Avera Paris - Persimmon Soap

You aren't washing the wrong way. Past the age of 40, this stops being a question of hygiene and turns into a question of chemistry.

Around the age of 40, the omega-7 fatty acids in the oils on your skin's surface start to oxidize into 2-nonenal, the aldehyde responsible for body odor linked to aging. Because it dissolves in oil, it lives within that film instead of resting on top.

Polyphenols bind to aldehydes, and persimmon tannin is a polyphenol. Kakishibu, the Japanese deodorizing tradition this bar draws on, traps the nonenal molecule rather than letting it wash away. That is the whole difference between truly eliminating an odor and covering it up.

The formula includes green tea, glycerin and shea butter so that removing the odor doesn't come at the expense of a comfortable skin barrier. By design it contains no fragrance: with a heavily scented soap, you can't tell whether it actually removed anything.

Free of sulfates. Free of parabens. The bar weighs 100 g / 3.527 oz and comes with the foaming mesh pouch that the lather relies on.