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Milliemoo1944 Asked November 2019

How do get rid of old peoples smell?

75 yr old male. Have just started to smell the old age syndrome, shower daily and also change clothes daily, any suggestions?

JoanaUrbano Nov 2019
It's like Febreze for grandma.

Eliminating that "old people smell" is now possible thanks to two cosmetics companies in Japan. The chemical compound nonenal — something we all develop with age — is responsible for the lingering odor that the National Institutes of Health describes as "unpleasant, greasy and grassy." Ew.

Shiseido Group makes a perfume specifically formulated to neutralize the smell called "Harmonage Fragrance." After conducting a poll of 150 men and women, they found that signature elder aroma to be the second most offensive scent behind bad breath. It's the "world's first" to target nonenal through perfume, according to their site.

A line of anti-age-stench soaps by Mirai Clinical harnessed the natural deodorizing qualities of persimmon in their products. Apparently, the tannin in persimmon fruit abolishes nonenal chemicals (https://docsbay.net/chemoproteomics-reveals-chemical-diversity-and-dynamics-of-4-oxo-2-nonenal-modifications-in-cells), knocking out the smell as well.

Nonenal owes its musk to an increase of lipid and fatty acids that occurs during aging when our hormones become imbalanced, the Huffington Post reported. Older skin loses natural antioxidant protection, leaving it susceptible to lipid oxidation which then becomes nonenal.

Elderly people are given enormous respect in Japan and unlike us, created a word (Kareishu) devoted to the geriatric fragrance that's a lot more reverential than just "old people smell." But, that didn't stop them from trying to get rid of it.

cwillie Nov 2019
Check out this article, you'll probably find the comments useful too:

https://www.agingcare.com/articles/old-person-smell-174839.htm
Geaton777 Nov 2019
Ha! Learned something new! Thanks, cwillie!

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Geaton777 Nov 2019
How often are the bedsheets washed and changed? Are the clothes washed after each use? If you are referring to someone other than yourself, are you trusting that this person is actually using soap & shampoo in the shower?

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