Blog | Fragrance Today

When I bought my first cologne, I was in love. However, something did concern me, could I actually wear deodorant with it? Should you wear deodorant with your cologne? You should definitely wear deodorant with cologne, but make sure it is a non-scented one. You shouldn't use the scented spray deodorants, as they will start mixing in with your cologne. This is something you want to avoid at all times because it usually results in a very bad scent. You probably don't want to smell sweaty and bad, so what should you do? There are a few options to make sure you do not smell bad, and your cologne won't be mixed with any other scent. What Should You Use With Cologne? You probably know that a sweaty smell is nothing pretty. Avoiding that is something you should always want to do. The most common way to do this is to use deodorant of some sort. Remember high school, where everyone was overloaded with Axe? Me too. This is something you want to avoid. You wear a cologne to be more sophisticated, to smell the best out of everyone in the room. It makes you stand out. So the one thing to avoid is to ruin your cologne with another scent. The number one product people go to to avoid smelling bad is deodorant. This, of course, is an amazing product if you just want to not smell bad. A cologne makes you smell great. So how can you avoid mixing these two, while also preventing a sweaty smell? The answer is simple, get a non-scented deodorant. These perform the same as normal deodorant, just without the scent. This is about as good as it gets for cologne users. Smelling great without the risk of smelling sweaty. Non-scented deodorants are widely available, both in spray and in stick. I recommend getting a stick deodorant, but if you prefer the spray form, that's fine too. Applying it is also not rocket science. Just grab your stick and apply it all over your armpits. From here, you're protected from smelling sweaty and can safely apply your cologne. Just spray it on and enjoy your day, as well as the compliments. Another great benefit of unscented deodorant is that they are fragrance-free. A lot of people are actually sensitive or allergic to fragrances. meaning when you spray on a scented deodorant, you can get redness and irritation in your armpits. Unscented deodorants are also unisex, so choosing one is pretty easy. Buying one is also not difficult. Just about any store that sells scented deodorants sells unscented deodorants. Just look around and if you can't find it, ask an employee. The price will also be mostly the same. As with every product, there will be some expensive ones and some really cheap ones. Just try some out, you really don't need to spend $70 on an unscented deodorant stick. Are There Other Options? Another option to go with is baby powder. This might sound weird, but baby powder is designed to keep the diaper area dry, to prevent diaper rash. Keeping your armpits dry will prevent body odor. Baby powder is a product not only for babies but for everyone. You can use it anywhere on the body and it will keep this part dry, minimize friction and absorb all the perspiration. Baby powder is a nice substitute for unscented deodorant, but it won't do as good a job as a nonscented deodorant. This is because it lacks aluminum. This, however, does mean it will be gentler on the skin. Both baby powder and unscented deodorant have their advantages. You can try and experiment with both, and find out which one you like better. Buying an antiperspirant is a great option. Antiperspirants are created to reduce sweating, meaning your body won't be creating a bad odor. This is a great option to go with, just like baby powder and unscented deodorant. Another thing to do is to dress strategically. When you wear a hoody in the summer, your body starts to really warm up. This can cause your body to start sweating. When this happens, your body starts giving out this bad odor. To avoid this, you can dress in light and breathable fabrics. How To Fight Body Odor Both scented deodorant and smelly armpits can kill your cologne. Therefore, it is best to prevent them both. We went over substitutes for scented deodorant, but you can also prevent your body from creating these odors. Preventing your body from creating this odor can start the night before. Right before you go to sleep, use an antiperspirant. Doing this right before you go to sleep gives it the chance to work and do its thing. When you apply it right after your shower in the morning, the accumulated sweat will wash the antiperspirant away. By applying it before bed, it has the chance to work. Antiperspirants are created to reduce sweating, whereas deodorants are created to mask the sweaty smell. Try to keep your armpits as dry as possible. For example, this could be done with the use of baby powder. Bacterias have a hard time breeding in dry areas, meaning you won't smell bad. Also, try to wash your clothes often. Sweaty clothes are perfect for bacteria to reproduce, so make sure to wash them often. What also really helps, is keeping your armpit hair in check. The less hair, the less sweat, the less smell. Another thing that can get you to have bad body odor your diet. This does not necessarily mean you have a bad diet. But strong-smelling foods like onions and garlic, as well as oily and fatty foods can seep through your pores and cause a bad body odor. Do Not Overload On Scents The power of a cologne lies in its scent. To keep this 'power', you have to make sure that you don't mix your scents. When you use too many scented products, you can start to smell really bad. Using things like scented shampoo, aftershave, deodorant, a shower gel, along with your cologne can really clash. You can eliminate these by getting unscented products. Unscented products are the key to make your cologne stand out and have it retain its original scent. Also, something related to this is using too much of your cologne. Using too much of it can be very invasive. You do not want this to happen. You wear your cologne to attract people, not to scare them away. Colognes are a complementary product, use them that way. Every cologne has a certain 'strongness' to it, so I won't be going over this in depth right now, but make sure to proportion the number of sprays. If you have a very strong cologne, go with just a few sprays. Some colognes kick in after a few minutes, so if you don't smell it right away, don't worry, it could kick in in just a bit. Also, spray your cologne on places where you can feel a heartbeat. These are called pulse points, and they are generally the warmer points of our body. These warm points will help carry the scent better. Related Questions What causes body odor? Body odor is caused when bacteria break our sweat down into acids. The bacteria that live on our body can break down the protein that is in our sweat. This is what causes the bad odor. This can be prevented by keeping the skin dry and clean.