Do Pheromones Work?

Despite all the fuss regarding pheromones being able to increase sexual attractiveness, the skeptic consumer is forced to ask: “do pheromones work?” In order to answer this question, one has to look at the research and innovations done with pheromones over the years. Pheromones were first observed among animals as the prime motivating factor for sexual reproduction. It’s a chemical that initiates sexual attraction between the sexes. This phenomenon has been observed among animals and also among humans. Numerous experiments have confirmed that pheromones are indeed largely responsible for the mating game occurring in the animal kingdom. So, do pheromones work? Indeed, they do- and this has perked up the interest not only of scientists, but businessmen as well. To be more specific, the beauty industry has set its sights on pheromones as a big boost to the marketability of beauty products.

Pheromones occur naturally on humans, and emerge from certain zones found throughout the human body. These erogenous zones are the peaks of sexual receptivity- in other words, these body parts are aroused when the individual is sexually attracted. Pheromones do the job of serving as the medium for sexual attraction, an invisible chemical which secretly pairs off humans and primes them for sexual reproduction. Over the years, there have been numerous attempts at reproducing the human pheromone. Although pheromones can be isolated, it is not easy to reproduce them artificially. Sophisticated scientific equipment and substances are required in order for experts to mimic the actual composition of the human pheromone. There have been numerous artificial pheromones produced, and the beauty industry has integrated them into beauty products in the belief that it enhances physical attractiveness.

The reception of the general public was at first, lukewarm. After all, not everyone would be willing to forego the scent they’ve gotten used to in favor of a new scent claiming to contain pheromones. As more studies regarding pheromone activity were conducted, however, consumers who used to turn a blind eye towards pheromone-containing products gradually began buying them. The results were very optimistic, with most consumers reporting that they had far better success with the pheromone-containing scent than with their previous scent. Even those who insistently asked, “do pheromones work?,” were for a time silenced. Products which claimed to contain pheromones flew off the shelves. Pheromones were integrated not only into scents, but into soaps, moisturizers, and other types of beauty products.

However, even the scientific community has admitted that artificial pheromones are not one hundred percent guaranteed to work. Scientists are playing safe when it comes to the effectiveness of artificial hormones as factors for physical attractiveness. Although some research studies have claimed to prove artificial pheromone response among men, the question “do pheromones work?” still bothers scientists nowadays. Yes, pheromones do work among animals, including humans- but do they possess the same potency in their artificial form? This question remains to be answered in the future. Hopefully, with further research and new technology, humans might be able to explore the minute details of the pheromones, and use these to better ends other than to garner physical attractiveness alone.