Principal Nursing Officer advises teens to use wood ash to eliminate body smell

Mrs. Vivian A. Kpodjah, Principal Nursing Officer, Ningo-Prampram District Health Directorate, has advised adolescent females to make a paste from wood ash and apply it to their armpits instead of using deodorants to battle body odor.

She suggested they apply the paste early in the morning while doing housework and then take a shower to feel rejuvenated.

Mrs. Kpodjah stated this during a mentorship program on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights and Gender-Based Violence for adolescent girls in the Ningo-Prampram District organized by the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection.

She said wood ash was highly porous and could absorb toxins and bacteria from the skin, and was less expensive because most families used charcoal and the forests from which it was obtained.

She said using the wood ash paste on a regular basis could erase body odor, especially in thick sweaters, and that people should "stop wasting money on body sprays, deodorants, and perfumes, among other things, at this stage of their lives."

The Principal Nursing Officer warned that, while such sprays had a pleasant odor when used properly, they might also make people smell worse.

She stated that wood ash was an excellent substance for naturally combating body smell since it absorbed dirt and bacteria from the pores of the skin and eliminated body odor without the use of harsh chemicals or synthetics.

Mrs. Kpodjah stated that the adolescent stage brought various changes that made them highly sensitive to their skin and looked as if they become attracted to different sexes, and it was the phase in which they must keep themselves and their surroundings clean.