Pheromones

[Mac98]

Hi,

I just read up an article on pheromones on the net... and I was wondering if humans have pheromones too and if so, how do they work?

I've tried google searching human pheromones but I can't seem to find a plausible link. It intrigues me since every article I've read talks about how it is the root to reproducing in the animal kingdom and, well, since humans are technically animals, does this also apply to us? And if so, how does it differ from the animal world?

Does someone's scent ACTUALLY provoke something in others? If I sniff the top of someone's head, will I have an emotional, psychological or, heck, even a physical reaction?

I'm so curious! Perhaps this'll spawn my first visit to my school library :O

 

[infinity706]

Humans have pheromones. We just don't seem to be able to detect them with our senses. If we could, it would be obvious when a woman was fertile.

 

[rawrrx]

From what I remember learning in Biology class, sweat (especially in males) releases pheromones. So believe it or not, sweat can actually "attract" potential mates for humans!

If you google "pheromone sweat", you should be able to come up with quite a few sources on it.

 

[coastal-boy]

yes most definately. I was listing to NPR today and there was a study that just came out (I didn't catch where but check AMA and NewEngland Journal of Medicine first) that stated that men don't need perfumes on women to become arosed. What the study did was have men smell clothes that women had worn and asked which "turned them on". Number one smell? Clothes worn by women that were ovulating. They could even pick this up through the perfume left on the clothes.

 

[PertPerth]

Have you ever walked into a teenage boys room? That stench is testosterone.

Yes, humans are animals, we have pheromones, but with our modern lives and evolution the 'use' or need for them has almost vanished. We wash regularly, use scented soaps and perfumes and we look for other things in a potential partner - like sense of humour or intelligence....not just "if they smell fertile".

 

[newbiebabe]

Have you ever walked into a teenage boys room? That stench is testosterone.

I was sitting in Starbucks reading this and actually laughed out loud at this statement. It reminded me of when my son would have his friends round and they would hang out in his room with the door closed. Then later when they left and the room was open... my goodness... the stench! I chalked up to exactly that! I was amazed that such clean boys could leave behind such.... and don't get me started if I had to actually pack them into my car to take them somewhere.... airing out for days! But ya gotta love 'em!

 

[sunandshadow]

I have once or twice in my life walked into the wrong restroom because I wasn't paying attention, and it's the difference in smell that tips me off immediately. Similarly most men's locker rooms you can smell all the way down the hall. Of course the women's restrooms and locker rooms smell too, it's just harder for me to notice, much like it's hard for me to notice if I smell or my sheets smell because they smell like me, and that's normal to my nose.

Another little anecdote - one week I ran out of deodorant, and the only other deodorant in the house was a male deodorant. I put it on because I figured it was better than B.O. but the whole day I was really confused, I kept looking around wondering "Where is that man I smell?"

 

[fire_breeze]

Hi,

I just read up an article on pheromones on the net... and I was wondering if humans have pheromones too and if so, how do they work?

I've tried google searching human pheromones but I can't seem to find a plausible link. It intrigues me since every article I've read talks about how it is the root to reproducing in the animal kingdom and, well, since humans are technically animals, does this also apply to us? And if so, how does it differ from the animal world?

Does someone's scent ACTUALLY provoke something in others? If I sniff the top of someone's head, will I have an emotional, psychological or, heck, even a physical reaction?

I'm so curious! Perhaps this'll spawn my first visit to my school library :O

As the posters above said, it has been virtually established that pheromones exist in humans, although not conclusively . Scent is almost imperceptible, but we are still unconsciously triggered by it. Just like danger, we actually 'smell' the opposite sex, but we don't realise it.

J. Richard Udry at the University of North Carolina actually did a study on females and their sense of smell while menstruating, post-orgasm and neutral. I can't remember the details, but something along the lines when a woman's sensitivity to male odour is the highest.

 

[shannon893]

Good Resource

I suggested this book on a different thread a couple of days ago, but it fits in really well here: "Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes?: Bodies, Behavior, and Brains - The Science Behind Love, Sex, and Attraction" by Jena Pincott.

It has a lot of information on what humans look for in mates from a biological perspective. It covers hormone levels, scents, physical characteristics (why blonde hair?), and body language to name a few.

Really you aren't going to get a complete answer on a thread, there is way too much information out there. I would also suggest staying away from a lot of the websites, unless it's a trusted site or documents their sources (peer-reviewed studies are best, not Wikipedia!) very well.

 

[littlebabyclit]

Hi,

I just read up an article on pheromones on the net... and I was wondering if humans have pheromones too and if so, how do they work?
.....Does someone's scent ACTUALLY provoke something in others? If I sniff the top of someone's head, will I have an emotional, psychological or, heck, even a physical reaction?

From personal experience, I believe in pheremones. My husband gets the loveliest smell from within him, on his breath (no, it's not mouthwash or toothpaste fragrance) when we are intimate- it makes him taste wonderful. He does not have that special breath flavor at other times. Plus I love the smell of him all the time. I am always snorting him, LOL. He wears cologne typically but doesn't need it in my opinion. He naturally smells good to me.

It's a shame some people out there marinate or nuke themselves in articial scents, drowning out their own natural, unique scent and making others nauseous in the path of their wake. Must be people who don't believe enough in their own fragrance (cleanliness being often good enough to be attractive.) But isn't the whole perfume/scent industry just a purveyor of artificial pheremones, in a way? The t.v. ads certainly tell you what wearing a particular fragrance's goal is- sex, baby !

