Demand for male intimate hygiene products rise but experts claim they're 'ridiculous'

Balls deep in fresh smells

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

For most people, applying deodorant under the armpits is simply part of the daily grooming routine.

An anti-perspirant can stop you smelling bad and keep you feeling fresh.

But what if you could apply this logic to another part of the body? What if you could use deodorant on, say, the testicles?

Because that is exactly what people are doing.

It may sound like a strange concept, but there are already an array of companies with products on the market designed to keep men’s gonads smelling like a field of daisies or a chocolate mousse or at least keep bad smells at bay.

Comfy Boys, Fresh Balls, Dry Goods, DZ Nuts, Driball, ToppCock, Bálla for Men and Man Powder are just some of the creatively named companies offering products designed to ensure your balls smell fresh.

And business is ballooning: Bálla for Men sales have increased from 2,000 units in 2010 to 50,000 last year, Man Powder say their sales have spiked by over 60 per cent since last summer, and Fresh Balls claim sales have increased by 200 per cent since last January, Tonic reports.

But who are these products for? Not just athletes, as you may have presumed.

Accord to creator and co-founder of Bálla for Men, their target customer is “an athlete, couch-potato or somewhere in between.”

So basically all men.

In fact, the marketing slogan of Dutch brand Gentl Men is: “For Men With Balls.”

Of course, by widening up their demographic, the products are more likely to be bought by a wide range of men.

Fresh Balls founder Brook A. Frank says his products are “for the everyday man wearing a suit,” and Comfy Boys says ball sweat can occur “when a man sits for long periods of time either at the office or in front of the TV.”

Dangerous stuff.

The brands claim that bad-smelling balls could be tarnishing people’s impression of you, whether you’re on a date or at a business meeting.

But experts aren’t convinced.

Sweat specialist George Preti, who has been investigating body odour for 40 years, has called the claims by the brands “ridiculous.”

He says scrotal sweat doesn’t smell like underarm sweat does: “As far as I know, nobody ever complains about scrotum odours at social distances. And if they do, take a shower. Soap and water does a lot of good.”

However if you do experience extreme sweating in your scrotal region when you’re just in a meeting, for example, dermatologist David Pariser says: “You should probably be evaluated to see if you have hyperhidrosis.”

At the end of the day, these products probably do more for putting men’s minds at ease than anything else.

“The only thing they really offer is psychosomatic relief,” says Brian Steixner, director of the Institute of Men's Health at Jersey Urology Group in Atlantic City.

“They’re not stopping ball sweat, but they will help a few guys get over their anxiety from thinking they have smelly balls.”