That smell though

[Adam (birkin)]

I live in a place that some would call a hippie commune, so I am well versed in the smell of butt rot and how it transgresses into different levels of flavor.

It's weird, there seems to be a threshold. I.e. if someone showers a lot, they tend to become smelly very quickly. However some of the guys with the least amount of butt-rot tend to take the least amount of showers.. and somehow never seem to get sick when the rest of us do. There is something at play there, I just have no idea what it is.

Hm, that makes sense. I don't know if it's that I have to adjust, but I find that if I don't take my morning shower I get...a slightly different smell in the crotch area and I find it unpleasant. It's not offensive or unhealthy, just noticeable to me. Maybe if I transitioned to only showering once a day that problem would stop, but that's the biggest reason I clean myself as often as I do. In addition to sweating so much I have to change shirts lol.

[xponentialshift]

It's weird, there seems to be a threshold. I.e. if someone showers a lot, they tend to become smelly very quickly. However some of the guys with the least amount of butt-rot tend to take the least amount of showers.. and somehow never seem to get sick when the rest of us do. There is something at play there, I just have no idea what it is.

Ah that mysterious threshold. In college while still running on T, I worked my way to a 21+ day shower cycle. And no one thought I smelled, even the people who always complained about most people.

But while visiting home under "supervision" from family, I would have to switch back to daily showers and people would complain about my smell. When returning to college, for the first week or two people would also complain as my body readjusted.

Now that I graduated and live on my own I've found 8 showers a month is about perfect... although now that I am finally on E, I bet that'll all chamge.

[Jennygirl]

Maybe it has something to do with the frequent wetness/dampness and being stripped of your natural oils?

I have a feeling those oils are some kind of barrier or balance to the bacteria that tend to smell

[Ms Grace]

Other than hormones, one other thing that can make dudes pong more than dames is body hair - it catches the sweat and then the bacteria that feasts on the sweaty residue is what gives off the smell. Obviously where hair is longer and thicker (notably underarms) the pong is stronger!

[Jennygirl]

Exactly, so wouldn't it be possible that the oils that naturally reside in the hair serve to protect it from an overgrowth of that bacteria?

[Ms Grace]

Pretty sure they eat the oil too. Bacteria is like that!! What we cultured and refined humans don't like to admit is that we are actually meant to smell anyway.

[Jennygirl]

Pretty sure they eat the oil too. Bacteria is like that!! What we cultured and refined humans don't like to admit is that we are actually meant to smell anyway.

True again. Although I still contend there is a big different between butt-rot and man-scent. Man scent can be extremely tantalizing, whilst butt-rot does nothing but trigger my gag reflex!

Also, I've pretty much been laughing out loud every time I come back to this thread to read/respond

[Ryan55]

yeahh welcome to manhood lol no smells like that from me yet, haha is it bad that I can't wait to smell like a dude?? but I also shave the pits still, cause the gf doesnt like hair <.< (what we do for love lol) soo that might hinder it

[Hikari]

It could be worse I smell kinda like my ex now, which is sort of weird to smell a smell and be reminded of someone else then realize that smell is you.

What I don't get though is that I don't has  too strong of a smell on E or T, I have met plenty like me that don't have such a strong scent, but I have also met some people that just have a really strong smell, not that they aren't clean but women and men who just have a much strong natural scent.


It is just anecdotal but, of the people who tend to have a weak scent like me, we all tend to have excellent immune systems, we very rarely get sick...and those that have a strong smell seem to get sick lots more. Perhaps this is some sort of killing the bacteria thing? I don't get it and I doubt the government is going to give me a grant to study it lol.

[Bombadil]

I had a similar experience. It was like... wait, that smell is me?!?!?!? I have some stinky coworkers and had been assuming it was them. I didn't have much odor before but now I have to use deodorant and shower more regularly.

[JoanneB]

One of the great benefits of AA's and HRT that I discovered was no longer stinking like a guy.

One of the great reality checks I got during a WTF am I doing period was feeling totally disgusted with myself when I started to notice I stunk like a guy.

