Haa!
That question you probably can’t ask anyone! You have to keep it within yourself and wonder if there is anything wrong.
Now that you have the opportunity of the internet, you can ask in secret (and in peace). And get your answer from a variety of places, right?
If you feel like you’re going back, again and again, to smell your armpits because you like the smell, then you’re not alone.
Dozens of other men have found themselves in the same habit. There are even women who say they love the smell of their husband’s armpit too.
Is this normal? And why exactly do you like that smell? Let’s go over a few possible scenarios.
Table of Contents
Why You Like the Smell of Your Armpits
The most satisfactory answer I’ve found for myself after thinking this over is that the pungent smell of your freshly shaven underarms is so unique and irresistible that you always go back to sniff it.
The reason why it’s unique is that the skin under the armpit secretes a very strong and thick scent mixed with body sweat and oil.
The combination comes about after the bacteria in those areas feed on the body’s sweat and then secrete a combo of yummy sweat oil.
In another explanation, when you sweat a lot in that area, the scent gland in the area will secrete pheromones to the sweat, making a unique scent.
Coupled with the lack of hair circulation in the area, the scent is almost unmatched by any. Not too strong and not too mild, just in the middle to make it sweet.
As you can imagine, it’s an entirely different thing from when you fart. Your fart is just gas.
Whereas the smell from the armpit area is more of a by-product of the bacteria that survive on the sweat from the body.
You can’t help yourself out of it. This may not be as strong as the above. But most guys that do it, including me, can’t just help themselves.
What Do Armpits Smell Like?
Your armpits can smell like anything.
Depending on the strength of your sweat glands, you may be able to pinpoint and describe exactly how your armpit smell.
Quite a few people have been able to describe what it smells like.
Here are a few ideas:
- Your armpits could smell like vinegar. That’s quite common and a lot of people tend to experience it. I discuss this problem in detail in my post: “Why do my feet smell like vinegar“.
- Your berries could smell like garlic. This is quite common too and not really because of eating garlic.
- Other popular ones include berries smelling like onion, skunk, citrus, mildew, yeast, curry, ammonia, cheese, eggs, and tuna. Yes, it’s that lengthy.
- What does yours smell like?
Why do you keep doing it?
There was a time I was doing this regularly and constantly and couldn’t get myself to stop. Later on, I discovered that I do it the most when I’m not busy or lazying around.
After some time, I literally stopped doing it because I had a lot of jobs to do and was too busy the whole day to think about it.
Now, I occasionally do it when I’m in the bathroom, ready to screech off all the dirt on my body.
So, it may be because you have nothing to do and just want to have a little fun.
Another reason is when you’re extremely tired. I’ve found myself returning to this after a rough day.
When you’ve worked so much and are ready to rest, why not scratch there and check how it’s doing?
And don’t forget to do a sniff test while you’re at it.
Another thing I could think of is probably to check the health of the pits.
I hate the scent I get from there when it’s full of hair and I haven’t had the chance to shower after a stressful session from an exercise or outdoor activity.
In most cases, I try to shave and have the place free from the bush. It’ll always smell better that way.
Is it weird that I like the smell of my armpits?
It’s a little weird at least to me. Granted, there are quite a sizeable number of males that do this.
And you know, this is a sensitive subject.
So, you won’t see it discussed much especially in the public.
But when you have the opportunity to talk about it, you’ll likely see others chiming in and confessing to it.
If it’s something you do occasionally, sparingly, then it might be okay.
But once it becomes an occurrence that you sometimes do it unconsciously, then you will start looking weird.
Good luck if you do that outside where onlookers gape at you with their mouths wide open.
Could it be the sign of an underlying sickness? I don’t think so. What I think is causing it is the compelling smell (or scent?) that comes from there.
It is almost always irresistible. That should explain why you or anyone will keep doing this.
Is it a scent or smell?
While a lot of people tend to call it a smell, I like to call it a scent. A smell is something you want to stay away from.
A scent, on the other hand, is something you enjoy and want to smell more.
So, whenever you discover the scent from your armpit is too strong or bad, then you may have a medical condition.
As long as you’re always looking forward to a session with the scent, then you’re alright. Just don’t forget to clean up when appropriate.
Can you stop the scent?
I doubt you can.
It’s a natural scent that occurs there, especially if you go through a tasking activity such as an exercise or you worked for hours under the sun.
If you go and shower, the smell should reduce. But it’ll return later as the bacterias become active again.
Conclusion
The smell can mean quite a few things to people.
It could mean that you enjoy the unique scent produced by that area and you can’t hold yourself back from smelling it.
It could also be because you want to check the health of the area to determine if it needs medical attention or just cleaning.
I’ve often found that the latter is always the case. Also, no matter how hygienic you are, the smell will always be there, especially when you just shaved.
It’s normal and not weird, considering that a sizeable number of guys do it. If you’re the only one catching yourself doing it (and occasionally), you’re fine.
If others are catching you doing it, you need to reduce it or be able to explain the whole concept to them.