The history of using deodorant dates back to ancient practices.
The Egyptians bathed often in perfumed water and used citrus fruits and cinnamon to mask body odor. Other cultures used fragrant wax, oils, and perfumes in order to cover the smell caused by bacteria mixed with perspiration on human skin.
But use of deoderants—like access to water—was a sign of wealth.
The Middle Ages saw Europe abandon bathing at the insistence of the church which declared all nudity—thus bathing—a grave sin. Europeans of all social classes largely ceased cleaning themselves.
The wealthiest doused their perpetually clothed bodies in perfumes to cover the stench, but it was a very rank time according to historical accounts. Meanwhile, the “uncivilized world” continued bathing.
The introduction of commercial deoderants began in the late 19th century, with a product called Mum. Trademarked in 1888, it was a waxy cream that came in a metal tin and used zinc oxide to kill odor-causing bacteria.
Antiperspirants—which reduce sweating—were introduced in the early 1900s. The first commercial antiperspirant, Everdry, hit the market in 1903 and used aluminum salts to block sweat glands.
A 2021 survey found 95% of people in the United States use deoderants or antiperspirants of some kind—best-selling commercial products, niche organic and natural alternatives, and homemade options.
A woman, whose sister decided to join the 5% of people who eschew deoderants of any kind, turned to the “Am I The A**Hole” (AITAH) subReddit for feedback.
Similar to AITA, the AITAH subReddit allows posters to ask for advice and post about ending romantic relationships. However there are no official voting acronyms and no final judgment given.
TheNose2025 asked:
“I (21, female) don’t want to embarrass my sister (25, female) any farther. I was never good at biology, but I don’t think Sissy is any better.”
“She has the idea that only men need deodorant because of testosterone or something. She thinks that women don’t need deodorant, so she stopped wearing deodorant.”
“With all due respect, the woman stinks. Her smell is killing me.”
“Her boyfriend (28, male) told me that he is suffering too and he asked me to talk to her about it. The boyfriend doesn’t want to tell her.”
“I gently sat her down and I told her that I don’t think her idea is true.”
“She asked me if I was accusing her of being stinky. I told her stinky wasn’t the right word, but maybe she should use deodorant again.”
“I mean, maybe I should have I told her, ‘I’m also a woman and I stink when I don’t wear deodorant’. To kinda not make it just on her.”
“She got upset with me and now she’s not talking to me. I mean, I get it, her body her choice.”
“But I was just trying to help since she seemed to be and was in fact, very unaware of how she was affecting other people.”
“I couldn’t really blame it on her hormones. She smelled fine when she wore deodorant, she stopped, now she stinks.”
“Unless I come up with a theory that her stopping wearing deodorant changed her hormones.”
“Am I the a**hole?”
Some Redditors weighed in by using the AITA voting acronyms:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Redditors decided the OP was
“Tell the boyfriend he’s a grown a** man and should tell your sister she stinks. You tried to tell her, but it didn’t change things. He’s up next. NTA.” ~ OkExternal7904
“NTA. In fact you actually did her a favor. But it would take time for her to understand.” ~ IndicationOver3333
“I think her boyfriend is the only person that can talk sense into her.” ~ AnnabellaSweet
“Wait til she finds out women have testosterone too. I can’t imagine being this wrong and stubborn, and making everyone around me suffer as a result. NTA.” ~ theworldisonfire8377
“It’s definitely her body and her choice, but that also comes with consequences, meaning people will start avoiding her if she really stinks.”
“NTA. You tried and honestly I think you were too nice even. She will learn her lesson by herself sooner or later.” ~ Bibi-Toy
“NTA. When I was in college, there was a chick that believed the same thing, only she went a step further and didn’t use soap either. I had a class with her in a building where it got really warm in the hot months (Texas so starting in April), and the AC sucked so she was pungent.”
“She sat in the front right side of the room and there was a fight every day to get to the back left side of the room. Professor was a champ and never seemed to notice it, but OMG, it was bad.”
