WEBVTT - Do Some Fabrics Make Body Odor Worse?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff Works. Hey, their

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<v Speaker 1>brain stuff Lauren Vogel bomb here. If you're preparing for

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<v Speaker 1>a hike, especially one that involves sleeping under the stars,

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<v Speaker 1>every last thing you pack should be questioned, will you

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<v Speaker 1>need rain gear? One walking sticker to which freeze dried

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<v Speaker 1>snacks are actually tasty enough to eat? One essential rule

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<v Speaker 1>from experienced hikers is no cotton clothing. Clothes made of

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<v Speaker 1>cotton can act as a sponge. The material soaks up

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<v Speaker 1>sweat and holds moisture next to the skin, which eliminates

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<v Speaker 1>the insulating effect of the cotton, causes skin irritation, and

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<v Speaker 1>eventually leads to copious amounts of body odor. A body

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<v Speaker 1>odor isn't a personal affront. Every adult whose body temperature

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<v Speaker 1>becomes high enough to cause certain glands to secrete fluid

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<v Speaker 1>onto the surface of the skin is at risk for

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<v Speaker 1>emanating at least a little bit, and it isn't without purpose.

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<v Speaker 1>Sweat produced by the acrine glands that cover most of

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<v Speaker 1>the body helps regulate body temperature, while the milky or

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<v Speaker 1>fluid released by the apocrene glands in the armpits and

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<v Speaker 1>growing area is a signal that the body is under stress.

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<v Speaker 1>Apricrene glands are primarily responsible for body odor, and although

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<v Speaker 1>acrene glands secrete primarily odorless sweat, the smell produced by

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<v Speaker 1>this sweat changes over time. Perspiration acts as a magnet

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<v Speaker 1>to bacteria on the skin, and these bacteria use it

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<v Speaker 1>as a fuel to multiply. When the growing numbers of

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<v Speaker 1>bacteria metabolize the sweat, they produce a smelly byproduct commonly

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<v Speaker 1>called body odor. Clearly, cotton isn't the right choice for

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<v Speaker 1>working up a sweat, since it can actually make body

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<v Speaker 1>odor worse. But what about other types of fabrics? Do

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<v Speaker 1>all fabrics increase a person's propensity to develop body odor.

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<v Speaker 1>The key to using clothing to prevent or lessen body

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<v Speaker 1>odor lies in the fabric's ability to release sweat quickly

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<v Speaker 1>before bacteria can begin to feast on it. There are

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<v Speaker 1>natural and man made fabrics that expertly wicked moisture away

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<v Speaker 1>from the skin and to the edge of the material,

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<v Speaker 1>where it can evaporate. Other fabrics, however, will trap moisture

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<v Speaker 1>in the fabric and on the skin and make body

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<v Speaker 1>odor worse. Fabric's ability to transmit and release moisture is

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<v Speaker 1>known as breatheability, which is the common term for the

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<v Speaker 1>moisture vapor transmission rate, or m v TR. The m

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<v Speaker 1>v TR is measured by calculating how many grams of

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<v Speaker 1>moisture move through a square meter of fabric in twenty

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<v Speaker 1>four hours. Generally, the greater the m v t R,

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<v Speaker 1>the less likely the fabric is to absorb and retain

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<v Speaker 1>odor causing moisture. You may be thinking, great, now, all

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<v Speaker 1>I have to do is find clothing labeled breathable, and

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<v Speaker 1>bo will be a problem of the past. Not so fast.

