Smell Your Way to Feeling Great – An Overview on Aromatherapy

Literally, aromatherapy means “a treatment using scents.” You have probably heard the word and had a vague idea of what it means, but do you really know what aromatherapy it is? It is actually a holistic treatment. It is usually used to take care of the human body through the use of scents and fragrances. These scents are made into a part of baths, are inhaled directly, or made to engulf an entire room in the smell. Holistic healers use it to treat pain, skin disorders, stress and even fatigue. It is true that it is often effective as the brain is stimulated through the fragrances via the nerves in the olfactory system, which gives you the ability to smell.

Of all the alternative medicines out there, aromatherapy is the fastest growing. That is because it can easily be used at home, in hospitals, in offices, or virtually anywhere. It is used to help labor pains, migraines, and any number of other discomforts. It has even been used to alleviate the pain and discomfort associated with chemotherapy.

Where did aroma therapy come from, though? It has actually been around a long time, 6000 years in fact. Aromatherapy was used by ancient Greeks, the pyramid building Egyptians, and through out the Roman Empire. Scents and fragrances were even used in the burial of the dead and embalmment. It regained popularity in 1930 when the term was coined by a chemist, Frenchman Rene Maurice Gattefosse.

So how does the whole aromatherapy thing work? Basically the idea is to stimulate your sense of smell, which is powerful. Scientists know that the odors we smell often times can have a big impact on how we feel emotionally. IN fact, doctors have found that patients who lose their sense of smell can often end up with psychiatric problems like depression or anxiety. Many experts believe that scents travel through the cilia in our noses and into the limbic system. The limbic system is the part of the brain that controls our mood, memory, emotions, and ability to learn new things. As a result, there are a number of ways that aromatherapy can help. There is evidence that it can help with behavior, sleep problems, postpartum discomfort, colds, stress, and even male sexual response. The point is that aromatherapy has a number of uses that range greatly.

For the most part, aromatherapy is completely safe. There are, though, some safety issues to keep in mind when working with it, especially on your own. Remember, first of all, that the oils used are often very potent, don’t use too much. If you use too much it actually loses its effect and can actually become a negative. You should also be aware of allergies you or others around you may have in response to certain scents and oils. Do not consume any essential scented oils as some are very toxic. Keep these things in mind and you can have a successful aromatherapy experience.

If you are thinking of getting into aromatherapy, there are some beginner ways to do so. First of all, it is best to start with easy aromatherapies like candles and bath oils. You may want to look at some lotions in your local holistic shop as well. Start with some of the more basic scents and oils as well. For instance, Clary Sage is a good one to start with. It I used to treat everything from menstrual problems, to high blood pressure, to stress. It is easy to get and easy to use. Also, you may want to get your hands on some Eucalyptus, which is good for muscle soreness, skin infection, and is used as an insect repellant.

So you may be into holistic medicine and not even know it. Aromatherapy is a fantastic first step into that world, or simply an accent to traditional medicines. With roots in some of the great ancient civilizations, aromatherapy has survived the test of time and doesn’t look to be going anywhere any time soon. It is something you can use easily in many places and can get started in easy. There are a number of books and websites that can help you get your aromatherapy started with very little baseline knowledge.

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Mix Master- Having Fun making your own Special Scent

Creating your own special scent can be a way of personalizing a fragrance and making it truly your own. One of the greatest advantages of creating your own perfume is that you allow it to maintain its true essence and you are guaranteed that you are getting the real thing. It is not about fancy bottles but about how your special scent can have an effect on your moods, thoughts, ideas and memories. If reducing your stress load, perking yourself up, make yourself feel more joyful or getting you into a sexier state of mind is what you desire than creating your own special signature scent is just what the doctor ordered! Making your own fragrance is not a difficult process nor is it expensive. Most ingredients you would need to mix up your special concoction can be purchased at a health food store or drugstore.

