Dating already comes with plenty of uncertainty, but a viral TikTok trend is adding body odor to the equation. Some teen boys and young men are skipping showers and deodorant before dates because they believe their natural scent could make them more attractive.

The practice is commonly called pheromone maxxing. Its basic theory is that allowing a man’s natural musk to become stronger will increase his sexual appeal to a prospective partner.

Some proponents take the idea further by wearing shirts that have not been washed. Vice reported that others drink their own urine in an effort to “sweat out toxins.”

Pheromones are chemical compounds that carry signals between members of the same species. According to Scientific American, they are well documented among insects and other animals, while some pheromones have no discernible scent.

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Evidence supporting the idea in humans remains inconclusive. Researchers have found that human body odors and secretions can affect physiological or psychological responses in other people, but that does not establish the kind of reliable reaction imagined by followers of the trend.

“But there is no evidence of a consistent and strong behavioral response to any human-produced chemical cue,” Scientific American reported. “To date, scientists have collected evidence for possible pheromone effects but have not definitively identified a single human pheromone.”

One widely known investigation into scent and attraction came in 1995. Commonly called the “sweaty T-shirt study,” the experiment asked male participants to wear the same shirt for two consecutive nights.

Female participants were then asked to evaluate the odors of six shirts. In general, they found the body odors of men whose MHC genes differed from their own more pleasant than the odors of men with more similar MHC genes.

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MHC stands for major histocompatibility complex. It is a group of genes that plays an important role in the immune system and may also affect a person’s individual body odor.

However, the preference observed in the experiment was reversed among women who were taking oral contraceptives. Later research has also produced mixed findings about whether MHC differences influence partner selection or attraction.

A 2019 study involving 883 couples found that participants from the Netherlands and Northern Europe were more likely to select partners with different MHC genes. Researchers did not observe that same pattern among Israeli couples.

The researchers suggested that a history of arranged marriages within some groups could help account for the difference. However, a 2020 analysis of previous studies found no strong evidence that people favor partners with different MHC genes or consider their body odor more attractive.

The shower skipping trend is connected to the broader looksmaxxing movement. Through that movement, social media users try to optimize their physical appearance and attractiveness, sometimes by adopting extreme measures such as cosmetic procedures and drastic diets.

Although the scent focused version has recently attracted headlines, the concept has circulated online since at least 2024. A thread posted that year in the r/TikTokCringe subreddit received a largely disgusted response from users questioning both the logic and the hygiene involved.

“And how are those natural pheromones helping him in real life human social interactions?” one Redditor wondered. Another commented, “I am confused. Does he think that bathing means you no longer make pheromones? Is nobody able to teach him?”

Another user focused on cleanliness and the role of adults in teaching it. “There’s no way in hell I would let my child go to school or even in my house smelling stinky,” the user wrote. “It’s actually sad that no one in his life has taught him the importance of cleanliness.”

The trend also reached Fox News’ “The Five,” where the panel discussed scent, deodorant and the risks of overusing cologne. Panelist Tyrus encouraged men to choose unscented deodorant instead of covering themselves in fragrance.

“If men put too much cologne on, you’re a creep,” Tyrus said. “You’re sending the wrong message. You don’t want to smell like gym class, but you also don’t want to smell like you’re cheap.”

For all the online attention, the central claim behind the trend remains unsupported by definitive evidence. Scientists have gathered evidence suggesting possible pheromone effects, but they have not definitively identified a single human pheromone.