The first patents for deodorant were filed in the 1860s, but body has always been an issue. Since the beginning of human history, we have been looking for ways to banish bad smells and usher in ones. The classic remedies were washing—often infrequently—and strong . Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all bathed with sweet-smelling oils and scraped hair off the sweat-prone parts of their bodies. In Asia, people found that mineral salt crystals to their underarms helped bad smells at bay.

(Excerpt from 'The strange histories of the stuff we put in—and on—our bodies’, nationalgeographic.com, 2023)