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<v Speaker 1>There's not an industry standard regarding breathability. Nearly any label

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<v Speaker 1>can carry the term, usually preceded by words like ultra

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<v Speaker 1>or extremely. This means you'll need to arm yourself with

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<v Speaker 1>information about specific fabrics rather than relying on label hype

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<v Speaker 1>as a guide. Natural fabrics created from the fibers of animals, bugs,

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<v Speaker 1>or plants are a good place to start. You'll want

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<v Speaker 1>to steer clear of one cotton fabrics because they take

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<v Speaker 1>a long time to dry and will allow body odor

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<v Speaker 1>to bloom in the meantime. This is largely because cotton

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<v Speaker 1>fabrics are composed of fibers that swell with moisture and

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<v Speaker 1>thereby reduce the pores of the fabric. However, other natural

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<v Speaker 1>fabrics absorb and release sweat quickly, including hemp, a fabric

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<v Speaker 1>woven from these stem fibers of the Cannabis sativa plant,

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<v Speaker 1>and linen woven from flax stems. While it sounds counterintuitive

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<v Speaker 1>to wear wool to prevent body odor, this natural fiber

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<v Speaker 1>is an excellent choice. Wool can absorb up to thirty

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<v Speaker 1>of its weight and moisture without feeling wet, and will

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<v Speaker 1>dry quickly. Will also releases minute amounts of body heat

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<v Speaker 1>as it absorbs moisture, so it will help keep you cool. Plus,

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<v Speaker 1>will is naturally antibacterial, which means you can wear it,

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<v Speaker 1>sweat in it, and keep wearing it, sometimes for consecutive

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<v Speaker 1>days without reeking. When it comes to making body odor worse,

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<v Speaker 1>synthetic fabrics tend to trap odors at a greater rate

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<v Speaker 1>than natural fabrics. Although many of these man made fabrics,

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<v Speaker 1>like polyester, are quick to wick moisture away from the

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<v Speaker 1>skin and equally quick to dry, their construction can up

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<v Speaker 1>the stinc quotient within the weave of synthetic moisture. Waking

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<v Speaker 1>fabrics are notches designed to pool minute amounts of sweat

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<v Speaker 1>as it transfers from the inner layer to the outer

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<v Speaker 1>layer of the fabric. The concept is a good one,

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<v Speaker 1>as the moisture will generally evaporate once it reaches the

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<v Speaker 1>fabric's outer layer. The problem is that as sweat collects

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<v Speaker 1>in the mix and crannies of the fabric on its

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<v Speaker 1>way to freedom, it is devoured by bacteria that have

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<v Speaker 1>themselves made a home in those same recesses. This traps

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<v Speaker 1>body odor within the fabric. To reduce rowdy odors, look

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<v Speaker 1>for sympthetic fabrics that have an added antimicrobial ingredient. For example,

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<v Speaker 1>the addition of silver to polyester or spandex fibers can

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<v Speaker 1>help prevent body odor from accumulating. Silver nano particles. That's,

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<v Speaker 1>particles so small that eighty thousand of them could fit

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<v Speaker 1>within the diameter of a human hair can be integrated

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<v Speaker 1>into synthetic fabric. When they get wet, the silver nano

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<v Speaker 1>particles release silver ions that initially slow the growth of

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<v Speaker 1>odor causing bacteria area and eventually kill them off altogether.

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<v Speaker 1>Some fabrics are infused with a different type of odor

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<v Speaker 1>inhibiting agent, molecules of volcanic ash. The ash molecules have

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<v Speaker 1>a poor size that's similar to that of an odor molecule.

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<v Speaker 1>When the two meat, the odor molecule is adsorbed and

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<v Speaker 1>trapped within the ash molecule. This prevents the odor molecule

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<v Speaker 1>from releasing its characteristic smell until the fabric is washed

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<v Speaker 1>in warm water. To prevent body odor, look for clothing

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<v Speaker 1>made from fabrics that will help keep you dry and

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<v Speaker 1>have the added mite of antimicrobial helpers, and don't forget

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<v Speaker 1>the antiperspirant or deodorant. Today's episode was written by Laurie L.

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<v Speaker 1>Dove and produced by Tristan McNeil. For more on this

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<v Speaker 1>and lots of other stink free topics, visit our home planet,

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff Works dot com