Finding a date in this dating recession is achievement enough. To then not take a shower seems like a strange way to blow your chances. But Pheromone-Maxxers are asking you dudes to trust them and have science on their side (or it seems) to make a case against soap and perfume in the pursuit of a shorter dating waitlist.
The latest theory on TikTok and Instagram involves betting on your pheromones to help you lock in a date. According to firm believers of pheromone-maxxxers, men are washing away their natural sexual appeal by using soap, perfumes, and freshly laundered clothes. These are apparently standing between a man and his evolutionary birthright: being irresistible.
Frankly, for the women, these trends including looksmaxxing, following Andrew Tate like a cult, and chasing a jawline that looks like a Tesco meal deal are nothing but a mixture of disbelief and derision.
Before we become the bearer of bad news for you fellas, let's humour with what Pheromone Maxxing is, what science it is blindly relying on and how much of it is truly going to turn your first date into a second and potentially third
To simply put it, Pheromone maxxing is to maximise on that sex appeal for young men, say the darker corners of male self-improvement internet. By washing away your "natural musk" the idea that's proposed to men is that they're sabotaging their own sex appeal. So, why bother with deodorant when your armpits are apparently doing the Lord’s work? Why reach for cologne when you could simply wear yesterday’s T-shirt and allow nature to seduce on your behalf?
There is, after all, some basis for the idea that scent plays a role in attraction. Humans produce a complex cocktail of chemicals through their skin, and our sense of smell can influence everything from familiarity to attraction. The pheromone-maxxing crowd, however, has taken this relatively uncontroversial fact and run with it, apparently all the way to the shower. These men want you to preserve your “natural musk” — through less showering, less deodorant and, in some cases, deliberately holding on to sweat, so you can increase your pheromonal appeal. In other words, the next time you are getting ready for a date, you might want to think twice before reaching for the soap. Your romantic prospects may depend on leaving a little more of Tuesday behind.
Though I don’t recall any of my gal pals ever telling me they were swooned by the sweaty guy who walked past them on a packed Metro commute or thought they felt sad when their boyfriends wanted to run into a quick shower before going for the movies or loved smelling their dirty socks!
If pheromone-maxxing is supposed to be a shortcut to attraction, it is worth remembering that attraction has always been annoyingly resistant to shortcuts. You can optimise your jawline, your wardrobe, your testosterone levels and now, apparently, your armpits, but none of this eliminates the old-fashioned requirement to actually be someone another person wants to date. While men on the internet are busy trying to hack attraction, women remain stubbornly uninterested in following the instruction manual.
Having said that there is certainly some truth to scent playing a role in attraction that psychologists and dermatologists agree makes men and women desirable to potential partners, However, no evidence supports the conclusion that not showering for days is a legitimate kernel to attract partners.
Interestingly, the men of the internet do not appear particularly convinced either. In a Reddit thread asking men what they make of pheromone-maxxing, the prevailing response was less finally, a breakthrough in male sexuality and more what the hell is this?
Several dismissed anything ending in “-maxxing” on principle, while others pointed out that pheromone sprays have been sold to men for decades, with roughly the same promise and, presumably, the same disappointing results. One commenter simply described the whole thing as “cope” for men with poor social skills. Another offered a more practical alternative: “bathmaxxing”.
For what it’s worth, a lot of men in the comments on pheromone-maxxing posts are not taking it seriously and are in on the joke stating, “I stopped using cologne, and I've been getting more compliments on my disgusting onion smell than ever,” one user posted.
“The reason you can’t pull baddies is because you wear cologne and deodorant,” another person wrote.
What is pheromone-maxxing?
It's a viral trend telling men to skip showers, skip deodorant, and rely on their natural body scent to seem more attractive.
Is there science behind pheromone-maxxing?
Scent does play some role in attraction, but no evidence supports the idea that skipping showers for days makes someone more attractive.
Do women find pheromone-maxxing attractive?
No — the trend has been widely mocked online, including by women, rather than embraced as an effective dating hack.