- Title: Body odour? Bacteria-embedded bodysuit could help
- Date: 15th August 2019
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (AUGUST 9, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) SKIN II DESIGNER, ROSIE BROADHEAD, SAYING: "The idea of this garment is that it will help to reduce your body odour so you may not need to wash your clothes so often. However we know that you do still need to wash your clothes, and we've done various tests on it at 30 degrees and the encapsulated bacteria holds up really well to this kind of washing."
- Embargoed: 29th August 2019 14:37
- Keywords: Skin II sustainability body odour body smell probiotics bacteria immune system
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / ANIMATION
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / ANIMATION
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Science
- Reuters ID: LVA008ASGVK9L
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Deodorant not enough to stop your body odour? A new futuristic-style bodysuit embedded with live bacteria could help combat those unpleasant smells.
The pale grey, long-sleeved "Skin II" has been inserted with healthy probiotic bacteria, which reduces the smell of BO whilst also helping the immune system and encouraging cell renewal, its designer said.
Bacteria is embedded into the fabric of the bodysuit in areas where you are most likely to sweat, including the armpits and upper back.
It is activated by contact with moisture on the body, so when you sweat, it colonises on the skin to become the dominant bacteria, making it less likely that you'll smell, designer Rosie Broadhead said.
"It's not the sweat on your body that causes body odour it's the bacteria. So we've incorporated healthy bacteria into the textiles to enable a healthy microbiome which will help to reduce your body odour," said Broadhead, who developed the garment as part of her postgraduate degree at London arts university Central Saint Martins.
"This change in the microbiome is associated with reducing your body odour, encouraging cell renewal and is really good for the skin's immune system," she said.
Broadhead said sustainability of the bodysuit was another one of its benefits. By reducing body odour, you de facto reduce how often you have smelly clothes and therefore won't have to wash them so often. Tests on the bodysuit found that the bacteria was able to survive a 30 degree wash.
"People are becoming more aware of sustainability and the environment. They're concerned about the food that they are eating and the cosmetics that they're putting on their skin. But less is known about the toxic chemicals that are in our clothing. So in time I think people will become more aware of wellness clothing," she said.
Broadhead worked with Belgian microbiologist Chris Callewaert of Ghent University to develop Skin II. He provided her with the healthy probiotic bacteria that are commonly found on skin, and has himself done extensive research on the causes of body odour.
The two plan to commercialise Skin II and Broadhead hopes to design a sportswear range with the same technology.
Broadhead added the technology may mean people could spray themselves with probiotics instead of deodorant in the future.
(Production: George Sargent, Emily Roe) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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