A STUDY HAS found that it is easier for some people to stay fresh than others – thanks to their genes.
While 98 per cent of are used to having to make sure our armpits don’t get too malodorous, a study has found that around 2 per cent of people have a rare version of a particular gene, which means they don’t produce any underarm odour at all.
Inexplicably, three quarters of the people who don’t smell still use deodorant on all or most days.
Lead author of the report Professor Ian Day said that he believed that people who still used deodorant despite not smelling were simply following socio-cultural norms.
The longitudinal study was carried out at the University of Bristol and was published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. The research tracked 6,495 women who had given birth in either 1991 or 1992 and found that 117 of them had the gene, according to DNA analysis.
The authors found that people who carried the genetic variant were also more likely to have dry – rather than sticky – ear wax.
“These findings have some potential for using genetics in the choice of personal hygiene products,” said the lead author of the paper Dr Santiago Rodriguez. ” A simple gene test might strengthen self-awareness and save some unnecessary purchase and chemical exposures for non-odour producers”.
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