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7 Reasons Why Women Over 40 Are Swapping Their Shower Gel for This Japanese Soap

That new smell that's back an hour after your shower has a name. And it has nothing to do with how often you wash.

By the Nourela team · Updated 28th September 2026 ★★★★★ 4.8 from 8,000 reviews

A woman in her mid-40s takes a selfie in her bathroom, holding up a bar of Japanese Persimmon Soap

In short: If you've noticed a new smell in your 40s or 50s (under your arms, on your clothes, even down there), one that's back within an hour of your shower and laughs at your deodorant, you're not imagining it, and it isn't your hygiene. It's The Nonenal Shift. Japanese Persimmon Soap is the daily wash made for it. It works by removing odour, not perfuming over it. Here's why over 30,000 women have swapped.

A woman at work discreetly sniffing the neck of her jumper, checking no one is watching

You're not imagining it. It's real, and it's new.

It usually starts somewhere in your 40s. You step out of the shower, get dressed, and within the hour you catch it. Under your arms. On your top. For lots of us, down there too. Oniony. Meaty. A bit musty. Nothing like the sweat you remember from your twenties.

You ask your partner. He says you smell fine. Your friends say the same. So you start to wonder if it's all in your head.

It isn't. We read posts from 2,213 people talking about this exact smell, on Mumsnet, Reddit and menopause forums. 430 of them had noticed it on themselves. Only 28 had been told by someone else. You smell it first because you know your own body better than anyone.

"Bloody hell I thought it was just me."Joanne T., 48

It has a name: The Nonenal Shift.

In your 40s, two things change at the same time.

First, your skin starts making nonenal. It's a greasy odour compound that forms as the natural oils on your skin break down. A Japanese study found it only in people aged 40 and over. It's oily rather than wet, and it clings to skin and fabric.

Second, menopause turns up the heat. Hot flushes and night sweats last a median of 7.4 years. More sweat and more warmth lift more of that new smell off your skin.

Change 1Nonenal, from your 40sOily, not wet. Clings to skin and fabric.

Change 2Years of extra sweatHot flushes and night sweats.

The resultThe Nonenal ShiftA new smell your old routine wasn't made for.

Put the two together and you get The Nonenal Shift. It isn't about how often you wash. It's a change in what's on your skin.

It's also why the sheets smell again the night after you changed them. They aren't the source. They pick the smell up from your skin, all night, every night.

Why shower gel, deodorant and ordinary soap can't touch it.

Most shower gels are detergent and perfume. They lift the day's sweat, leave a scent on top, and an hour later the smell is coming back through it.

Deodorant has the opposite problem. Antiperspirant is built to stop wetness. But nonenal isn't wetness. It's an oily odour sitting on your skin. That's why so many women say the same strange thing: they're dry all day and still whiffy by teatime.

"despite being dry all day, I get a bit whiffy by late afternoon"Michelle R., 46

So you do what the women on Mumsnet did and switch to a proper bar of soap. It helps, but it's hit and miss, because ordinary soap was made for sweat and dirt, not for an oily film that's been building on your skin since your 40s. A bar was half the answer. The other half is what's in it. That's where Japanese Persimmon Soap comes in.

Feature	Japanese Persimmon Soap	Shower gel	Antiperspirant	Ordinary bar soap
Made for the oily odour that starts in your 40s	✓	✗	✗	✗
Removes odour instead of perfuming over it	✓	✗	✗	Partly
Use it everywhere you sweat	✓	✓	✗	✓
Leaves no perfume behind	✓	✗	✗	Varies

See Japanese Persimmon Soap

A bar of Japanese Persimmon Soap held up close, with its box and a bowl of persimmons behind

Japanese persimmon removes odour instead of covering it.

Persimmon has traditionally been used in Japan to help counter body odour. The fruit is rich in tannins, and every bar is made with Japanese persimmon extract. The tannins in Japanese persimmon help wash away the odour-causing residue that shower gel leaves behind.

It works by removing odour, not perfuming over it. So when you step out of the shower, you don't smell of fruit. You smell of nothing, which is the whole point.

The rest of the bar is kind to skin that's already had enough. Olive oil, coconut oil and glycerin give a creamy lather that cleans without stripping.

"It doesn't linger after the shower so you won't go around town smelling like a fruit stand."Kerry M., 52

Try it for 60 days

A lathered bar of Japanese Persimmon Soap on a bamboo dish in the shower next to a phone showing a 30-second timer

30 seconds, everywhere you sweat. Including down there.

The new smell doesn't stop at your armpits. Women find it under the bust, on the neck and behind the ears, across the back, and in the crease at the top of the legs. So wash all of it.

Lather.Wet the bar and work up a lather in your hands.
Wash and wait.Wash everywhere you sweat, and leave the lather on for 30 seconds.
Rinse.Rinse well. Use it every day. If night sweats are your problem, use it before bed as well as in the morning.

