Health & Skin

I'm 54 and I Tried Every Soap for That Smell. This Is the One That Finally Worked.

By Denise W. · 6 min read · Reviewed for readers over 45

I have tried everything. Irish Spring, the antibacterial bars, the African black soap my aunt swore by. I left the house clean every morning. By the afternoon a faint, stale smell was coming back through my blouse. Here is what finally explained it, and what fixed it.

1. The smell wasn't sweat, and it wasn't me not washing

After 40, the oils on our skin start to break down into a compound called nonenal. It is greasy, it clings to skin and to fabric, and water alone does not lift it. Regular soap is made to wash off sweat and dirt, so it leaves nonenal behind. That is why I could scrub twice a day and still catch it by lunch. It is age, not hygiene. Nobody had ever told me that.

2. How the persimmon actually removes it, instead of covering it

HADAKI is made with kakishibu, persimmon juice fermented for months the traditional Japanese way. Its tannins grab onto odor molecules like nonenal so they rinse away with the lather. Nothing is sprayed over the top. That is why the bar barely smells of anything, and why I didn't need a perfume on top of it. The cheap orange "persimmon" bars skip the fermented tannin and just add scent.

3. It didn't leave my skin tight or dry

Every strong odor soap I had tried stripped my skin. I had to follow it with thick lotion just to feel normal, and my legs still looked dry by evening. This one is made with glycerin and shea butter, so it rinses clean without that tight feeling. One bar replaced my deodorant, my body spray and half my lotion. My shelf holds one bar now.

4. My husband noticed before I said a word

About ten days in, he hugged me in the kitchen and stayed there a second longer than usual. He asked what I had on. Nothing. No perfume, no spray. He said I smelled like myself again. Then my sister asked what I had changed, and she is the last person to hand out compliments.

5. Why didn't anyone tell me I could buy one and get one FREE?

I paid full price for my first bar. Two weeks later they started a buy one, get one free offer. If you are reading this while it is still running, get two. One for you, one for him, or one for your sister.