[pomian]

There are real toxicological reasons not to use deodorant, especially the rub on variety. It is very easy to go old school, and just wash your armpits (sounds gross when writing it down,) but it is very effective. If your are sweaty in public, just find a sink and wash again. It takes 30 seconds. As with your shampoo experiment, the body becomes much cleaner when it's free to do what is supposed to do.

[LeifCarrotson]

That works for some people but not others.

I once found myself in Shanghai minus my luggage that had contained my toiletries, including my deodorant - aluminum-free scented antiperspirant deodorant. From my searching (admittedly frustrated by poor Mandarin) no grocery, convenience store, or pharmacy in Shanghai stocks this product that's at every Walgreens and Meijer in the midwestern US. No, the people there don't smell bad at all. Apparently there's some kind of microbiome or skin oil in my pits that they don't have, or some beneficial thing that they do have which I don't.

But within a few hours, I stank profusely. My very patient and gracious host was unable to procure me any deodorant. I washed my pits repeatedly, but it only lasted an hour or less between washings. Later, when working from home, I tried going deodorant-free voluntarily: the transition to aluminum-free varieties was no big deal, the transition to deodorant free was an abject failure. I tried antibacterial soaps, non-antibacterial soaps, no soaps, mosturizers, even shaved my pits...only antiperspirant deodorant stops the stink for me.

Some people do smell human when they're sweaty, some try to mask it with perfumes but it's not necessary. Some don't have much of a perceptible smell at all. I smell repulsive.

[tharkun__]

I think going mostly soapless should work for everyone though. At least anecdotally from my experience, because it makes no difference. I'm like you, genetically predisposed to get smelly.

I use shampoo on the hair (every few days only since covid, pre covid every day though) and under the arms. I definitely have and never will use soap on my face for example or arms (unless I've been up to my elbows (literally) in the garden or something and I actually have to get something off.

Since covid I've noticed what was already happening before. When I go to the office I smell more, even with deodorant. It basically fails after lunch and I need to wash and reapply. Having more coffee makes it worse but going coffee less doesn't make it not happen. WFH causes way less stink even without deodorant. Though work days are definitely still worse than weekends or vacations.

I've been through all the different types of commercial deodorants. They usually work very well almost miraculously for a few weeks after which they make me stink even worse than before starting them. I've switched to home made deodorant now and apply it only when I go somewhere it matters.

[amluto]

It’s a known genetic trait:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABCC11

[svachalek]

The really fascinating bit about this one is it also changes your earwax. So it's quite easy to tell which gene you have, without a sniff test.

[djhn]

If ever again you get stuck in a country without deodorants, buy baking soda. It's an extremely potent deodorant (a little goes a long way).