WHAT IS BODY ODOUR?

Body odour can be cause for extreme embarrassment if it’s not addressed. Like anything else, once you understand the source of body odour it’s easier to find the best ways to combat it.

WHAT IS BODY ODOUR?

Before it reaches the skin, your sweat is actually odourless. But, the reason you might notice bad body odour when you sweat is because of bacteria.

When the sweat from your apocrine sweat glands reaches the surface of your skin it reacts with perfectly normal skin bacteria, and gives off an unpleasant odour.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ECCRINE AND APOCRINE SWEAT GLANDS?

The main difference between the two types of sweat glands in your body is the type of sweat they produce:

APOCRINE SWEAT GLANDS

The sweat secreted from your apocrine sweat glands is milky-coloured and contains a high level of fat and proteins.

The common bacteria on your skin love this sweat and when the bacteria feed on and decomposes it, the process produces a recognisable and unpleasant sweaty odour.

Your hormones and stressful situations trigger sweat production in your apocrine glands.

ECCRINE SWEAT GLANDS

Your eccrine glands secrete a clearer, more watery sweat. This type of sweat doesn’t affect body odour at all.

You have millions of eccrine sweat glands over your entire body and the sweat they secrete helps regulate your body temperature in hot weather and during exercise.