Down there

Use it on the outer skin only, meaning the bikini line and the crease at the top of your legs. Use a soapy hand, never a flannel, scrubber or mesh bag, and never inside. Rinse well. Try it on a small patch first, and if it stings, stop.

See your GP or pharmacist instead if the smell is fishy, or if it comes with discharge, itching, soreness or bleeding, or started after a new coil. Those need checking, not washing.

"I wash my pits, bits, and butt every day with persimmon soap and I've never had it burn or cause irritation."Rachel D., 44

Get the bar

A hand holding a bar of Japanese Persimmon Soap in front of a roll-on deodorant and a pump bottle on a bathroom shelf

Keep your deodorant. Keep your HRT. This does the other half.

You don't have to give anything up.

Keep your deodorant for the wetness. The bar is the wash that goes on first, so your deodorant goes onto skin that isn't already carrying the smell.

Keep your HRT, too. HRT works on your hormones, and for lots of women it's life-changing. But it can't wash your skin. The bar does the skin half, alongside it. If you have questions about your HRT, talk to your GP.

It's gentle enough for every day. Many of the stinging stories online come from scrubbing with a mesh bag or loofah, not from the soap. Use your hands and rinse well.

One honest thing: it won't stop you sweating. Nothing you wash with can. What it does is wash away the smell your sweat has started to carry.

Add the bar to your routine

60day
money-back
guarantee

60 days to smell the difference, or your money back.

Use it every day. Do the pit sniff at 4pm. Smell your pillowcase in the morning. Wear the top that always gave you away.

If you don't feel fresher within 60 days of delivery, get in touch and we'll refund what you paid for the bars in your first order. Keep up to two opened bars and send back the rest unopened.

So the only way to lose is to carry on as you are: the second shower, the spare top in your bag, the sheets back in the wash.

Choose my bundle

Made it to #7? Then you've lived with this long enough.

What customers say.

★★★★★ 4.8 out of 5, from 8,000 reviews

★★★★★

Dry all day, whiffy by 4pm. Not any more

I'd been through every deodorant on the shelf. Turns out it wasn't the deodorant. Two weeks with this bar in the shower and I got through a full day at work without the sneaky pit sniff in the loos.

★★★★★

Finally, I smell of nothing

I was sceptical because it's just soap, but it doesn't leave any scent at all, which is exactly what I wanted. My perfume actually smells like my perfume again.

★★★★★

The pillowcase is fine by the weekend

Night sweats most nights, and I was changing the pillowcases every other day. I use the bar before bed now and the bedding stays fresh so much longer.

★★★★★

No more worrying about the smell down there

Since the change I'd noticed a new smell down below and I was mortified, even straight after a shower. I use the bar on the outside only, and within a week I'd stopped worrying about it by the end of the day. Wish I'd found it two years ago.

★★★★★

Gentle on skin that stings at everything

My skin has been so sensitive since the menopause and half my toiletries sting now. This doesn't. I use it with my hands like it says and rinse well.

★★★★★

On HRT, and this was the missing half

HRT sorted my sleep and my mood but not the smell. This did the other half. I just wish I'd found it a year ago.

Questions.

How long does delivery take?

Delivery is free across the UK. Orders are packed and dispatched within 1 to 3 business days, then take 7 to 14 business days to reach you. We'll email your tracking number as soon as your order ships.

How long does one bar last?

It depends on how often you use it and where. Keep it dry on its dish between showers and it lasts much longer. That's why 6 bars or more come with a free bamboo soap dish.

Can I use it down there?

On the outer skin only: the bikini line and the crease at the top of your legs. Use a soapy hand, never a flannel, scrubber or mesh bag, and never inside. Rinse well and patch test first. If the smell is fishy, or comes with discharge, itching, soreness or bleeding, see your GP or pharmacist.

Will it sting or dry out my skin?

It's made with olive oil, coconut oil and glycerin, and it's a wash-off bar, not a leave-on treatment. Patch test first, use your hands rather than a scrubber, and stop if your skin reacts. If you have eczema or very sensitive skin, check with your pharmacist first.

Do I still need deodorant?

If you sweat a lot, keep it. The bar deals with the smell and your deodorant deals with the wetness. Some women find they need less of it once they've swapped.

I'm on HRT. Can I use it?

Yes. It's a wash with nothing hormonal in it, so it works alongside HRT, not instead of it. Keep taking your HRT as prescribed, and speak to your GP about any concerns.

Does it smell of persimmon?

The bar has a light, natural scent that rinses away. It's designed to leave nothing behind, so it won't clash with your perfume.

What if it doesn't work for me?

If you don't feel fresher within 60 days of delivery, email support@nourela.com and we'll refund what you paid for the bars in your first order. Keep up to two opened bars and send back the rest unopened.

You didn't do anything wrong. Your skin changed in your 40s, and your shower gel didn't. Swap one bottle for one bar, give it 60 days, and find out what 4pm smells like now.

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