Boys and Body Odor

G.,

I have a very active almost 7 year old who started having body odor this fall after football practice. I changed his shampoo and body wash from "kids" kind to adult kind had had him shower every night. I also monitored his hair washing and we went over the importance of being thorough when showering. He was getting sloppy about washing ALL of his hair and EVERY part of his body. That solved the problem. I wouldn't have him use deoderant yet.

My daughter is 8 and started having the same issues with her breath. We switched from kids' toothpaste to adult toothpaste and she started using a Listerine product for kids 1-2 times per day. That helped.

Good luck,
S.

my son is 8 now and we've been buying him deoderant. He doesn't really need it, but he likes to smell good. I don't think that the men's deoderant will irratate him, but you could always try it for a while and see what happens.

My son uses a natural one, it doesn't have any scent but it does help his scent. The hardest part is getting him to remember to put it on.

Hi I started putting deordant on my daughter at age 5 for the same reason and her doctor told me to eather use mine since she is a girl or to use the deordant made for teens so since you have a boy why dont you just try deordant for teens

I have 2 boys as well and I am unsure as to what age to start them using deodorant as well, but what I do know is VERY safe is to actually use DEODORANT, not anti-perspirant. Burt's Bees makes a WONDERFUL deodorant that is ALL natural, smells wonderful and does not irritant the skin at all. I know because I use it myself. My husband uses the same bottle. I believe it has sage oil in it and is very much a unisex product. You can find it at Whole Foods. Walgreens will carry it if you request it.

I'd recommend going to a health foods store and buy a natural deodorant, not an antiperspirant. The metals in antiperspirants aren't good for anyone, but could be more detrimental for little kids. I personally use a natural deodorant by Thomas of Maine, but I'm sure there's lots of options at a health food store.

If he's stinky to you, I'm sure he's stinky to other kids and I wouldn't want him getting teased at school.

Hi G.,

My son was 7, almost 8 when he started having some body order too. I talked with several other moms about what to do. I felt he was too young to be using antipersperants. Some suggestions I received were to get him a deoderant only and to check out what they offered at stores that sold natural products. One friend said to bring him with so he could pick it out himself, which would increase the liklihood he would use it.
In the end, my husband took him out and bought him some men's deoderant underarm spray (no antipersperant in it). He doesn't wear it every day, but I encourage him to put it on if he has some oder and he likes using it. I also encourage him to bathe and shower more and make sure he remembers to wash his armpits.

Hope this helps.

Kely B.

It's possible. All children are different. My daughter was like that. Most likely when thay are very active, but it will become any time in the future. I would get him in the habit of using it now. It won't hurt. Try a mild one if you need to.

Some boys develop BO earlier than others. I would encourage you just to have him shower at this age. I know my sons would come home from playing outside or with friend and they would smell but it wasn't from their body odor it was what they were exposed to at the time. It also could be that he is overdressed for where he is spending time. If he is getting over heated and sweats then I would lessen the amount of clothing he is wearing and make sure that his shirts are 100 percent cotton and not polyester because that will enable his body to breathe and not keep in the wetness from sweat. If he is playing football or whatever than just a shower/bath will solve the problem. This is something that all boys get at some point or another and has to be tolerated as much as we don't like it. If he comes home all sweaty.. just insist he takes a shower. Just wait until they go thru puberty and their whole room smells at times.. it will get better the older they get and are able to shower at the the appropriate time. Good luck!

G.-
My son started using a ladies speed stick (neutral scent) when he was your son's age. Four years later... he and all his buddies use the spray on Axe. I prefer BO to that stuff. I had to strip his bed and wash his bedding the smell was so strong. We've moved to the Axe deodorant stick which is much better and can easily control the amount that goes on.
Good luck and good scents!

Trader Joes also has an all natural one--Tom's I think it's called.

It isn't really body odor..it is the beginning of the cloning process. Next comes the back talk and the thinking you don't know anything.. then comes the challenges and rebellion... That is when you know the Aliens finished the cloning process and traded your sweet well behaved preteen for the, I don't know what to call them other then...TEENAGER!

Throw him in the shower each morning, make sure you collect his sock and undies each day so he doesn't wear them until they can stand in the corner alone... and treat everything with a sense of humor.. you will need it!

Most of all remember these words "This too shall pass" and of course my favorite thought while going through these cloned years "Some day he will be a father and going to you with those same complaints!"

Both of my sons have 3 year old daughters and when they act like I don't know what I am talking about (for some reason son's don't trust that mom's are smart)... I just smile and tell them "it is ok.. you only have 10 years left before you are the most stupid person around too"

About antipersprant.. I would be careful on the use of this. My daughter in law said that they warned her mother about the use of it being linked to breast cancer. While we don't think of boys getting breast cancer, it is rare but does happen. Talk to your doctor about it before his using it regularly.

l

I'll second JL's recommendation of the salt crystal based deodorants. They don't leave anything visible or tangible (no stickiness) on skin or fabric, are a natural product, and definitely control odor. They work well, rubbed on feet, controlling foot odor, too.

We've used them for many years and until we discovered them, my husband had quite a time finding something that completely controlled odor.

The "Kiss My Face" brand has liquid roll-on crystal deodorant and it comes in unscented and two or three scents. There are solid crystals, too, that you just wet under the faucet and rub over your skin. It really feels like it's just water you're putting on your skin and when it dries you cannot feel there's anything there, but it is and is definitely effective. I first tried it on a whim years ago, but didn't believe just rubbing this wet rock on me could possibly work, but it worked better than any other deodorant I'd ever tried.

If you get the crystal rock, though, they can be slippery when wet and will shatter into pieces if dropped on a hard surface. If you break the solid, you'll probably end up tossing it and buying new -- the rock's broken, sharp edges are NOT fun to scrape over your skin!

Speaking to a different part of your post...antipersperants/deodorants are meant to work for quite a while. When I was pregnant I struggled with the scents of my deodorant, and found I could apply once every three days or so (and it was summer) and still not smell. More than that and I developed odor, but since your son is 7, he probably could get away with it even less frequently.

I used men's deodorant the other day and it irritated me big time and clogged my pores etc.. Men's deodorant is just not meant for women so I'm gonna assume it's not meant for little boys either.

I would find something that isn't to strong and have him use it everyday. They sell men's body spray for the armpits that's popular with the teen boys it migth be ok for your younger son.