I also read a study that reported people who tend to overdo it on perfume or cologne have a zinc deficiency, which dulls their abiltity to detect their own scent level. Just an interesting little factoid. Whenever someone comes in the business where I work, stinking of some putrid cologne and gassing us all, I'm thinking "must be a zinc deficiency!!!"

Either that, or they're just idiots...

 

[infinity706]

Well, perfume and cologne are often made from deer pheromones. I guess you might attract a real buck, too.

 

[Mac98]

Well, perfume and cologne are often made from deer pheromones. I guess you might attract a real buck, too.

wow! That's a creepy thought/fact. Good thing I never, EVER wear cologne, then... I usually just go with a shower and deodorant... so far, no complaints.

I wasn't expecting to get a list of info on pheromones here, I just wanted to see if they actually existed in humans... I think it's absolutely crazy that your scent alone can make someone weak at the knees for you (or vice-versa), though from what I hear, it seems to be quite subtle.

I'll definately look into it at the library and search for Jena Pincott's book. Thanks everyone.

 

[coastal-boy]

wow! That's a creepy thought/fact. Good thing I never, EVER wear cologne, then... I usually just go with a shower and deodorant... so far, no complaints.

I wasn't expecting to get a list of info on pheromones here, I just wanted to see if they actually existed in humans... I think it's absolutely crazy that your scent alone can make someone weak at the knees for you (or vice-versa), though from what I hear, it seems to be quite subtle.

I'll definately look into it at the library and search for Jena Pincott's book. Thanks everyone.

It's not just a smell, but a smell that we usually do not recogize we are smelling and to me that is the cool thing.

 

[carrie-on]

wow! That's a creepy thought/fact. Good thing I never, EVER wear cologne, then... I usually just go with a shower and deodorant... so far, no complaints.

I wasn't expecting to get a list of info on pheromones here, I just wanted to see if they actually existed in humans... I think it's absolutely crazy that your scent alone can make someone weak at the knees for you (or vice-versa), though from what I hear, it seems to be quite subtle.

I'll definately look into it at the library and search for Jena Pincott's book. Thanks everyone.

The night Hubby and I met, it HAD to have been pheromones! For some unknown reason to myself, i agreed to go somewhere with my aunt to have the tires changed on her car. Hubby worked there and despite the gas and tire smell of a service station, all I could smell was him. He says the same happened with him, that it was my smell that attracted him. It had to be pheromones because I know looks couldn't have had anything to do with it. I had had the flu and felt like crap and he had 2 black eyes from an attempted robbery a few nights before of the above mentioned service station. To this day, 35 yrs later,(we got married after knowing each other 2 months) I can smell him anywhere and get wet doing so!

 

[littlebabyclit]

1 more vote for husband pheromones

To this day, 35 yrs later,(we got married after knowing each other 2 months) I can smell him anywhere and get wet doing so!

That is an awesome story... so unique ! Thank you for sharing that !

 

[TheRealFATANG]

Humans have pheromones. We just don't seem to be able to detect them with our senses. If we could, it would be obvious when a woman was fertile.

You've never heard the phrase: It stinks like sex in here. ?

 

[Mac98]

You've never heard the phrase: It stinks like sex in here. ?

Yes, but I always linked it to sweat and semen...

 

[infinity706]

You've never heard the phrase: It stinks like sex in here. ?

Yes, it can smell like sex, but the point is that you probably can't tell whether the woman/women involved were fertile or not. Afterall, that's the point of pheromones in the animal world.

 

[sunandshadow]

Once when I was a child I expressed an interest in sewing, and I was given scraps of various people's old clothes to play with. They had been washed before being given to me, yet I could tell by the smell of each scrap whose clothing it had been.

I think it's really interesting how both men and women have different scents on different areas of their body; the upper body smells quite different from the groin area, the ass has a nice smell when it's clean, and the scalp has its own smell too, especially observable in how people given a baby to hold will almost always put their nose into the baby's hair. The area between and below a woman's breasts also produces a unique scent; I'm not sure if a man does, I'll have to investigate that... Anyway, the human body is a veritable orchestra of scent.

 

[shannon893]

New Information....

Okay, so I suggested the book before, and I realize that you may not have the time and/or motivation to read the book (though it is written in Q&A format and available at barnes and noble - that's where I got mine). So.... WebMD just published a new article, "Women's Scent Triggers Hormone Surge in Men."

I hope this helps your curiosity and investigation.

 

[NippleMuncher]

Have you ever walked into a teenage boys room? That stench is testosterone.

No it's not, it's the cum soaked magazines under the bed ...

 

[a2005fantasy]

......

 

[Luna_Bella]

I don't know if its true or not but I assume it is.... When I was a teenager all the girls sharing the same locker room would have their periods at the same time or around the same time ... How would our bodies know how to time themselves in that way other, then because of our sweating/smelling together?

 

[MsLovey]

Yes, we do have them. There are some companies that actually sell stuff that is "supposed" to bring out your natural scent and attract mates but I have no idea if it really works. Even though we don't consciously know we're smelling pheromones, I believe that our bodies can/do react to them. I am usually most attracted to my boyfriend when he hasn't showered for a day and his natural scent pushes through everything else. It really drives me wile

 

[coastal-boy]

Excuse me if this sounds childish, but were they smelling their panties?

no...shirts if I remember correctly...but I was driving home and the kidlet was talking about his day and my attention was being pulled here and there so fuck...I could be wrong. I just remember thinking "wow...they got money to do that research? Why the fuck do my grants keep getting turned down?".