“Ladies, soap and deodorant. It’s not the 1600’s anymore, bathing is not a bad thing. By the way, this was an Ag (farming) class, so when the Ag kids think something stinks…” ~ farmerthrowaway1923
“When people smell or sweat, we take a shower. We sweat in the armpits and we put on deodorant, why is that different?”
“I don’t understand her logic, and women do have testosterone, but much more lower levels than men. She’s 25 and does not do the research or simply does not believe it? NTA.”
“I think, honestly, the best thing to do is maybe have a conversation with you, her boyfriend, and maybe family members. Because if the boyfriend also thinks it’s a problem, I’m sure other people do as well.”
“Maybe hearing it from other people will enable something in her to consider wearing deodorant or other alternatives.” ~ Aware_Lifeguard_6814
“NTA. You did it very delicately, because it’s not as if she has a medical condition that makes her stink. She just thinks she doesn’t stink. You should tell her to buy some perfume & body wash if she really doesn’t want deodorant.” ~ Snoopysbiggestfan
“NTA. You approached the situation kindly and respectfully, which is way more than most people would have done.”
“It’s hard to bring up sensitive topics like that without hurting someone’s feelings, but you genuinely cared about her and the people around her. At the end of the day, hygiene affects everyone, not just the person making the choice.”
“Hopefully she’ll cool down and realize you were just trying to help, not criticize her. You handled it with a lot of maturity!” ~ CharityTurbulent4872
“Molecular biologist here. Not only could it be hormones, but it could also be pH, microbiome, and plain old genetics.”
“The idea that women smell better than men is preposterous. A person’s scent isn’t fully controlled by the hormones their bodies put out, and women don’t all put out the same hormones.”
“I know a woman who produces more testosterone than a man, but if she showers daily she doesn’t need deodorant. I know another who had a full hysterectomy in her youth, has passed menopause, and no deodorant out of the many she’s tried stops her from having a big not good scent.”
“For her it’s simply genetic. Her grandmother was the same way, and she’s had some success in altering her scent with oils. It’s not just her pits, it’s all of her skin.”
“If your sister is smelling just because of refusing deodorant, it’s probably bacteria getting her. If she’s afraid of chemicals in products, there are a lot of natural options out there.”
“If it’s just because she thinks women don’t smell, she’s showing some misandry there and might want to really think about how she came to this conclusion.” ~ ARTiger20
“Deodorant is not the only solution, though it’s the easiest. In some parts of the world people keep wipes for their pits and use them a lot rather than deodorant.”
“You’d still have to let her know that she has body odor.”
“When I was a kid my mom would forceably hand tissues to anyone who sniffled. So perhaps whenever you get a whiff of her, hand her a pleasant smelling wipe (not just a water wipe).”
“She won’t like it, but it would make your point. Her: ‘but I don’t smell’. You: ‘yes, you do’.” ~ MadMadamMimsy
“It is possible to manage smell without deodorant, but she would have to still be incredibly hygienic to successfully pull that off and since she stinks, she clearly doesn’t have the appropriate level of hygiene to accomplish that.” ~ SillySpiral1196
“Stop sugar coating things. Tell her straight up, ‘You f*cking stink and you are going to lose your boyfriend and all your friends if you don’t start taking care of your hygiene better’.”
“Why are you—and her cowardly boyfriend—tap dancing around the issue?”
“The world is not a nice place. People can and will tell her that she smells bad. Better to come from you—best to come from her boyfriend—than from strangers.” ~ JellicoAlpha_3_1
The OP provided an update:
“I talked to her again today. I was sweaty and stinky from a jog, so I hoped that would make her less defensive.”
“I tried to be gentle. She did admit that she stinks, but somehow she’s still mad at me.”
“Now she’s accusing me of trying to control her and also accusing me of taking joy in proving her wrong. I think I need some space from my sister for a while.”
Next time her sister’s boyfriend has a problem with the OP’s sister, he’ll need to handle himself.
As he should.