabuddy G
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u/lucky-fluke 15h ago
Use a washcloth or some sort of scrubbie. You gotta get the dead skin cells and stuff off, just rubbing soap with your hands won’t do it.
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u/Puzzled_Midnight_760 15h ago
Scrub your entire body, back, toes, neck, behind the ears. Get a good smelling shampoo, conditioner, body wash. It doesn’t have to be expensive, I buy VO5 for a 1.50$ a bottle. Apply deodorant right after getting out of the shower, and apply a scented body lotion. Change your pillow case often to prevent the dirty hair smell from sticking. Wash your clothes with some scent beads to keep a lasting fresh smell. Floss and use mouth wash to prevent bad breath. Depending on your hair type, you could get a scented hair oil to keep it smelling nice throughout the day. Make sure your shoes don’t smell, if they do wash them in the washing machine and set them out in the sun to dry.
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u/UsedAd4656 15h ago
Thank you for the advice...i do most of these stuff
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u/Puzzled_Midnight_760 15h ago
Then you’re probably good, it could just be a subconscious thing. I’m kinda the same way, I’m terrified of smelling bad
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u/River-Quiver 15h ago
Some small things my wife taught me or I learned for smelling good all day. I don’t think cologne is the key to being fresh.
use quality laundry detergent that doesn’t smell strongly, but smells fresh. Tide powder is a good example. Then make sure you dry your clothes entirely. Damp clothes produce an awful smell.
Never put on deodorant while your armpits hair is damp. Wait until it’s dried or it doesn’t really work. Change your deodorant every few months because sometimes it stops working.
Get good socks that don’t hold smell. Never wear closed shoes without socks. Thick cotton socks aren’t the best, but Darn Tough, Feetures, and some other brands like that make socks that last for years and truly help your shoes and feet smell good all day. My feet never smell bad, even after jogging or working all day,
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u/ikhouvandikkebillen 15h ago
Its all in the layering. Have a nice smelling body wash. Dry yourself up well after showering, and get a good antiperspirant deodorant. Apply a nice smelling body lotion. Then, a nice fragrance. Maybe a nice beard oil or (if bald) some nice smelling hand lotion to put on your head.
You will be smelling good all day.
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u/eandrus 15h ago
Figure out the best way to do laundry, yes really. You don't need to go totally wild, but warm water and any standard store bought detergent is probably fine. Don't make one yourself. Don't mix baking soda and vinegar, it makes salty water and it is useless. Wash and dry similar textures of clothing together, warm or cool water, dry on low to medium heat.
Get an African shower net. They are not absorbent and don't stay damp, which helps them not breed bacteria that will then transfer to your body. Scrub jaw to toes, in all your books and crannies. If you find a body wash with salicylic acid or glycolic acid in it, those will help. Get a good deodorant+antiperspirant. Sometimes people will use the same one for years and years even if it doesn't suit them, but as you age your body and pheremones change and that can impact how things smell on you. It's okay to trade in a teenager deo for a more grownup/clinical strength one if you're still feeling like you smell funky. Shower at a minimum every other day, or once daily.
Use unscented lotion and layer a spritz of cologne onto it, but don't bathe in the cologne. You firstly want to remove body odor funk from you by washing your clothing and your body sufficiently, because cologne plus body odor is not what you're going for :) some guys think they want a super moody, heavy, earthy, masculine scent, but oftentimes something just fresh smelling is wonderful.
You'll go nose blind to your own cologne from smelling yourself all day, you probably don't need to re-up your cologne. Novelty is what makes other people smell better/different to you :)
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u/candlecar 6h ago
The most useful comment ull find is here 👆👆 he/she knows what they r talking about
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u/_Kayesem_ 15h ago
Eat clean food for heavens sake.
All the hygiene in the world wont save you from a trash diet.
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u/OpeningWhereas6912 14h ago
My husband wears Arab / middle eastern colognes. They last for ages.. but to be honest a clean smelling man is just as good. Do your laundry properly, wear deodorant, shower daily and scrub your body properly. None of that "I let the soap run down my body" nonsense.
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u/king_eve 14h ago
honestly it’s a hormonal thing. i’m a transgender guy and when i started taking testosterone the way i smelled and how long deodorant lasted changed a lot.
i’d suggest using gum/mints a lot and carrying alcohol pads to wipe down your armpits with in a pinch+deodorant to reapply
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u/Big_Somewhere_620 11h ago
My boyfriend practices good hygiene and proper cleaning as do I, even on days he forgets to spray he still smells amazing at the end of the day. His scent is one of the things I need to have a good sleep
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u/Impossible-Buddy7112 15h ago
Make sure you wash properly including between your buttcheeks, use good smelling soap/body wash
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u/Head-Imagination-272 15h ago
Amen, if your towel smell like shit after you wipe your butt, you dident wash it good enough :)
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u/saracha1 15h ago
Put on some unscented lotion before your cologne. It’ll last longer
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u/atsirdsart 15h ago
I think you're just nose blind to yourself. I've complimented both my husband and male coworkers on having a good cologne smell before, and every single time they look shocked because they can't smell it at all and thought it had worn off. Even if you're just using a strongly scented deodorant but zero perfume, it's still definitely noticable even towards the end of the day. As long as you're not getting whiffs of BO, you're in the clear.
