Are you secretly stinking up a room?
It’s happened to the best of us—whether it’s forgetting to put on deodorant or accidentally wearing last week’s shirt, some hygiene tips are easy to forget, even if they’re the key to preventing embarrassing, awkward situations.
When asked, “What’s a hygiene tip or trick that everyone should know?” the internet jumped in with their lifesaving solutions for body odor, breakouts, and the like.
These are the personal care secrets you might be missing:
Prep your laundry with handsoap to remove odors
“If you find putting clothes through the laundry doesn’t remove all armpit smells, give the armpit area a quick anti-bacterial soap pre-wash before each load. Job done.”
Don’t want to shower or forget deodorant? Try hand sanitizer
“If you can’t face a shower, hand sanitize your armpits, let dry, and apply deodorant. The alcohol in the hand sanitizer will kill the bad bacteria responsible for the smell, rather than just the deodorant masking it.”
If you don’t have deodorant on you, this trick can be done without it as a temporary fix for body odor.
Clean your earrings regularly
Earrings can get smelly and build up with gunk and bacteria easily. Cleaning them is simple and should be done regularly.
You can clean your earrings with things you have at home. Take an old toothbrush and some dish soap, and get to scrubbing. Baking soda can be used on earrings that are especially dirty.
Don’t brush your teeth after drinking coffee
“Coffee is acidic and damages enamel. Brushing your teeth can further damage your enamel. Wait 30-60 mins after coffee to brush.”
Pillowcases should be cleaned more often than you think
If you’re wondering why you’re suddenly getting acne breakouts, your pillowcases might be the culprit. Forgetting to wash your sheets is easy but should never be done. They trap body oils that cause those annoying zits.
If you can smell your clothing, others can, too
“A musty-smelling shirt is noticeable by others around you.”
If you want to ensure your clothing always smells fresh, try putting a scented candle, air freshener, dryer sheet, or potpourri in your clothing drawers. Of course, this should never be done in place of laundering your clothing frequently.
Clean under your nails
Cleaning your nails isn’t just about aesthetics—dirty nails can spread germs. If you struggle to clean underneath your nails, try using a nail brush. They’re relatively inexpensive and make it easy to clean out all of the dirt and gunk building up beneath your nails.
Use rubbing alcohol to clean your phone
Think about how often you touch your phone during the day. I bet you’re not washing your hands every time you do.
To get rid of those nasty germs put a little rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball or lens cloth and give your phone a quick sweep.
Drink lots of water
There are real health and beauty benefits to getting those glasses of water in each day.
“It will help improve your skin, dental, and overall health,” a water advocate explains.
Always brush your teeth twice a day
“Most people don’t know this. You can brush your teeth in the morning AND at night,” stated one responder.
A food service manager agreed, saying, “I really need people to start taking care of their dental hygiene. The amount of people going out in public with absolutely rotten breath is staggering.”
Wash your belly button
“As a surgical tech, I strongly second this. I’ve seen some gnarly belly buttons,” said a medical professional in agreement with this hygiene tip.
It’s easy to forget to wash places on your body with creases, which makes them likely to gather dirt and odors. Don’t skip the spots you can’t see in the shower!
Perfume is not deodorant
This is your friendly reminder that neither perfume nor deodorant are appropriate substitutes for a shower.
Wash behind your ears
“My parents always told me to wash behind my ears when I was a kid. I just never bothered much, then 10-year-old me scratched behind my ear, smelt something foul, sniffed my fingers, and [nearly] threw up.
“The smell can be [really gross]. Wash your ears and butts, people!”
Floss your teeth every day
“Flossing your teeth can save you thousands of dollars and make dental cleanings a painless breeze,” responded someone hoping to help others save money and improve their hygiene.
“Seriously. My gums used to bleed all the time. It was from food being stuck between my teeth. What got me to start doing it regularly was flossing in the shower,” wrote another with first-hand experience.
This article was written and syndicated by What the Fab.
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Elise Armitage is an entrepreneur and founder of What The Fab, a travel + lifestyle blog based in California. At the beginning of 2019, Elise left her corporate job at Google to chase her dreams: being an entrepreneur and helping women find fabulous in the everyday. Since then, she’s launched her SEO course Six-Figure SEO, where she teaches bloggers how to create a passive revenue stream from their website using SEO. Featured in publications like Forbes, Elle, HerMoney, and Real Simple, Elise is a firm believer that you can be of both substance and style.
