*updated January 18, 2018
Even if you don’t think this could be about you, please assume that it is, to be on the safe side. Smell is sometimes the reason that people decline dances with others.
I’ve received complaints about people wearing heavy scents/perfumes/cologne at our weekly lesson & social nights. Here are some tips and best practices that you may not have thought of regarding how to smell good but not TOO good while dancing:
- Fresh is best. Clean smelling is far better than covering up smells with perfumes. If you don’t have time to shower before you dance, use a wet cloth and soap to clean under arms and other smell-trapping areas of your body.
- Use a “fresh” deodorant. Avoid perfumed deodorants (e.g. flowers, spice, vanilla, musk) and opt for fresh scents instead (e.g. unscented, aloe vera, cucumber, ocean surf).
- Avoid layering scents. Layering scents in various personal products (soap/body wash, deodorant, lotion, hairspray, after-shave, perfume/cologne…) creates heaviness and competition in smells. Choose ONE product with a scent and keep the others unscented.
- Apply perfume/cologne sparingly. A great way of getting “just enough” scent on you is to spritz your perfume or cologne 2-3 times in the air in front of you (in the privacy of your home, not in a public place), then walk into the mist. This is instead of spraying it directly onto you. Another trick is to dab it on your neck and wrists only.
- Do not use spray scents (including spray deodorant) in public places. Airborne scents cause all kinds of problems for people with allergies. Also, no one likes to walk into someone else’s cloud of perfume.
- Apply scents to your body/skin, not to clothing. This keeps your scent close to you and is less likely to transfer to a partner.
- Avoid “heavy” perfumes and colognes. For example, use eau du toilette instead of a full perfume. Again, choose fresh scents over heavy floral, spice, food, or musk scents.
- Wash your hands to remove any scents from body parts that directly touch dance partners.
The above is also good advice for wearing scents in the workplace and on dates.
For partner dancing, my best advice is: DO NOT WEAR ANY PERFUME, COLOGNE, EAU DE TOILETTE, SCENTED LOTION, STRONGLY SCENTED HAIR PRODUCTS, and SPRAY-ON DEODORANT when dancing. Use soap/cleanser/fresh wipes and stick deodorant only.
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