2023-09-23 13:49:50
It surely sounds striking or curious to read that there is the ‘old smell‘. As much as it may seem derogatory, it is real and has to do with the hormonal changes that people have over the years.
Our grandparents emanate a particular aroma. Source: Freepik.
According to chemist José María Antón, a researcher in biotechnology for years for the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), this occurs “as a consequence of an increase in the production of lipids on the surface of the skin.”
Scientists revealed that this aroma begins following the age of 30 and is mainly due to two molecules that are volatile organic compounds (VOC) such as 2-nonenal and isovaleric acid. It is generated by the oxidative degradation of unsaturated fatty acids, it also affects epidermal balance and regeneration.
Antón expressed that 2-nonenal smells really bad, “so much so that when we open a capsule with that molecule in the laboratory, everything stinks.” “With this discovery we know that the concentration of lipids present on the surface of the skin begins to decline to pre-puberty levels, around the age of 80. That is, following 80, we can smell quite similar to when we were children,” he concluded.
It must be taken into account that this is a natural change in the body and has nothing to do with a lack of personal hygiene. Unlike sweat, this odor is more difficult to eliminate because lipids do not dissolve with water. Some companies are working and have launched special perfumes to neutralize the molecule that produces this characteristic smell.
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