Human Body Odor

"You have HBO!" Coined as a teasing phrase almost three decades ago, not referring to the popular cable channel Home Box Office, but human body odor. Human body odor is not a laughing matter, and there are several reasons why a person may have body odor. The following are a few causes of human body odor and how to combat them.


Skin- Bad-smelling odors can be produced by skin! Dead skin cells exist on us all. These dead skin cells (keratinocytes) are the main cells of the epidermis (outer surface) and protect the cells underneath the epidermis as they divide and replenish! However, as the dead skin cells (keratinocytes) start to age, the protein keratin is accumulated, thus a strong order is carried on the skin. Not only is exfoliating beneficial for radiant, ageless skin, but sloughing away dead skin cells for odorless skin is a plus too! When purchasing a scrub or polish, make sure it contains natural vegetable or nut oils for ultimate conditioning and hydration for the skin. If the feel of salt or sugar is not comfortable to the skin, natural body washes with enzymic (fruit) ingredients are great for eating up dead skin cells.

Vaginal Odors- Vaginal odors come about when bad bacteria overpowers good bacteria. This imbalance in bacteria causes a very unpleasant fishy odor in the vagina. To eliminate odors in the groin area all is needed is special attention to personal hygiene. Take care and use warm water and soap for cleaning. Be in tune with your body. If a vaginal odor has a stronger fish smell than usual, a fungus (yeast infection) maybe present. Contacting your physician and asking for recommendations for natural products should be the steps to take.


Genetic Odors- In the year 1970, Fish Odor Syndrome was identified as a disorder that causes the smell of rotten fish. Fish Odor Syndrome is a recessive genetic disease that varies in its time of being noticed. It may declare itself during infancy, childhood, puberty, or even adulthood. In addition, Fish Odor Syndrome is not a solo disorder. It can be associated with other genetic disorders, such as Noonan's, Turner's Syndrome, and Prader-Willi Syndrome. Although there isn't a long term cure, antibiotics are recommended to limit the bacteria that naturally occurs in the intestine, and those with this disorder should stay away from food products with large amounts of choline such as egg yolk, kidney, liver, legumes, and fish.


Elderly- Is there an odor that comes with aging? Certain situations, change of lifestyle, and changes within the body causes that distinct odor with some elderly. Some elderly people have low energy and the desire to jump into the shower or taking a daily soak becomes infrequent. Their personal hygiene becomes poor, thus allowing bacteria to flourish on the body, which is one of the primary reasons for odor. Other causes for odors that occur in the elderly are urinary leakage and halitosis (bad breath). Halitosis is very common as people age. It is estimated that 70% of the elderly do not produce enough saliva, when dealing with bacteria in the mouth saliva plays an important role. This lost of saliva does not solely rest on aging alone, but medications such as antidepressants, blood pressure medications, diuretics, and sedatives can dry out the saliva. Odorous bacteria thrives in the mouth when false teeth are present as well. It is important to take care of the elderly. Assisting with their hygiene needs, overseeing their liquid intake, managing their medication, and introducing natural remedies into their lifestyle, can possibly alleviate odor.



Sweat- This odorless liquid creates an environment for bacteria that naturally occurs on human skin. The bacteria on the skin is attracted to the sweat produced by the apocrine glands (sweat glands), located in armpits and groin area. When the sweat and bacteria interact a strong odor is produced. Although sweat glands play apart in sexual attraction, too much musky odor is unattractive. Bathing with soap and water, along with using a natural deodorant or deodorant powder can prevent unhealthy, unpleasant odors.

Diet and Lifestyle- What is put into the body and one's behavior can cause body odors. Foods such as onions, garlic, and cumin contain oils that can cause odors when excreted through the skin. Emotional stress, caffeine, and nicotine can increase the production of sweat, and in turn the risk of odor.

The following are topical relief of body odors from Healthline.com:
-Two or three charcoal capsules per day for several weeks can help absorb waste products and reduce fermentation that may be causing body odor.

-Chlorophyll tablets can be taken by mouth to absorb body toxins and odors.

-Sage tea (salvia officinalis), or sage extracts can be taken internally and an undiluted alcohol extract of sage can be used under the arms.

-Essential oils of rosemary (rosmarinus officinalis), and thyme (thymus vulgaris), can be used under the arms or on the feet.

-Baking soda or body powder will keep affected areas dry and absorb or mask odors.

-The diet should be improved to improve digestion, ensure regular bowel movements, and resolve constipation. There should be an increased intake of fluids to flush the system; six to eight glasses of water should be consumed daily.


Related Link:
Tip: Oral Hygiene

Sources:
http://everything2.com/e2node/Fish%2520Odour%2520Syndrome
http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1721156

Tip: Oral Hygiene

Tooth Powder Recipe

Promote healthier gums and teeth, prevent bad breath, and save money by making your own toothpaste (powder).

