by Angela Lee and Nicole Yu, staff reporters

Axe is a quickly-spreading brand used for personal male grooming, targeted at an audience of typically early teenage boys.

A strong-smelling, lingering fragrance, Axe body spray may be smelled by students and teachers alike, in the halls of both middle school and high school. With alternate options such as men’s deodorant and frequent showers, however, how well does Axe really work? Does Axe really cover up body odor more than other male grooming products, or is it just a fad?

“It’s good at eliminating other odors,” senior Vincent Casey said.

When in a rush, in need for a quick fix-up, Axe is always within arm’s length and easy to apply before any situation where you must look and feel presentable.

For a job that requires boys to sweat profusely, deodorant might not be as effective and showering may not be an option, which is why many teenagers grab Axe instead, and soak themselves in it.

Since boys sweat more than women, resulting in body odor, Axe can be used to cover up the strong body odor that may be embarrassing to walk around with.

“I don’t like how it’s very strong,” senior Jonah Sampedro said.

Axe is often used more than it should be, throughout the day, for weeks at a time.

Long after someone uses it, the scent still lingers in the air. In some cases, even boys under the age of 13 use Axe when they don’t need to, due to the pressure to fit in put on them by older boys.

“After middle school lunch, there are a group of students who spray Axe right outside my classroom door and although I can’t attest to how well it covers their individual scents, the lingering air pollution is atrocious. My classroom doors need to be shut or I will be choking on the air particles and smell for minutes after they leave. They shouldn’t be allowed to spray it in the hallway,” English teacher Ms. Sackstein said.

While Axe is an easy replacement for deodorant or showers, in terms of ridding someone of body odor, it does not work.

Instead of getting rid of a boy’s body odor from the source, it covers it up and forces someone to live in the mindset “out of sight, out of mind”, though in this case, “out of smell.”