“Stinkfluencers” Are Skipping Showers in Hopes of Better Dates

The Trend: Move over looksmaxxing. A new crop of “stinkfluencers” is promoting “pheromone-maxxing” — skipping showers, ditching deodorant, wearing sweaty clothes, and otherwise letting body odor linger in hopes of becoming more sexually attractive. The idea has spread across social media as a supposed dating hack.

What People Are Saying: Pheromone-maxxers base their logic on evolution, though it’s a misunderstanding of science. Animals use pheromones — chemical signals that trigger specific responses in members of the same species — to communicate things like mating status and territory. So why wouldn’t humans’ natural scents work the same way? Well, humans lack the physiological ability to receive pheromones, which, contrary to popular belief, do not always have a smell. Not to mention, scientists have yet to identify a specific pheromone in humans.

What to Know: Human body odor can influence how we perceive one another, but that’s not the same thing as a pheromone that innately triggers attraction. So far, there’s no solid evidence that accumulating deliberately skipping showers will make you more desirable. And truthfully, it might have the opposite effect you’re looking for.