Beat Bad Gym B.O.

Bad body odour is often one of the unfortunate unintended consequences of an active lifestyle. Thankfully pungent B.O. Doesn’t have to relegate your social status to that of a pariah because there are ways in which you can manage it, or even eliminate it altogether.

- Pedro van Gaalen

First up, it is important to understand that not everyone will give off an offensive aroma every time they exercise. Individual factors such as genetics (a family history of the condition makes it more likely that you’ll suffer from it, for instance), hormones, sweat rate, and even diet can affect the way you smell, as can other independent factors such as the clothes you wear, and your hygiene practices.

CAUSES OF B.O.

There are, however, two key elements that tend to determine how pungent your BO will be, namely the type of sweat you secrete and its interaction with bacteria, either on your body or on your clothing.

This is because your skin contains two types of sweat glands, namely eccrine glands and apocrine glands. The eccrine glands are the most abundant and are tasked with keeping you cool while you exercise by producing sweat over most of your body. They therefore open directly onto the surface of the skin and secrete the salty liquid most of us associate with sweat. These glands are seldom to blame for any unwanted odour.