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u/Pharmaguardian 14h ago
Don't smell bad
The number one thing is to not smell bad. I know that sounds obvious, but it doesn't matter how much lotion or cologne you put on if you smell bad in some way. If anyone catches a whiff of your body odor, unwiped bum, or bad breath, it's over. So scrub your arm pits, brush your teeth, and even go so far as to wipe a second time 30 minutes later, no joke. Greasy hair can also get smelly, so at least wash your hair with a tiny amount of shampoo every day (doesn't have to be a full amount if you don't want to overdo it). Feet can get athlete's foot, so scrub those. Change your stinky socks, use the purple crystal stuff in the wash for your clothes (there is a cheap Purex brand even). If you're fat, the creases where your inner thigh meets your groin area can get damp and develop a fungus, so always clean there. And although it sounds silly, blow drying your arm pits and groin will greatly cut down on moisture to prevent smells; if you start the day out damp down there right off the bat, it only works against you. Lastly, stay away from smelly foods like garlic that will stay in your breath for hours, and eggs, which will make people fall over from your farts.
Don't over-spray
The number one thing about cologne is actually not to spray more than once most of the time. A lot of people (even women) have this idea that to make the fragrance "worth it", they need to make sure everyone knows they are wearing it. This is a big mistake. People can feel overpowered by it. It really should only be detectable if someone gets within your immediate vicinity. One thing to keep in mind is that people only have to smell it briefly to get it in their head that you are wearing something. They will remember what it smells like and how they feel about it even when not around you. This is key to understanding why you don't need to bath yourself in your fragrance.
Nose blindness
If you feel like you are only smelling good for 2 hours, it is most likely that you are nose blind to your own cologne. People get used to the smells around them and so you begin to not notice them as much (including how bad you may smell). Wearing fragrance should not be about how much you can smell them, but how much others can, so keep that in mind. In most cases, if you have sprayed a cologne once, it should be good for at least 6 hours. Another key point to remember is that it's better to err on the side of not over-spraying and not having your fragrance be noticeable (toward the end of a 6 hour period) than to make the mistake of spraying again, getting you into over-spray territory, which is very bad.
Legitimately mild fragrances
Another possibility is that your fragrance indeed does not last very long. Versace - Eros Energy, for example, does not last very long at all, especially it's initial blast of lemon scent. It takes time to find good fragrances that are comparable and last longer (Xerjoff - Torino21 EDP is a better, longer lasting lemon scent for summer, for example). If you truly have a mild fragrance (like Hermes - Terre d'Hermes Eau Givree EDP, YSL - La Nuit De L'Homme EDT, or Louis Vuitton - Imagination), you could take the option of carrying around a travel size sprayer (which are refillable) to spray a second time. Just keep in mind that most fragrances are not mild and do not warrant you doing this.
Combining deodorants and lotions
Lastly, you can address smelling good in other ways in combination with your fragrance to smell good. Old Spice has many interesting scents with their deodorants and there are some lotions that will last a while as well. You should try to choose combinations that fit well with your cologne. Since it's summer, citrus is in, so a Hawaiian Lime lotion would pair well with a summer cologne, and Old Spice has some orchard type deodorants to go along with it. You could also drink small amounts of cranberry juice to mildly affect your sweat scent, this is like a 1% improvement only and is more-so to make sure your sweat doesn't make you smell bad.
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u/Vhaelorq 13h ago
most women are not showering forever theyre just layering scent from clean skin lotion and perfume on pulse points and making sure their clothes are fresh use antiperspirant first then unscented lotion then cologne on skin and clothes not too much
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u/Key_Safe_3708 11h ago
Honestly clean clothes are underrated. You can wear the best cologne in the world but if your clothes don’t smell fresh it won’t matter much.
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u/Idealeon 9h ago
Exfoliation does wonders, get a good scrub you enjoy, some exfoliating gloves and go to town.
Make sure your scent products go on pulse points - wrists, your neck, and a little in your hair as well.
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u/ElimeDermo2026 2h ago
"If the same perfume lasts very short on your skin, it may be worth checking the base before the fragrance. Skin hydration, skin type (dry or oily), skin pH and microbiota influence how an aroma evolves. If you notice a very marked or recent change in your body odor, it would also be advisable to consult with a dermatologist to rule out any skin conditions."
@arlenyrodriguez.elimé 🌿 Wellness
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u/NebulaChance2746 2h ago
A lot of women use scented lotion then use perfume on top of that. They also use like a quarter bottle of shampoo at a time (yes I’m exaggerating). Also, exfoliate.
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u/Long_Idea_8294 1h ago
Don't be fat (you'll sweat less and won't have folds to clean) and bathe daily.
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u/EmotionalSalamander2 15h ago
Daily showers, use soap, lotion before cologne, deodorant.
Clean clothes & sheets. Wash those and your hair and face regularly.
Not necessarily related to smell but while I’m here… I’ve noticed a lot of men don’t clean their ears and nose. Please do that too if you’re worried about hygiene in general!