A viral social-media trend known as “pheromone-maxxing” is encouraging some young men to skip showers and deodorant before dates, on the belief that a stronger natural body odour will make them more attractive. The claim matters because it promotes poor hygiene on the basis of an unproven interpretation of research into pheromones and attraction.

While human scents may affect physiological or psychological responses, scientists have not conclusively identified a human pheromone or established a reliable, strong behavioural effect. A 1995 “sweaty T-shirt” study suggested women often preferred the scent of men with different immune-system genes, but later research has been mixed; a 2020 review found no strong evidence for such a preference. The trend is linked to “looksmaxxing”, an online movement focused on maximising attractiveness, sometimes through extreme practices.