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It’s about managing your microbiome to outcompete malodorous species with those producing more favorable odors. If your armpits stink, try resetting your microbiome with an iodine rinse such as Betadine for a few days and you should be fine without underarm products provided you are in good health:

“… an increase in bacteria that compete with odour-generating bacteria may provide a means to reduce body odours without significantly affecting overall microbiota abundance, bypassing the need to use antiperspirants or bactericidal substances.” Reference: https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40168-014-0064-3

Additional steps which you can take to improve your microbiome and reduce your negative armpit smell are to minimize your meat intake and facilitate mucus in your digestive tract by taking turmeric and black pepper supplements.

I’ve already provided references but here are some more demonstrating that your armpits specifically smell worse because you use deodorants and/or antiperspirants. Do the world a favor and manage your microbiome more conscientiously than this lazy brained approach you’ve taken so far. In short, you stink, but there’s an easy solution to it.

"Overuse of underarm cosmetics is often a flee reaction of people who suffer from malodourous axillae. It is hypothesized in this viewpoint that over usage of these products leads to a selective colonization of malodour-causing microbiota. These bacteria survive in the sweat glands and around the hair roots and are generally more able to withstand the more anaerobic environment. Reference: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/exd.13259

“… an increase in bacteria that compete with odour-generating bacteria may provide a means to reduce body odours without significantly affecting overall microbiota abundance, bypassing the need to use antiperspirants or bactericidal substances.” Reference: https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40168-014-0064-3

“Especially when antiperspirants were applied, the microbiome showed an increase in diversity. Antiperspirant usage led toward an increase of Actinobacteria, which is an unfavorable situation with respect to body odor development. These initial results show that axillary cosmetics modify the microbial community and can stimulate odor-producing bacteria.” Reference: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Chris-Callewaert-2/publication/264435099_Deodorants_and_antiperspirants_affect_the_axillary_bacterial_community/links/5f538892458515e96d2f2441/Deodorants-and-antiperspirants-affect-the-axillary-bacterial-community.pdf

If you wear deodorant then you smell more like rotting flesh. That’s not my opinion, that’s science.

Corynebacterium is more of a fruity, vinegar smell. I don’t find that to be an offensive odor. It’s what fresh sweat smells like. Staphylococcus smells like decomposition which I find highly offensive. Try it out for yourself, rinse your armpits with iodine and see how the smell changes. If you haven’t done it then you won’t know.

There are different kinds of bad smells. The smell of sweat is not that of rancid undigested meat which is what Staphylococcus smells like. If you want to be walking around like a half-digested steak, you’re welcome to it.

You’re not preventing bacterial growth, you’re resetting your biome to encourage aerobic bacterial growth which is less likely to produce foul smells. Bacteria is everywhere, only some of it smells.

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The study referenced found that deodorants encourage anaerobic bacterial growth (i.e. Staphylococcus) while antiperspirants kill off most bacteria. Bacteria cultures of people who do not use armpit products are dominated by aerobic bacteria (i.e. Corynebacterium).

The science behind this comment: https://time.com/4207846/deodorant-antiperspirant-microorganisms/

If you’ve never worn deodorant then you likely won’t need to wear deodorant as long as you bathe regularly. Once you start wearing deodorant it encourages growth of anaerobic bacteria which leads to foul smelling armpits. For those who have been wearing deodorant who want to get off of it, you can wash your armpits with an iodine rinse solution such as Betadine in the shower for a few days to a few weeks, then you should be free of that ridiculous need henceforth.