How to Get Rid of Armpit Odor: Causes and Solutions

Armpit odor is caused by bacteria on your skin breaking down sweat into odorous compounds. To get rid of it, the most effective approaches are using antibacterial soap and deodorant, removing underarm hair, and for excessive sweating, medical treatments like Botox or miraDry. At Social Citizen, we hear from tens of thousands of customers who deal with this daily, and one of the most practical ways to keep sweat and odor from affecting your clothing is a sweat-proof shirt with a built-in 3-layer underarm pad.

Did you know Social Citizen's sweat-proof Social Tees help stop armpit odor with built-in underarm pads?

What Is Armpit Odor?

Armpit odor is a totally natural function of the human body. Our bodies are covered in a layer of bacteria that are invisible, odorless, and actually important for our health, protecting us against harmful invaders, among many other functions.

The problem happens when bacteria meets your sweat. Bacteria are living things and they need something to eat. It just so happens that our sweat, the odorless liquid emitted from our sweat glands to cool us down and regulate body temperature, is the perfect food for them.

But if bacteria is odorless, and sweat is odorless, then what causes body odor? When these two get together, that's when the stink happens. As bacteria break down your sweat, it develops an odor. That's why armpits smell.

If your armpits smell worse than usual, it's usually one of two things: you're sweatier than usual, giving bacteria more food to turn into odor, or you have more bacteria than usual, which can happen if it's been a while since your last shower.

How Do I Know If I Stink?

Sometimes we don't notice our own smell, but the people around us do. There are a few ways to detect your own odor:

• Pay attention to the people around you. Do they seem to notice?

• Sniff yourself in your more pungent areas. Think armpit, not forearm.

• Reset your nose by smelling something strong like coffee for a full minute, then smell yourself.

• Ask a trusted friend to take a whiff and let you know.

Consider wearing a Social Citizen Social Tee, made with a hidden bamboo underarm pad that can absorb sweat and fight odor.

Why Do Armpits Still Smell After Showering?

Showering reduces surface bacteria but doesn't eliminate it. Bacteria survive in hair follicles, pores, and deeper skin layers, and the full odor cycle restarts within roughly one hour after a shower, according to the International Hyperhidrosis Society.

The Mayo Clinic explains that apocrine glands, concentrated in the armpits, release a milky fluid that is odorless until it combines with bacteria on the skin. The Cleveland Clinic adds that the amount you sweat doesn't necessarily determine how much you smell. Body odor depends on bacterial activity, not sweat volume alone.

Multiple peer-reviewed studies confirm the skin microbiome is remarkably resistant to cleansing. Research published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology found that despite washing with common cleansers, no significant change in bacterial communities was detected. Bacteria survive washing because they live not just on the skin surface but in hair follicles, sweat gland ducts, and deeper skin layers.

As soon as apocrine glands secrete new sweat post-shower, surviving bacteria resume breaking it down, and the odor cycle starts again.

How to Get Rid of Underarm Smell

If you've figured out that you do indeed smell, here are the most effective ways to address it:

• Deodorant: kills bacteria in your underarm and masks existing odor with a more pleasant smell.

• Antibacterial soap: kills bacteria on the skin's surface.

• Apple cider vinegar: can kill bacteria, though some people find the smell of it worse than body odor itself.

• Green tea: may help block pores on the skin.

• Lemon juice: can kill bacteria.

• Baking soda: can balance out the acid in your sweat.

• Turmeric: has antibacterial properties.

• Changing your diet: reducing caffeine, alcohol, onions, and garlic can help reduce odor.

• Shaving your underarms: hair traps sweat and bacteria, so removing it reduces odor. More on this below.

Does Shaving Your Armpits Reduce Odor?

Yes, meaningfully. The best available study on this, published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, found that shaving plus soap washing reduced armpit odor by 57% compared to washing alone, while waxing achieved a 75% reduction. Simply trimming with scissors had no statistically significant effect.

The mechanism is straightforward: hair shafts provide extra surface area for bacteria to colonize, trap moisture that helps bacteria thrive, and physically block soap and deodorant from reaching the skin. Waxing outperforms shaving because it disrupts bacterial biofilm within the hair follicles themselves, not just at the surface.

The Mayo Clinic explicitly recommends hair removal as an odor management strategy. The International Hyperhidrosis Society goes further, noting that "shaving works well, but waxing, laser-based hair removal, or miraDry treatment of the underarms is even better."

One practical note: the benefit is strongest immediately after hair removal and weakens as hair regrows, so consistent removal is needed to maintain the effect.

How to Get Rid of Underarm Odor Permanently

Most of the solutions above require daily effort. But is there a way to permanently eliminate underarm odor?

To permanently get rid of body odor, you'd have to eliminate at least one of the two things that create it: sweat or bacteria. Getting rid of bacteria permanently isn't realistic, and you wouldn't want to, since it plays a role in keeping you healthy.

What about sweat? There are a few options for eliminating underarm sweat:

1. Botox injections: blocks the nerve signals responsible for sweating, reducing how much sweat is produced. Results typically last several months before a repeat treatment is needed.

2. miraDry: a non-surgical treatment that uses microwave energy to permanently destroy sweat and odor glands in the underarm. It's FDA-cleared for treating underarm sweating, odor, and hair. Clinical trials show an average sweat reduction of around 82%, with 89-97% of patients reporting odor improvement. Costs range from $1,500 to $3,000 and is generally not covered by insurance.

3. Surgical sweat gland removal: a more invasive option where a doctor physically removes sweat glands.

None of these procedures are guaranteed to stop 100% of sweating, and they're a serious commitment, so it's worth trying the simpler solutions first.

How to Get Rid of Body Odor

Armpit odor isn't the only type of body odor. Your whole body can smell anywhere sweat interacts with bacteria. Other common areas include:

• The feet

• The mouth

• The scalp

• The groin

Dealing with odor in these areas is similar to dealing with underarm odor. There are plenty of home solutions to try, as well as more serious medical ones.

Good baseline hygiene goes a long way: regular showers with antibacterial soap, consistent deodorant use, and hair removal in high-odor areas all help. Deodorant is formulated for underarms specifically, but antiperspirant can be used almost anywhere.

How Social Citizen Can Help You

Tired of armpit odor ruining your shirts? Social Citizen's sweat-proof shirts are built with a hidden 3-layer underarm pad that stops sweat from reaching the fabric, which means less sweat for bacteria to break down in the first place. They come in crewnecks, V-necks, polos, and dress shirts, in multiple colors and styles, all guaranteed to stop 100% of underarm sweat stains from showing.

No more sweat stains!