Before you do anything else you must make a decision about how strong a scent you wish to make. Are you going for heavy or light? Bear in mind that perfumes are the strongest as they contain 15 to 30 percent essential oils, diluted in a base of 70 to 85 percent of alcohol and at least 5 percent of distilled or spring water. Toilet waters tend to be less strong and consist of 5 to 10 percent essential oils while body splashes and colognes have the least at 1 to 2 percent. For the alcohol to be used, 100-proof vodka is the best or else 95 percent grain alcohol (190-proof). Fixatives are needed to give the fragrance a long shelf life. The definition of fixatives is, “ingredients added to a composition to lend their own unique scent and to ‘fix’ the other ingredients as well, retarding their overall rate of evaporation.” Some of the most popular fixatives include balsam of Peru, benzoin, myrrh, sandalwood and vanilla. The most commonly used fixatives for creams, lotions, oils and bath blends include castor oil, grape seed oil, tincture of benzoin and Vitamin E gel cap liquid. If you would like to add a splash of color to your special scent then use a natural, vegetable food dye of the highest quality.

The materials you will need to gather together to make your own perfume include your favorite essential oils, whether they be lavender, rose, sandalwood, etc., fixatives of your choice (examples as previously mentioned are myrrh, sandalwood or vanilla), alcohol, eyedropper, small bottles, jars and vials and a notebook to record the exact amounts of essential oils you use in your perfume recipe.

Things to keep in mind when making your own special scent are glass containers and jars are fine for preparing your scent but avoid them for storing it as the sun has a way of distorting the aroma. If you plan to make a number of perfume blends, always name, record and date each one. After you add a new essential oil to the recipe take the time to smell it in order to determine if it is what you want. Always clean the eyedropper with a bit of alcohol between each new addition of essential oils. Just like fine wine, perfume gets better with age so remember to age your concoction for a couple of days or even weeks in order to smooth it out and settle the scent. Keep it stored in a cool, dark, dry area.

The process is very simple for making your own special scent. First you need to take the essential oil concentrate of your choice and add it to the alcohol, stirring slowly but for long enough that the oils are able to disperse in the mixture. Once you have done that allow the recipe to stand for a period of 48 hours. Once the 48 hours have passed add 2 tablespoons of distilled (or spring) water to the mixture and then stir it slowly but as thoroughly as possible. The longer you let your perfume stand the stronger it will become. If you want a strong perfume and not cologne then let it stand for as long as 4 to 6 weeks (this is known as a curing or maturation time). If your mixture becomes too strong for your liking then the solution is to add more water to dilute it further. The final step after the mixture has cured is to carefully pour it through a coffee filter (to avoid any sediment destroying the perfume) and into a bottle. And now you have your own special scent!

• Lavender Aromatherapy Candle- 24 hr. burn time- made with 100% pure essential oils User Reviews Send this to a friend Lavender Aromatherapy Candle- 24 hr. burn time- made with 100% pure essential oils Manufacturer: Plantlife Customer Rating: List Price: $8.95 Sale Price: $7.45 Availibility: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Now Product Description Our aromatherapy candles are made with a blend......
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Favoring French Fragrances – Why France is THE Place for Perfumes

France has been the heart and soul of the world’s perfume industry since the middle of the 17th Century and French perfumes, like French wines, are famous around the world for their character and originality. The idea of scent as an important ingredient of everyday life, however, started long before that in a very different environment.

Egypt, the birthplace of cosmetics! Perfume was first used in Egypt around 1600 BC as an element in religious ritual, either as incense or in balms and ointments. It was some five or six centuries later when Egyptian woman began using perfume and oils as cosmetics . . . as well as for their observed effects as an aphrodisiac. Frankincense and Myrrh, two of the famous gifts from the Christian bible story were used to add scent to the atmosphere for rituals. Other plants, such as rose and peppermint, were were soaked in oil long enough to create a scented ointment that was then rubbed into the skin.

France, an industry is born! Jumping ahead to France in the middle of the 17th Century you’ll find the genesis of the modern perfume industry and the birthplace of today’s obsession with scent. Oddly enough it began with gloves! Perfumed gloves became quite popular which led the first perfume makers to join with glove makers to form a trade guild. After that, the use of perfume in France grew steadily. By the 18th Century, the invention of an eau de cologne, a milder, more refreshing scent created through the use of certain spices and citrus juices, gave birth to new and surprising uses for manufactured scents. Along with what we would consider today to be normal uses of a scent, eau de cologne was also mixed with wine and eaten on a sugar lump for use as a mouthwash.