This recipe is based on what I like, you can modify the measurements and oils if you wish. I also like to use Cinnamon oil. These ingredients should be readily available at any health food store.

3 tbsp Baking Soda (cleaner)
1 tbsp Sea Salt (abrasive and "whitener")
1/8 tsp or 1/4 tsp Myrrh Gum-ground (bacteria fighter)
7 drops Tea Tree Oil (bacteria fighter)
7 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil (freshener)

Store ingredients in a container or small bottle.


How to use:
Place a nickel-sized amount of powder into the palm of your hand. Dampen toothbrush and dip it into the powder. Brush and rinse.

Initially you may be taken back by the taste, but your mouth will feel fresh, and the ingredients are very effective.

Empowering One Girl At A Time

In an October post I mentioned about how excited I was to be cross-marketing with another business. With months of communicating via email, I am pleased to announce that this endeavor has positive results.

It is true what they say, that "great minds think alike". As the owner of Black Girl Tees, an online t-shirt business that promotes the self-esteem of black women and girls, I am delighted to come together with Itiel McVay of Smell Goods '98 to support and uplift young women. 2009 is truly a year of change – this year, let's change the way our girls think about themselves and the world around them. In a society that assigns value to superficial traits, girls need affirmation that their true value lies within. They are beautiful gems to be treasured, adored and protected. In that context, we present to you this decorative poster to commemorate how truly awesome our girls are. It is our hope that the young women in your lives will feel the love and support you have for them with the gifting of this special item. For we know, just as you do, how precious the spirit of a girl truly is. Let's make sure that girls know this same truth. ~Anilia Arneus

How appropriate that we come together for this mission? The Stay Sweet Collection, a Smell Goods' creation, is a body care line for girls that promote self-worth with positive affirmations. The Stay Sweet Collection was created to enhance the inside and outside beauty.

Anilia Arneus has designed this poster just for Smell Goods. This decorative poster will be a gift with a purchase of the Stay Sweet Sugar Whip or the Stay Sweet Spritzer!

"Girls are: smart, beautiful, strong, courageous, funny, cute, important, graceful, feminine, blessed, divine, sweet, leaders, friends, loved, athletic, talented, priceless, just like me!"


Smell Goods '98 donates a percentage of sales from the Stay Sweet Collection to grass-root organizations. Such as The Teen L.U.V.E Program that is on the right sidebar.

Conversation With a Divapreneur

I've recently been published in the magazine Divapreneur! Mompreneur and sistapreneur, Tracey Brooks is one of the magazines contributing writers, and she did a write-up about me and my business. Once again I am honored and grateful.

You can download the copy for $5 or purchase the hard copy for $14.95. It's worth it! There are so many motivational and inspirational articles from contributing writers, and the magazine includes art, crafts, and other treasures. I am looking forward to introducing myself and adding some of the writers and featured Indies to my network.

An Organic Love Discovery

Last week my sister (friend) was talking to me about her hair. She is going back to her natural, beautiful curly hair. No more Relaxers (she did not need them anyway)! The one thing that women ("black") are most surprised about when going natural is the dryness of the hair. Yes, natural hair needs plenty of hydration. Natural hair is very fragile and can easily break if not moisturized . Every curl has the potential for breakage. She is always online trying to find the best natural hair care products. So far she has been somewhat disappointed, but the hunt is still on. She was on the hunt for a shampoo, so I suggested Dr. Bonner's vegetable castile. Itiel, why did you suggest another brands vegetable castile when you sale a very healthy, luxurious vegetable castile product? I remember using Organic Love on my hair once and it took me awhile to rinse it out of these locs! But, then it hit me! On Dr. Bonner's bottle it reads, dilute, dilute, dilute! I did not dilute my base! The formulation for Organic Love is for the body. Ah ha! Diluting worked fantastically! I washed my daughters' hair last night and the softness and shine is just amazing. No squeakiness from the chemicals stripping the hair of natural oils, just nice fluffy natural locs.




Organic Love is an organic vegetable castile soap enriched with Raw African Black Soap (also for shampooing) and Green Papaya. No surfactants (SLS or the others). It is nourishing for the skin and now I (and you) know it is great for cleaning and moisturizing the hair!

To use as shampoo (for 8 oz):
-Use this mixture if you have to have suds. More suds does not equal clean.
1/2 cup of Organic Love, 1/2 cup purified water

-This mixture delivers nice suds, just not as much.
1/4 cup of Organic Love, 3/4 cup purified water


The style:
I styled my daughter's hair in a loop style. It is a two-in-one type of style for locs. It can be worn like this for weeks, then taken down to be very curly, like my profile pic. Take two locs and tie them like a shoestring (without the bows of course) continuously until you get to the ends, work ends back into loop or secure with black rubber bands.

