The Scent of Attraction: How do Pheromones Work?

You have probably heard of pheromones and possibly seen the advertisements for them in magazines or online but do you know what they really are or how they work?

Pheromone research has been extensive in the animal kingdom. Animal and insect pheromones are even used in pest control products to lure insects into traps or to repel other insects or animals from coming into a certain territory. The concept of human pheromones has been debated and researched for years. Dr. Winifred Cutler, a biologist and behavioral endocrinologist is one of the leading researchers on human pheromones. She has linked pheromones to effects on women's menstrual cycles and fertility. She did a study using a commercial pheromone called Athena, which she developed. Seventy Four percent of those studied experienced increases in hugging, kissing, and sexual intercourse.

So how do pheromones work? Scientists have found that pheromones are detected through the Vomeronasal Organ in the nose. Scientists have discovered that the nasal receptors mainly found near the entrance of the nose had the strongest reaction to air containing pheromones; this is where the vomeronasal organ is located. The pheromones travel through the nose and stimulate the hypothalamus in the cortex of the brain. This is the area of the brain that produces emotion and emotional response. Pheromones are subconsciously detected and illicit an internal sexual response. The pheromones send a signal to the hypothalamus to illicit emotions such as attraction, sexual desire, and arousal. Men secrete the pheromone Androstenone to attract women and women secrete Androstenol to attract men. Though in today's super clean and hygienic society we often wash away all of our natural scent. In the animal world pheromones still dictate sexual behavior and response. Humans have lost much of that, though the new pheromone products on the market are supposed to help.

Dr. Cutler's studies show that pheromones are still very important to humans especially women. Her studies even show that men are good for women's health (who knew?). The chemicals in a man's body can cause their sexual partners to be more fertile, have more regular menstrual cycles, and milder symptoms of menopause. More studies are being done to see how pheromones can impact and help those who are having fertility problems.

For the most part pheromones have jumped out into the marketplace as another money making opportunity. Many companies have taken the research and made their own products making extraordinary claims that these colognes and perfumes will have the opposite sex falling to their feet in front of you or lined up to get into your bed. They claim you will be irresistible to the opposite sex. So I wanted to know if there is any basis to these claims, do any of these products actually work. So I conducted my own study on several pheromone colognes, sprays, gels and oils.

I enlisted my husband as a guinea pig and took a few pheromone products for a test run. We tried them on each other and wore them out into the real world. No one attacked either one of us though we did receive some extra attention from the opposite sex while wearing some of the products. My conclusion is if you want to make the opposite sex fall at your feet like the ads claim, well it's not going to happen, but if you want some extra attention or a bit of an edge they might work to your advantage. If you want to spice up your love life with an existing partner there is a few that can do just that.

Products We Tested:

Realm for Him - My husband wore this several times. If I was around when he first put it on I got a headache and became nauseous but if I didn't smell it on him until it wore off a bit, I definitely felt some loving feelings stir

IR for men - My husband wore the cool scent, kind of like Coolwater. I liked it and it brought out some extra sparks in me but I was not overcome by animal lust. On the days he wore it he received several tips from women while he was working. Normally tips are rare. One day he received a tip from every female customer.

Scent of Eros Unisex - I wore this and received no response from anyone. My husband didn't even notice.

Almost Skyclad custom blended love potions in Vanilla, Georgia Peach and Cinnamon from AlmostSkyclad.com - The Cinnamon scent was really overpowering and gave both my husband and I a headache but we both loved the Vanilla and Georgia Peach. My husband attacked me every time I wore either scent and other men seemed more attentive and friendly towards me. At a few parties and social gatherings I was hugged by many male friends and acquaintances.

Sugar and Spice Oil from PheromoneOil.com - I wore this and felt like a spicy sugar cookie. The response was favorable and sex was more passionate and primal than usual. It really seemed to spark my husband's animal side.

The Edge for Him and for Her - One night I wore the female version and my husband wore the male version, WOW! We had one long night of animal lust, I'm talking beyond passion. I had the energy and stamina of a teenager and had multiple, double digit orgasms.

Alter Ego for him and her - These scents inspired a few nights of extraordinary love making though nothing compared to The Edge.

Chikara for him - This one didn't seem to do much of anything.