The Science of Human Pheromones
Exploring the invisible signals that shape our interactions
Human Pheromones: The Science of Attraction
Pheromones are chemical signals that trigger specific behaviors or responses in members of the same species. In humans, the role of pheromones is subtle yet significant, influencing attraction, mood, and social behavior.
While we do not publish our internal research for competitive reasons, there is a wide range of peer-reviewed research publicly available and we'll go over some of the most informative findings here.
Androstenol
Found in both men and women. Androstenol is a "social" pheromone and is the most widely known putative human pheromone. It tends to make men and women be more talkative and comfortable in social situations.
Anecdotally, those familiar with it use Androstenol as a social lubricant. Mixed with other pheromones, the Androstenol can help things loosen up and the other pheromones can drive the situation more intimate, dominant (social hierarchy), fun and friendly, or sexual.
Research Findings:
- Smelling androstenol activated the anterior hypothalamus and medial right amygdala in women. The activation pattern for androstenol was similar to that previously found for androstadienone in heterosexual women and homosexual men. Androstenol was perceived as a weaker odor than ordinary odors, but still activated the hypothalamus while ordinary odors did not. The authors suggest androstenol may act as both an odor and a pheromone compound. The hypothalamus activation may be due to pheromone-like effects, while weaker amygdala/piriform activation reflects its odor properties. Findings provide evidence that androstenol can activate brain regions involved in sexual behaviors and associations in heterosexual women, differing from ordinary odor activation patterns. (Savic & Berglund, 2010)
- Men exposed to androstenol made significantly fewer errors on lexical decision tasks compared to men in the control condition. This effect was not seen in women. The effects were compound-specific, with androstenone and androstenol producing different outcomes. The researchers suggest this could indicate that androstenol can modulate linguistic processing, particularly for emotional words, in ways that may be relevant to social communication and mate selection. (d'Ettorre et al., 2018)
- In a laboratory experiment with 120 participants, researchers found that male consumers evaluated male-focused magazines as being more masculine and rated them more positively when exposed to androstenol, while no such effects were observed for neutral or feminine magazines or among female participants. (Ebster & Kirk-Smith, 2005)
- A month-long study examined the effects of daily androstenol exposure on women's mood. Participants applied either androstenol or a placebo to their upper lip each morning and rated their moods each evening. The study found that mid-cycle women exposed to androstenol tended to rate themselves as more submissive than aggressive compared to the control group. No significant effects were observed on other mood dimensions, suggesting a specific influence of androstenol on perceived submissiveness during the middle of the menstrual cycle. (David Benton, 1982)
Copulins
Copulins are a mixture of fatty acids normally found in the vaginal secretions of women. Specifically, secreted most when a woman is aroused or during sex. In fragrances containing pheromones, they are used to give the component of raw sexual attraction. However, they must be used in moderation and with careful selection of cover scent so that they remain undetectable.
In case you are wondering, all copulin blends are synthetic and produced in a laboratory. They are lab-derived fatty acids that are design to be identical to what men have associated with sexual encounters for millennia. Copulins are difficult to get right, for many reason, but powerful when used correctly.
Research Findings:
- Men exposed to synthetic copulins (vaginal fatty acids) rated themselves as significantly more sexually desirable to women compared to controls, which would correlate with taking more initiative (social risk) in romantic encounters. There was also a trend towards men rating women's faces as more attractive when exposed to copulins. (Williams and Jacobson, 2016)
Estratetraenol
A female pheromone that may influence emotional states in both men and women.
Research Findings:
- Exposing men to estratetraenol, a putative human pheromone, enhanced their social cognition abilities, particularly in perceiving intimate relationships and emotional aspects of romantic touch. The researchers propose that estratetraenol may act as a chemosignal conveying information about female reproductive readiness, thereby increasing men's sexual motivation and attention to romantic cues in the environment. (Oren et al., 2019)
- Influences brain activity related to social cognition (Ye et al., 2019)
Current State of Pheromone Research
While the existence of human pheromones is widely accepted, their specific roles and mechanisms are still subjects of ongoing research. Studies continue to explore how these chemical signals influence human behavior, attraction, and social interactions.