When your body is giving off odors, it can be a major cause for concern as well as an embarrassing “people repellent” (which is a blessing for all the misanthropists but not for the majority of the population) because society does not universally and socially condone, accept, and tolerate such menacing smells.

Now you’re probably saying, “Well, that’s what deodorants are invented for?” True, but did you also know that what you wear in terms of fabrics and materials can prevent and eliminate odor? Bet you didn’t know that you did you?

Time to create a new life hack list for the best clothing types that can help you with chronic and non-chronic odor problems at the gym, or prematurely-ended dates. These findings are based on recent science and analysis.

Polyester Culprit

Focusing on the biggest culprit first, avoid polyester like the plague if you don’t want to smell bad. This fabric has been shown to increase body odor in a very bad way. How come? Because polyester can trap odor and, even worse, magnify it in a vast way.

So, polyester has been proven to be sinful to wear if you want to prevent odors. Plus, lingering odor is common with this fabric, and even after washing, the odor can still end up staying. Polyester tends to retain the odor of the body and can be quite intense.

Cotton Solution

“So avoid polyester, got it! But what’s next then should I wear?” Your Jeopardy’s final answer is: what is cotton?

That’s right! Cotton fabric is the winner here, being breathable and, surprisingly, actually do not hold odor well. It helps keep odor at bay, making cotton the ideal fabric of choice being relatively available almost everywhere.

The difference here is that the cotton fabric allows better odor expulsion, and will dry quicker as well. The odor dissipates with the heat, and as the fabric dries, it stays cleaner longer without needing to be washed.

Synthetic Upgrade

There are a variety of synthetic blends out on the market today. These blends can mimic cotton and polyester (not full natural polyester, mind you).

Unlike natural fibers, synthetic fibers are not directly derived from living organisms but are man-made through synthesized compounds, offering enhanced functionalities such as durability and waterproofing.

When designed for preventing odors, you will find that antimicrobial polymers are usually coated into the synthetic fabrics.

Keep in mind that synthetic fabrics do have some drawbacks, such as they can cause skin irritation for some and are more prone to heat damage.

Final Contenders

Having said all those, here’s what we can conclude:

• Polyester remains the worst, and anything that has a great deal of polyester is going to cause problems with odors.
• Cotton is the easiest to work with and will probably be the most preferred choice for many.
• Synthetic blends can be an optimal choice, far more so than natural cotton fiber, if you don’t get any allergic reaction or skin irritation.

That narrows down to our final two contenders: cotton fiber or synthetic fiber?

At the end of the day, the choice is up to you, but our opinion is that you will want to work with a hybrid of cotton synthetic blends for the best overall solution of staying clean, fresh, and odor-free. So there you have it folks, so bye bye to your stinkiness once and for all. Now you can finally hit your date up!