The Top 10 Causes of Body Odour

March 20, 2025

If you’re sitting here searching for the 10 causes of body odour, the likelihood is you’re not feeling you’re best right now. You’re probably embarrassed, ashamed, and awkward that you’re even looking for body odour causes.

But we can promise you, it’s nothing to feel embarrassed about.

Here at Make Waves, we understand that every body and every day is different. Some people may sweat more than others and that’s okay! However, that doesn’t make it feel less uncomfortable.

Our experts have put together this blog so that way you can understand the causes of body odour, why your sweat smells, and how to manage your body odour.

Right, let's get into it!

What are the 10 causes of body odour?

We want to reiterate that sweating and body odour isn’t a bad thing! However, if it is causing you unwanted sweat patches or making you feel uncomfortable, these are the top 10 causes of body odour.

Hormonal changes

The first option on our list of the top 10 causes of body odour is hormonal changes. We all remember that time in our teenage years when we suddenly started to smell… thanks hormones!

But that’s not the only time in our lives when our hormones fluctuate. Both men and women go through hormonal changes throughout their lives that affect how their bodies function and react to different ingredients and situations, ultimately affecting sweat.

A well-known hormonal change for women is the menopause. You may find that whether you are perimenopausal or fully in menopause you will be sweating more than usual which can impact your body odour. And not just during the day! You could experience night sweats too!

If you are pregnant or postpartum, you could also experience hormonal changes that can cause you to smell more than usual.

Exercise

In a similar manner, when you exercise your internal body temperature increases. Therefore, when you sweat to cool your body down it can cause an unpleasant body odour.

Some people may think that you just sweat when doing cardio, like on the stairmaster, rower, or treadmill. However, you can also sweat when doing more low-impact activities, such as:

Yoga
Lifting weights
Stretching
Walking

Of course, exercise is really important for your health and you can always shower afterwards to remove any body odour.

Diet

As we’re talking about exercise, of course, we need to mention diet. Some people may just say that spicy foods can cause body odour but they just make you sweat more. There’s actually much more than just spicy foods…

Have you ever asked yourself, “Why does my wee smell after I’ve eaten asparagus?”... Well this is the exact same thing but for sweat.

We’ve listed some foods below that are rich in sulfur and can lead to unpleasant scents. These include:

Onions
Garlic
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Red meat

We’re not saying you need to remove these items from your diet, but just be mindful of your dietary choices and how often you eat them.

Alcohol

Where there’s food, there’s drink. You may find that when you drink alcohol you have a hot flush, but it’s not just the increase of body temperature that can cause an unwanted smell.

When alcohol leaves our body, it exits through our pores which can create body odour. Plus, alcohol can disrupt your natural bacteria balance which could impact your sweat and body odour.

Medical conditions

Some medical conditions can cause you to sweat more and subsequently, smell worse. For example, you could have:

Hyperhidrosis
Diabetes
Thyroid conditions

They can have an impact on your metabolic rate which increases your internal temperature.

Medication

Speaking of medical conditions, medication can also be a cause of your body odour. It could be a side effect of taking the medication or simply how your body reacts to this new remedy.

Some examples of medication that could affect your body odour include:

Antidepressants
Zinc supplements
Iron supplements
Antiepileptics
Hormonal medications

Of course, medication could be essential to your everyday life, but if the side effects are negatively impacting you, you could always ask your doctor if you could swap your medication.

Stress or anxiety

If you’ve ever been in a highly stressful situation or suffered from anxiety, you may find that you’re always hot. No matter how much you fan yourself or iced drinks you have you just can’t cool down.

That’s because stress and anxiety can make you smell more as it is a physiological response to how you are feeling. We recommend trying to find calming techniques so you can feel more in control of your mental health and how often you sweat.

Hot weather

This one seems obvious, but if you’re worrying about body odour it can easily be overlooked. Especially in warmer climates, you are likely to sweat more as your body is trying to keep you cool.

Unfortunately, there isn’t always something you can do to control the weather but you could always wear a hat, keep hydrated, and carry a fan to help cool you down. This is because the cooler you are, the less you will sweat and potentially smell.

Genetics

Yep, you read that right! Your genetics can be the cause of your body odour. This is because your bodily composition and how it interacts with your sweat glands could mean the bacteria on your skin can smell more than someone else.

Here at Make Waves, we understand that every body is different. So much so that you could have more sweat glands than others which could also have an impact on your body odour.

So, unfortunately, genetics could have an effect on your odour.

Overweight

Unfortunately, being overweight can cause you to have body odour as the extra pockets of body fat as an insulator. Naturally, this makes you feel warmer and hence you sweat more to cool down.

While sweating itself doesn’t cause body odour, when the sweat mixes with the bacteria found under your arms it causes an unwanted smell.

Why does my sweat smell bad?

Some people believe that your sweat is what smells. This isn’t exactly true… The cause of body odour is when sweat mixes with bacteria on your skin. That’s what causes B.O., not the sweat itself.

When you have the above causes in the mix as well, unwanted body odour is to be expected. However, there are things you can do to manage your body odour and ensure you smell fresh all day long.

How to manage the causes of body odour

Speaking of things you can do to take care of your body odour, here are five simple ways to smell fresh for the whole day:

High-performance antiperspirant: Of course, one of the easiest ways to keep on top of your body odour is to use an antiperspirant that works! Unsure which brand is best? Well, we have over 1,200 five-star Trustpilot reviews… We created our natural antiperspirant with leading chemists to ensure the ingredients not only care for your skin but also perform no matter what your day has in store. Check out this review from one of our happy customers:

She’s just one of thousands of people who stick with Make Waves - either our deodorant or antiperspirant! We have lots of beautiful scents for you to choose from to ensure you smell gorgeous all day, even including an unscented version for sensitive skin.

Showers and baths: We all know just how important it is to shower and bathe, but how many times should you clean your body each week? Well, that completely depends on your lifestyle. If you’re someone who likes to exercise first thing in the morning but then doesn’t leave enough time to shower before work, then you can expect to have some body odour as you’ve worked up a sweat! If you live a more sedentary lifestyle, you probably don’t need to shower morning and night, but multiple times each week is important to keep your body smelling fresh.
Use antibacterial soap: Speaking of showers, if you use the regular shower gel you can get off the shelves, it’s time for an upgrade! You should consider antibacterial body wash as not only does it keep you smelling lovely, but it kills the bacteria in your armpits. As we all know by now, it’s the bacteria that mixes with your sweat which causes B.O. So, antibacterial shower gel is the way to go.
Calming techniques: This is perfect for those of you who struggle with stress or anxiety and find it difficult to cool down! By implementing these techniques, you will find that your heart rate comes back down to normal and you feel more zen. This can stop excessive sweating and hence, unwanted smelling. Some examples of calming techniques include:

Deep breathing
Grounding
Visualisation

Be careful of your food and drink consumption: As we mentioned above, certain food and drink can cause your body odour to be more smelly than others. Therefore, we recommend being cautious of what you consume - either food or drink. Of course, you do not have to totally eliminate them from your diet, but perhaps less of those items.

Keep your body odour in check with antiperspirant from Make Waves!

So, those are the top 10 causes of body odour and how to manage the causes so you stay dry and fresh all day long.

When we were creating our natural antiperspirant and deodorant, we chose ingredients that were not only kind to our skin but also performed. We understand that every body and every day is different, which is why we have both options so you can choose the right product for your needs that day.

Don’t believe us? Well, our 1,200+ five-star Trustpilot reviews say different! Check out what this happy customer says: