What's the Difference Between Pheromones and Hormones?

Hormones play a huge role in sexual desire, attraction and attractiveness. And the word is definitely out that pheromones do, too. So what's the difference between pheromones and hormones? Are pheromones just hormones with a fragrance?

No.

For one thing, pheromones are actually odorless. Male pheromones are a component of sweat, which, in theory, would make them seem as enticing to women as curling up with a pair of sweaty gym socks. The €aroma' of a hard workout comes from the action of bacteria on your skin, however, and the pheromone fragrance itself is undetectable. You can think of them as chemical stealth messengers.

More to the point, hormones only work inside your own body. You manufacture them in a variety of glands, you secrete them in response to certain stimuli, and their effects are contained to your own tissues. For your hormones to affect someone else, you'd have to have blood drawn, and the hormone extracted and then injected into the object of your desire. And, since male hormones create male sexual characteristics, few women would appreciate the gesture.

Pheromones, on the other hand, are a group of substances that have evolved to work their magic on someone else. It's quite stunning when you stop to think about it. Human male pheromones are derived from testosterone, the primary sex hormone of men. Women who are directly exposed to testosterone by injection become masculinized; highly competitive sports provide examples of this. Yet when women are exposed to the chemical messages of male pheromones through their olfactory powers (the sense of smell), their psychology and physiology change in ways that make them more relaxed, receptive, and ready for sexual activity.

(We talk about €smelling' pheromones, but, since they have no odor, this is really a simplified way of saying that the chemical message they contain is detected by the same sensory system that detects aromas€"the sense of smell.)

Pheromones also differ from hormones in another important way. Testosterone is testosterone is testosterone. The only way that men differ from each other in terms of this male hormone is in the amount of it that each produces€"and that stays within a narrowly defined normal range the vast majority of the time.

However, the specific blend of pheromones that any one man has is a function of his immune system. Pheromones are created on the surface of the skin, and the same bacteria that create the off-putting aroma of a hard workout also modify the undetectable aroma of pheromones.

Variations in pheromones play an important role in mate selection and the perpetuation of the human race. Studies show that women are attracted to men who have an immune profile slightly different from theirs. Being attracted to someone with a different profile ensures that any children would inherit a broad immune competence and, so, be less susceptible to infectious diseases.

In contrast to hormones, pheromones are highly individualized components that deliver a powerful message to your perfect mate.