Chalk up another one in the "Yeah sure, you are just a CD- NOT" column

[Megan Joanne]

But you know, I've had a lot of women (tend to be younger ladies), that have walked past me smelling something powerful like a guy. I couple times this has happened I thought it was me, quick sniff of my armpit, nope, not me, damn she's strong. And they are cis-gendered (my mom can attest to that, she's known some personally that stunk like men). So its not just a guy thing. Seems to be individual. I've also smelled a lot of women that smelled like ass too and have made me gag, now that is really disgusting, especially if she's pretty, then I'm like WTF?

[Hikari]

To me it seems there are 3 smells, male, female, and funk. Like anyone can smell funky, men smell almost metallic to me and women smell sorta musky. Anyone can smell funky though.

[Ephemeral]

Smell is actually partially genetic. I'm Asian and I can drown in sweat and no one is going to think I smell funny. I actually had a discussion about this the other day because I've been on HRT for 4+ months so I should start to smell because everything else has changed but I keep smelling the shirt I workout in and it should smell because I use the same shirt for several workouts before I switch, but I don't really feel much at all. It doesn't smell fresh but I can't say it smells of that pungent smell you get when men don't shower or use deo enough either. I do use a deo because as an Asian I also sweat more than Caucasians, but I don't really smell much. I still shower about every other day and from what I can tell it seems to be fine. Sometimes I get paranoid and smell myself but nope, not me.

I would add a fourth smell to that list though - old man smell. Elderly men who don't shower or wear deo smell differently from younger men.

[Frank]

Oh god, rank poopy butt smell. I can smell it just from being mentioned here. Guh. x__x

I work with a landscaping company on occasion, and have noticed my boss and a coworker who, after about two or three hours of working, smell like towels that were left in a corner damp to sour for about three weeks. The sour could kill a horse if you get too close. Luckily I don't have bad armpit smell (or sour) but the crotch is something else.

[Felix]

There is something odd about showering frequency. It's not a simple equation where the more you shower the better you smell. My personal rhythm is I start to smell if I go more than 3 days without showering, but my skin gets awful if I shower more often than every other day. Bodies are unpredictable, of course, and my rhythm doesn't always work.

I spend a lot of time on public transit and around high schoolers, and I encounter smelliness in all genders but mostly between 12ish and 40ish. Some homeless people smell horrible, but some just smell like dust or leather.

I did have to really get on top of hygiene when I started hormones, though. If I use deodorant without aluminum I get stinky even if I've recently showered. I always have to change my clothes a lot more often than I used to. I'm kind of annoyed by the increase in laundry costs.

[Eva Marie]

Now that I've hormonally switched sides I know exactly the smell you are talking about. I can now smell guys and many of them have a mildly smelling stink to them, and some of them - wow! They stink!! I never noticed that smell when I was pretending to be a dude.

Some guys can shower and they are funking again a few hours later while some never seem to stink - it's a mystery to me.

The only thing I can think of is to experiment with different soaps, shampoos, and deodorants until you find something that works the best for you. Also, diet may contribute too - if you eat a lot of spicy food try toning it down and see if that helps.

And.... Welcome to being a guy

[Evelyn K]

Get rid of the ars hair. Problem mostly solved.

[MacG]

Not on T yet and this thread is freakin' me. I'm very sensitive to scent and body funk.

I think my own scent is average  female, but I have to switch deodorant brands ever 12 to 24 months or it starts to fail.

I currently find the shower every other day rhythm works for me.

I also avoid wearing the same shoes two days in a row.

And I don't let laundry sit wet in the washer more than 24 hours.

The butt stank... Is it from not wiping well? Wtf?

[Amadeus]

I'm pre-everything and sometimes I get the Man Smell.  It's just a musky, sweaty odour.  At least that's what my Gays tell me.  My mum used to say I smelled like sour sweat and onions.  My loving Gays trump my mother any day of the week.  Then again, in this house, a pair of queens always beats a straight!  *ba dum ching!*

Anyone ever use some sort of body spray along with regular underarm deodorant?  Or do you get by with a quick spritz of Old Spice?