A frivolous product? Throughout history, the French perfume industry has grown — that is notable; in it’s long history, it is one of the few industries in the world that has never seen a recession. In France itself, a full 90% of the female population uses perfume and 50% of the men use perfume. There are approximately 100 new fragrances introduced every year from the French perfume industry — some costing their companies as much as $20 million (US) in advertising and marketing. In France, a new perfume product is not considered a success unless its sales reach the level of one billion French francs ($200 million US). The perfume industry has been called a frivolous industry but numbers like these and successes such as have been seen in the French perfume industry represent an effort and dedication that is anything but frivolous.

Grassed, France! The city of Grassed, near Cannes, is considered to be the perfume capital of the world. France’s perfume industry was born in Grassed in the 16th century as an extension of the perfumed glove craze. Grassed was, at that time, already a hub of the leather and tanning industries (and had been since the 13th Century) and it was here that the perfumed gloves were made. Then, when the craze died and took much of Grasse’s leather industry with it, the perfume industry remained . . . and grew.

The climate in Grassed was ideal and the most beautiful and delicate flowers grew there; this attracted perfume makers from all over France. In today’s world, the perfume industry relies more on chemicals and chemistry than it does on flowers but flowers were the genesis, their scent, the inspiration for an industry.

Two thousand people are employed in Grassed, creating perfumes and aromas and generating almost 3 billion French Francs ($600 million US) per year; this is about 50% of the market for French perfumes and 6% of the world market.

The House of Guerlain! As you think of France and think of perfume there is one other name that must play into your thoughts; that name is Guerlain. Guerlain has been France’s most distinguished perfumer for the past 165 years with classics such as L’Eau impériale, Shalimar, L’Heure bleue, Vol de Nuit and Mitsouko. Guerlain was founded by Pierre Francois Pascal and, since opening their first perfumery in Paris in 1828, they have expanded to seven exclusive boutiques in Paris, with equally exclusive shops in Milan, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Today the House of Guerlain has the largest family of products in the French perfume industry and has a reputation and character that is recognized all over the world.

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A Brief History of Fragrance Products

Fragrance products have been around almost since the beginning of civilization itself. Certain scents are the key to unlocking many of the world’s memories. Perhaps that accounts for their popularity. The fragrance industry did more than ten billion dollars in sales last year alone. We are not the only culture to be fragrance obsessed, though. The word “perfume” comes from the Latin “per fume” which translates to “through smoke.” This makes perfect sense in light of the fact that the earliest fragrance products known to man were the burning of incense or aromatic herbs during religious gatherings or for religious purposes.

It is commonly agreed that the Egyptians were the first, as a culture, to wholly integrate fragrance into their cultural world. Under the reign of Queen Sheba, religious ceremonies, including things like burning incense to honor the dead, became the cultural standard in the country. All scents were essential to this culture. They were a high priced commodity. They were even more important than gold. However, the most important scent in the country was kyphi, a natural scent found throughout the country at the time. It is said that when archaeologists opened the tomb of Tutankhamen, it was this scent that overpowered them. The Egyptians did not stop their use of fragrance with religious ceremonies and their cultural customs surrounding the dead, though. Egyptians also routinely used fragrance products on their bodies. They regularly anointed themselves with scents like cinnamon and honey. They also developed a great talent for scent extraction. Many temples show drawings of citizens distilling fragrance from the white Madonna lily. Scents of this type, though, were not for all Egyptian citizens. These fragrances were only used for powerful, wealthy citizens who could afford to use them on a regular basis. Both genders, men and women, in Egyptian society, though, were welcome to wear these precious commodities. Fragrance was seen as a symbol of power and wealth, and the rich liked to flaunt their wealth through their scents and those of their family members. Interestingly enough, though, most of the Egyptian scents were not native to the country. Most of them were brought to the Egyptians by Palestine, Persia, India, and Arabia.

