- Admin
- #1
- Joined
- 14 Mar 2002
- Messages
- 14,531
- Reaction score
- 7,169
This summer - one of the hottest and muggiest on record - has been quite a challenge, not least in regard to body hygiene. There is a (perhaps not so) new word in Japanese,すめはら (smell harassment), used to describe situations when bad breath, body odour, perfume, fabric softeners, etc. create a stench that's intolerable to others, especially in the office.
Here's an interesting article on how to prevent or reduce body odour in summer:
How not to create a stink at the office | The Japan Times
[...] There are two types of sweat glands: eccrine and apocrine. Depending on the area of your body, sweat from one or two of these glands mixed with sebum and/or lipid will give off various odors — an oily smell from the scalp, an odor of sourness from the armpits and a nattō fermented beans-like stink from the feet, Oku says.
Furthermore, old-person smell is caused by a substance called nonenal from around the chest and back area, while a middle-aged odor called midorushishū is triggered by diacetyl around the head and back of the neck area. During the session, participants were asked to smell three different types of artificially recreated body odor: general sweat, middle-aged smell and old-person smell.
Oku says the strongest scent is the middle-aged odor that is distinctive among men in their 30s and 40s. However, participant Koji Fuchino expressed surprise that he couldn’t smell it. “I was the only one who couldn’t smell the middle-aged odor at all, so I guess that means I am used to it,” says Fuchino, who oversees wedding receptions. “I thought I was being careful, but I better take even better care of myself.” [...]
Interestingly, there's another (scientific) school of thought that preaches *not* to shower, at least not too often:
What Happens When You Quit Showering? - The Atlantic
Doctor hasn't showered for months to debunk health and hygiene myths | The Independent
How have you survived in this summer? Any tricks to share? :emoji_grinning:
Here's an interesting article on how to prevent or reduce body odour in summer:
How not to create a stink at the office | The Japan Times
[...] There are two types of sweat glands: eccrine and apocrine. Depending on the area of your body, sweat from one or two of these glands mixed with sebum and/or lipid will give off various odors — an oily smell from the scalp, an odor of sourness from the armpits and a nattō fermented beans-like stink from the feet, Oku says.
Furthermore, old-person smell is caused by a substance called nonenal from around the chest and back area, while a middle-aged odor called midorushishū is triggered by diacetyl around the head and back of the neck area. During the session, participants were asked to smell three different types of artificially recreated body odor: general sweat, middle-aged smell and old-person smell.
Oku says the strongest scent is the middle-aged odor that is distinctive among men in their 30s and 40s. However, participant Koji Fuchino expressed surprise that he couldn’t smell it. “I was the only one who couldn’t smell the middle-aged odor at all, so I guess that means I am used to it,” says Fuchino, who oversees wedding receptions. “I thought I was being careful, but I better take even better care of myself.” [...]
Interestingly, there's another (scientific) school of thought that preaches *not* to shower, at least not too often:
What Happens When You Quit Showering? - The Atlantic
Doctor hasn't showered for months to debunk health and hygiene myths | The Independent
How have you survived in this summer? Any tricks to share? :emoji_grinning:
