I have a friend who smells. I mean bad. It's awful, you may know the smell: it's a mixture of shampoo, body odor, and cigarettes. I've known two people in my life who smell like this.

The first time it made it's way through my nostrils I thought it was me. I was in class and started sniffing my shirt rather conspicuously as it was a bit embarrassing. After class, still not sure if it was me, the smell went away. My nose didn't pick up on it again until that same class next week. I still thought it was me. I remember my actual thought process from that day: "Maybe this classroom makes me smell bad..." It took a few more classes to realize it was a girl in my class who also lived in my dorm. It's such a strong smell that in our dorm elevator I would be able to smell if she had been there recently. It's a clingy smell, the kind that not only sits on every fabric around, but sinks in with odorclaws and refuses to let go.

Since I didn't really know this girl that well I never brought it up, I just championed through the class and moved on with my life. But now I have a friend who has this same exact smell. I really want to tell her because it's God-awful and I even think I've pinpointed how it occurs. But I don't know how to tell her. The issue, I think, is that she must be using shampoo to wash her body with instead of soap. I figured it out because one day I woke up and I smelled like that awfulness. It was a terrible day. But when I thought back to the night before, I had (uncharacteristically) smoked a few cigarettes and showered with only shampoo as there was no soap. The next day I felt so gross because the smell had me in its clutches.

So how do I tell her? I owe it to her, right? You can't just let a friend employ bad hygiene, especially when it is this bad. At this point it must impede her social interactions. I swear I've seen noses turn up when they talk to her. It's not good, but I don't know how to breach the subject. Can anyone help? It's a bit of an awkward conversation that I'm not looking forward to...