First, we optimised dating profiles. Then came flirting techniques, “types” and endless advice about finding the perfect meet-cute. Now the internet has apparently decided that the next thing to optimise is body odour.
Enter pheromone maxxing, the latest addition to the internet’s ever-expanding “maxxing” vocabulary. The idea is simple, if somewhat questionable: humans supposedly emit pheromones that can influence attraction, so why cover up your natural scent with deodorant? Just let the musk do the work.
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The trend, however, has gone beyond simply embracing your natural smell. Posts and videos circulating online claim that some people are deliberately showering less, rewearing sweaty clothes and avoiding deodorant in an attempt to make their natural scent stronger before dates.
At some point, dating advice has crossed over into what can only be described as a very questionable hygiene experiment.
What exactly is pheromone maxxing?
Pheromone maxxing refers to the idea of deliberately amplifying one’s natural body scent in the hope of becoming more attractive.
There is a kernel of logic behind the trend: smell does play a role in human attraction. Our sense of smell can influence emotions, memories and social perceptions, and someone’s natural scent can sometimes be appealing.
But that does not automatically mean that stronger body odour equals stronger attraction.
There is a considerable difference between finding someone’s natural scent attractive and intentionally allowing sweat and body odour to accumulate because you think it will make you irresistible.
The internet, naturally, has decided to skip that distinction.
Can skipping showers really make you more attractive?
There is no magic “sweat setting” that transforms someone from attractive to irresistible.
The pheromone maxxing trend appears to take the idea of natural scent and stretch it into a much more literal and considerably smellier direction. Avoiding showers or deodorant does not guarantee that another person will interpret your scent as attractive.
In fact, deliberately turning up to a date smelling strongly of sweat could have precisely the opposite effect.
Natural scent is one thing. Deliberately marinating in body odour is another.
And perhaps that is where this particular dating hack loses the plot. Attraction is complicated, influenced by everything from personality and chemistry to appearance, familiarity and individual preferences. It is unlikely to be solved by simply making yourself smell more intensely human.
From looksmaxxing to pheromone maxxing
The trend fits neatly into the internet’s broader obsession with “maxxing” which is the idea that different aspects of your life can be optimised to become a supposedly better version of yourself.
Looksmaxxing involved the enhancement of physical appearance. However, other internet fads have turned activities such as sleep, productivity, and even social presence into items which need optimising.
Pheromone maxxing now seems to have added smells to the list.
The trouble with the maximisation of optimisation is that it turns normal acts into hacks that need an additional effort.
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However, if one’s approach to getting a girl’s attention means that she would have to smell you before seeing you, it is quite likely that she would form an impression which one did not intend her to form.
Therefore, one may go ahead and use his/her own smell if he/she likes. However, one should leave the three-day-old T-shirt in the laundry basket and not try out pheromone maxxing.