Researchers Explain: What Your Scent Reveals About You
As unique as a fingerprint, your scent communicates a lot about you to others. Our skin emits a distinct smell that can convey various messages, but what exactly does your scent say about you?
Dr. Hanns Hatt, a physician and biologist at Ruhr University in Bochum, has been studying the science of smell for decades. He was the first to decode a human olfactory receptor and found that these receptors are present not only in the nose but also in other tissues, like the heart, intestines, and even tumor cells. Hatt's research has also revealed olfactory receptors in skin cells, where their activation can speed up wound healing. However, he notes that science has yet to pinpoint the exact source of a person's unique smell.
Our skin communicates far more than we consciously perceive with our sense of smell. There is still debate over whether the scent originates from the secretion of our scent glands or is produced by bacterial decomposition on the skin's surface. Each person's skin has a unique bacterial population, shaped by their immune system, suggesting that everyone has their olfactory fingerprint.
The diet also plays a role in influencing a person's scent. For instance, consuming a lot of garlic and onions can alter your natural smell, while some vegetarians claim that the scent of meat eaters is less appealing.
In addition to smells associated with diet and health, there are pheromones—olfactory signals common to all members of a species—that can influence attraction between people. Neuropsychologist Ilona Croy explains that a person's scent leaves a "holistic overall impression." While we may not be able to identify specific traits like dominance, stress levels, or diet through scent alone, we can usually distinguish between smells we find pleasant or unpleasant.
Studies have also shown that scent plays a role in attraction. For example, men tend to perceive the scent of fertile women as more appealing. In contrast, women are generally more attracted to the scent of men. A study at the University of Birmingham found that a waiting room chair sprayed with the male hormone androstenone attracted more women than men, although sexual preference also influenced Major Histocompatibility Complexthese findings. According to psychologist Pause, initial studies suggest that homosexual individuals react differently to the scents of men and women than heterosexual individuals.
Body odor can also provide clues about a person's immune system, specifically the (MHC) molecules, which help the body identify and eliminate foreign cells. Each person has a unique MHC profile, with only identical twins having identical systems. The more different these systems are between two people, the more attractive they may find each other.
The sense of smell is also crucial in the bond between mothers and their children. Just hours after birth, babies show a preference for their mother's scent over that of a stranger. For mothers, the scent of their baby activates the brain's reward center, which can strengthen the mother-child bond. While the precise chemical nature of this phenomenon is not fully understood, it is widely accepted that most people find a baby's smell pleasant—a remarkable example of evolution's ingenuity.