Matthew McConaughey has his own unique contribution to the celebrity hygiene debate. The 51-year-old actor has been vocal in the past about his decision not to use deodorant, instead opting for his own natural scent.
As other stars discuss their bathing habits, McConaughey’s own routine came back to the forefront thanks to his Tropic Thunder co-star, Yvette Nicole Brown.
Brown recently appeared on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show where she opened up about making it her mission to smell the Oscar winner.
“I remember that Matthew McConaughey said that he did not use deodorant and that he didn’t have an odor. So my first thought is, ‘I’m going to get as close as I can to him to see if he’s right,'” she said of her time on the 2008 film.
The verdict?
“He did not have an odor. He smells like granola and good living,” she shared. “He has a sweet, sweet scent that is just him and it’s not musty or crazy.”
Brown added that while McConaughey may not use deodorant, it doesn’t mean he’s not clean.
“I believe he bathes because he smells delicious. He just didn’t have deodorant on,” she explained. “Those that don’t bathe, I don’t understand.”
McConaughey himself has been vocal in the past about his decision to not use deodorant. In a 2005 interview for his People’s Sexiest Man Alive cover, the actor was asked what a man should smell like.
“A man,” he replied at the time. “I haven’t worn deodorant in 20 years.”
The recent focus on hygiene began with Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis saying they don’t bathe their kids until “you can see dirt on them” during a July episode of Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast.
Kutcher added of himself, “I wash my armpits and my crotch daily, and nothing else ever. I got a bar of Lever 2000 that delivers every time. Nothing else.”
Shepard and his wife, Kristen Bell, agreed with their pals’ sentiment.
Actor Jake Gyllenhaal also revealed he doesn’t shower much, telling Vanity Fair, “More and more I find bathing to be less necessary, at times.”
Conversely, there have also been stars coming out saying they shower more than what’s considered regular, like Dwayne Johnson.
“Nope, I’m the opposite of a ‘not washing themselves’ celeb,” Johnson told a fan on Twitter. “Shower (cold) when I roll outta bed to get my day rollin’. Shower (warm) after my workout before work. Shower (hot) after I get home from work. Face wash, body wash, exfoliate and I sing (off key) in the shower Soap Multiple musical notes.”
