Scientists recently investigated the existence of the so-called “old man smell,” which is usually perceived in older people.
Although it is current, it is very difficult to describe and most agree that it is a somewhat rancid aroma, but it is not due to a lack of hygiene.
Commercial
Just like the “baby smell”, the scientific study confirmed that this aroma does exist and that it has to do with the hormonal and biochemical changes that our body experiences during the different stages of our lives.
What causes ‘old smell’?
According to chemist José María Antón, CSIC biotechnology expert and founding president of the Prima-Derm group, this peculiar stench is due to an explicit molecule.
“It is caused by 2-nonenal, a molecule that is generated in the skin when the fatty acids of the lipid barrier are oxidized in pure form. 2-nonenal smells really bad. So much so that when we open a capsule with that molecule in the laboratory, everything stinks,” the scientist told the newspaper El País.
This smell can begin to be noticeable after the age of 30, since, as Antón explained, “the hormonal changes of maturity result in an increase in the production of lipids on the surface of the skin. At the same time, our pure antioxidant capacity is reduced.”
2-nonenal, as the chemist clarified, is an unpleasant compound, therefore, older people could smell “bad.”
Science describes the compounds as comparable to the aroma of nuts with hints of spoiled oil and moisture.
Antón revealed that the smell does not disappear just like that, but it can be neutralized. In fact, there is a unisex body fragrance that serves precisely this purpose.
This “fragrance” was created from active ingredients such as Sirtalice and Seadermium. “Those molecules encapsulate the other stinky molecules. “This way we deactivate the bad smell,” he concluded.