SCENTS AND RELATIONSHIPS

Your nose knows.

A flash thought about Valentine's Day took me by surprise this morning. A bit early in the season I thought… But whatever triggered that idea inspired me to dedicate this blog to the topic of relationships and scents. It also inspired me to use essential oils associated with love since Antiquity for the next Meditations on Beauty.

Curiosity led me to search for recent information. The findings led me to
question a few assumptions and to come up with a theory that I want to check with you.

The basics of attraction
Everyone is interested in this topic. Scientists since Darwin, if not way before, have researched this extensively. The 80's brought up the existence of pheromones, whose role is now considered less significant than MHCs. But let's start from the beginning: body scent is an important ingredient in attraction, especially for females. Women's sense of smell becomes more acute around ovulation. They can even identify disease by smell, though maybe not which one. Think of all the implications, not only in the lover relationship but all kinds of relationships: mom-child, friendship and any relationship based on love in all its forms.

Research on DNA suggests that
perfumes may short-circuit
 our built-in means of mate choice.

Claus Wedekind and his team at the University of Bern, Switzerland, decided to see if MHC codes (a segment of our DNA called the major histocompatibility complex) in some men's secretions affected women's ratings on male smells. They found that women rate a man's body odor pleasantness and sexiness depends upon how much of their MHC profile is shared. 

Overall, women prefer those scents exuded by men whose MHC profiles differed the most from their own. Hence, any given man's odor could be pleasing for one woman, yet a turnoff for another.1 Just in case you thought it would be great to know your MHC, be aware that the tests, IF available, would be very expensive, so trust your nose.

The researchers went as far as saying that while perfume worn daily, soapy showers, contraceptive pills (which inhibit women's reactions to MHCs) have their charms. However they may short-circuit our built-in means of mate choice, adaptations shaped to our unique needs by millions of years of ancestral experiences.

No "good" smell!

Like an iceberg the visible part of your nose
is but a tiny part of it.

The same researchers found out that no specific smell would work better than another (you knew that!), but more interestingly that the mate would not necessarily need to smell "good." This study could explain why certain people are described as great lovers, sometimes by several partners, despite their less than appealing body smell.

Conversely, there are many anecdotes about relationships that did not click nor worked because of scents. Several years ago an article made the papers about a man who had been plagued by allergic reactions. After years of medical testing, the man learned he was allergic to his wife's hair, possibly it's scent. And how about this article in Marie-Claire magazine about a couple who divorced, among other things, because of mutual disdain for each other's body scent?

A question remains

One ton of rose petals is needed to produce
1 litre of essential oil.

Why have human beings been using perfumes to attract romance or love for so long? Why have certain scents been coined as aphrodisiac by ancient erudite societies such as the Pheonicians, the Indian, the Greeks and Romans, the Egyptians, the Morrocans? I'm thinking here of rose, jasmin, neroli, tulsi, cananga, lotus seed, spikenard, patchouli, basil, and black pepper.

My theory to those questions is two-fold. 1. Maybe that individuals don't trust that there natural scent is enough to attract a partner. This would be based in lack of self-confidence.
2. By taking care of their body, people nurture their self-love and connection to the Earth; tune it up to be receptive for union/merging; and prepare themselves emotionally and mentally for a specific situation with the vibrations of fragrances they like or trust, that put themselves "in the mood." 

What do you think? Do you have a different theory? Please comment below. 

At any rate, I will offer participants of the Meditations on Beauty the joy of experimenting with the essences of cananga, neroli, tulsi or jasmine, and rose for the next four Mondays. Let's find out where they lead us on the path of love and relationships. For details on how to join the group, contact me at info@facetograce.com

Last note
The oilier your skin, the more likely it is to have a scent.

To book an aromatherapy session with Samyukta, contact info@facetograce.com.