FYI: Although there are many products that can help you achieve moisture for your hair and skin, remember that water is the best hydrator!

Tip: Castor Oil Packs

Castor Oil is used a lot in the products that I create. I love it! Not only are the healing properties superior when applied topically, but when absorbed into the skin the body's lymphatic tissue benefits too! I've taken this excerpt from an online article that I enjoyed reading. If you, or someone you know, are suffering from edema, arthritis, boils, hyperactivity, colon problems, etc, the castor oil packs could be beneficial.

Castor Oil Packs

One of the most useful and least utilized methods of using castor oil is to employ packs. Packs are an economical and efficient method of absorbing the ricinoleic acid and other healing components of castor oil directly into body tissues. (The following basic procedure was outlined in several of the readings of Edgar Cayce.)

To make a castor oil pack you will need the following items: cold pressed castor oil, a standard heating pad, a plastic garbage bag, two or three one-foot square pieces of wool or cotton flannel and one large bath towel.

1. Start by placing the heating pad on a flat surface and turn the setting to high.

2. On top of the pad lay the plastic garbage bag. Next, soak the flannel pieces with castor oil generally about 1/2 cup) and lay them on top of the garbage bag and heating pad.

3. The entire pack can now be placed against the body with the oil-soaked flannel on the skin. For general conditions the pack should be placed on the abdomen. (For treating lower back problems, the pack can be placed there.) To help hold the pack in place and to keep oil from getting on bedding, etc., the body can be wrapped in a large bath towel.

4. The pack should remain in place for at least one hour and the temperature of the heating pad should be kept at the highest temperature tolerable to the patient.

5. When you remove the pack, the remaining oil can be massaged into the skin or cleaned off using a little soda water made from 1 quart of warm water and 2 tablespoons of baking soda.

6. The flannel can be reused if stored properly after removing the pack. Put the flannel in either a plastic bag or zip-loc container and place it in the refrigerator. Before using it next time let it warm up and always add another 1 or 2 tablespoons of fresh cold pressed castor oil. (After a month of use I would recommend using new flannel.)

Conditions Responding to Castor Oil Packs

Due to the many effects of its fatty acid component, ricinoleic acid, the use of castor oil can be used topically to treat a wide variety of health complaints.

Lymphatic Congestion

Obviously, conditions known to be related to poor drainage of the lymphatic system will tend to benefit from this type of therapy. These would include complaints such as:

1. chronic fluid retention with swollen joints and pain
2. arthritis
3. upper respiratory infections involving the sinuses,
tonsils and inner ear
4. colon problems like Crohn's disease or colitis
5. gallbladder disease
6. boils
7. liver cirrhosis, hepatitis, enlargement or congestion
8. menstrual-related congestion
9. appendicitis
10. hyperactivity
11. constipation, bowel impaction or adhesions
12. swollen lymph nodes
13. bladder and vaginal infections

Neurological Problems

Several neurological problems have also been responsive to castor oil. These include:

1. nerve inflammations such as sciatica, shingles, etc.
2. Parkinson's disease
3. multiple sclerosis
4. migraine headaches
5. cerebral palsy

AIDS

Conditions that stress or compromise the immune system will very often benefit from castor oil packs. Nowhere is this more obvious than with AIDS. I have talked with several AIDS patients who have added castor oil packs (usually for one hour a day) to their treatment regimen with very positive results. Within two weeks, it was not uncommon for them to see increases in their WBC counts (white blood cell counts), platelet counts, hematocrit readings and RBC counts (red blood cells).

I should mention also that in addition to the castor oil packs most of those I talked to are also drinking a combination of olive oil and lemon juice to further stimulate lymphatic flow and liver activity. It can be made by blending the following:

1 clean whole lemon, (pulp, rind, seeds and all)
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups of distilled water
4 rounded tablespoons of frozen orange juice concentrate

The blended material is then strained through a wire strainer to remove the pulp, which is discarded. The remaining liquid is divided in four equal portions of approximately 1/4 cup each and a portion is consumed with each of the three daily meals and before bedtime.

In addition to stimulating lymphatic flow, the drink increases the flow of bile from the liver and gallbladder, which, in turn, enhances one's ability to digest essential fatty acids through the Peyer's patches in the small intestine. It is not uncommon for AIDS patients to experience weight gain and a reversal of a long list of complaints often associated with fatty acid deficiencies.


Source
Castor Oil-Natural Protection from Deadly Viruses

Tip: Feet Reflexes

Need more pep in your step? Who knew it could be achieved, just by soaking your feet!

What you need:
A basin or tub of warm water.
Your favorite soak.
Marbles!

What to do:
Put your favorite soak into the water.
Toss marbles into water.

Here's the fun part:
Roll your feet over the marbles. You are now stimulating your feet's reflex points.