How Your Odour Changes With Age

5 reality checks about odour for middle-aged men

Reality Check #1

Odour Care is required in the workplace

Personal care concerns that people want their colleagues to improve on at work

May 2014: Working men (567 people) and women (550 people) aged 25-49 [Mandom research]

Reality Check #2

It is also the third highest concern for female partners

Current concerns for Partner at the moment

Hair volume

45%

Skin type/condition

40%

Body odour

39%

Obesity/weight control

35%

Hair texture/type

35%

Dec 2024: Females who have middle-aged partners, aged 40-50 (n=102)

Reality Check #3

There is more than one area where men experience odour from

Areas where men think odour comes from

June 2013: Men aged 35-49 who are dissatisfied with body odor (14,863 people) Nationwide [Mandom research]

Reality Check #4

Middle-aged men feel most self-conscious about their odour when they are in close proximity with people, or after they sweat.

Top situations where men feel most self-conscious about their odour

55%

As long as I sweat

55%

Working in office or with colleagues

48%

On public transport such as MRT/Bus

Dec 2024: Males, aged 30-50 (n=368)

Reality Check #5

Approximately 60% of men in their 40s notice a change in body odour

The reality of changes in body odour

May 2023 Male in his 40s (n=9,583) Nationwide [Mandom research]

Types of odour found in middle-aged men

① The type and location of odour changes depending on the age

② Odour generated from the body, excluding bad breath and foot odour, can be broadly categorized into three types: general sweat odour, aging odour, and middle-aged odour

In addition to general sweat odour and middle-aged odour that peaks around the age of 40, the body odour of these men also begins to develop as they age (aging odour).

Men in their 40s can be said to be the time in life when body odour is most likely to be the strongest, as three types of odours are mixed together.

An index showing the relative odour intensity (olfactory measurement) of armpits for each age group. Indexed with the highest value (average for ages 18-24) as 100 and the odour discrimination threshold (level 2) as 0.

An index that indicates the amount of diacetyl, the causative agent of middle-aged odour, generated in the head. Indexed with the highest value (35-44 year old average) as 100 and the lowest value overall (1ppb) as 0.

An index showing the amount of 2-nonenal, which is the cause of aging odour, produced in the back. Indexed with the highest value (65-75 year old average) as 100 and the lowest value (0ng) as 0.

What is middle-aged odour?

Causative substance “Diacetyl”

With a smell profile that is similar to used oil, diacetyl is produced when the lactic acid contained in sweat is metabolized and broken down by staphylococci living in the scalp.

Compared to 2-nonenal (cause of aging odour) it spreads more easily in the air, making it more noticeable by others around you.

Additionally, when it mixes with sebum (medium chain fatty acids), the odour becomes even more prominent.

How your sebum changes with age

① When you reach middle-age, scalp oil becomes stickier

Compared to those in their 20s (young men), the scalp of men in their 40s (middle-aged men) becomes sticky and oily. This oil not only causes stickiness, but also tends to accumulate oily odour.

② When you reach middle-age, body oil becomes the source of aging odour

As we age, fatty acid (palmitoleic acid) in sebum increases, and the lipids secreted on the skin are oxidized and converted to 2-nonenal (a component of aging odour)