In Persia, as in Egypt, fragrance was also a sign of social class. Kings sitting in their palaces wore crowns decorated with scents like myrrh and labyzuz. The aromas could be smelled throughout the palace. Wealthy citizens had extensive gardens. Most grew scents like jasmine, lilac, violet, and red rose for a number of purposes, including distillation so they could wear the scents out of the house. Most wealthy citizens used perfumes after bathing. Many men put civet on their beards and musk on other places on their body to emit the aroma of wealth and power wherever they tread. Persians were one of the first cultures to master the art of preservation. They placed rose buds in sealed jars, often earthenware, and opened them on special occasions.

After Alexander the Great defeated Darius III of Persia, he too adopted the use of fragrance in Greece. He had scented water sprinkled on the floors of his homes. All of his clothes were heavily fragranced with resins and myrrh. The Greeks extensively used fragrances associated with their religion. They believed the gods invented perfume. They also believed that after a god or goddess had visited an earthly location, it was forever marked with a sweet smell as a gift from the deity. They anointed all of their dead bodies with scented oil. In wedding ceremonies, not only were the bride and groom scented, the bride’s maidens bore crowns of hyacinth. Even their games were marked with scents. After an athlete was deemed the winner, he was given a necklace of golden violets to wear. The Greeks also made an extensive study of perfumes. They left extensive writings about which plants, and which parts of those plants, offered them the scents they used with different ceremonies.

Many different cultures started the various use of perfumes throughout the course of history, and we still use fragrances for so many different purposes today. They are still used frequently in various religious ceremonies, and we use them to adorn our bodies. The use of perfumes will most likely last until the end of civilization as we know it.

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Pheromones in Fragrances Explained

Pheromones are defined as “a naturally occurring chemical compound found in all insects, animals and humans.” There are different types of pheromones including alarm pheromones, sex pheromones, food trail pheromones and a host of others. When secreted from the body pheromones have a hand in attracting the opposite sex as well as in dictating to an extent, sexual behavior. It is sex pheromones that are most often discussed.

The word “pheromone” comes from the Greek word “pheran” which means to transfer and “horman” which means to excite. Pheromones are a very primitive form of communication in the animal world as they perform many functions such as allowing animals to recognize mates, signal sexual interest, mark territory, etc.

Pheromones are natural scents that both human beings and animals release in their saliva, perspiration and tears. The scent from these chemicals sends signals to the opposite sex about health, mood, status and sexual drive. However no one can actually smell these chemicals but instead they are detected on a subliminal level through our VNO system (or vomeronasal organ). The VNO system is made up of a small invisible receptor buried deep in the nose cavity which is able to distinguish pheromones and then send the signal to the part of the brain known as the hypothalamus. The VNO was first discovered in 1703 by F. Ruysch. Pheromones are also detected by something called the Jacobson’s organ which is located between the nose and the mouth. Generally speaking the more sex chemicals an individual secretes, the more sought after by the opposite sex they become.

Research done after 1986, found that pheromones do have a place in human sexual behavior and can be found in the highest quantities in sweat. However by showering and using many toiletry products, the action of these naturally occurring chemicals in the body is dulled. In men the chemical in human pheromones contains Androstenol and in women it is Andtrostenol.

Since we detect pheromones on a subconscious level only, fragrance makers have begun to reproduce human pheromones and incorporate them into fragrances. The fragrances that include human pheromones as an important ingredient work on most people who apply them to their skin but in varying degrees. It all depends on the receiver’s sensitivity to his/her vomeronasal organ. Just like non-pheromone fragrances, one or two drops are best applied at the sides of the neck and/or to the inner wrists. Once applied to skin, human pheromones usually last about four to six hours or thereabouts. One bottle of human pheromones could effectively last, if used regularly, for four to six weeks. Pheromones do not need to be reapplied as often as other fragrances to work properly. Manufacturers of these fragrances charge varying prices for their products.

Fragrance companies are busy both focusing on the whole mystery surrounding human pheromones as well as funding research to determine whether or not it has an affect on mating rituals, sexual attraction and sexual arousal. It is well documented that animals emit pheromones that directly result in sexual behavior while research on human beings is ongoing. To use an example from the animal kingdom, a male pig secretes from his saliva a pheromone known as androstenone. When he does this a female pig picks up on the aroma, becomes sexually aroused and the mating ritual begins to take shape.

Due to the research on human pheromones, many people have come to conclude that the sexiest part of us, males and females alike, is our noses and that we all have a unique “special sexy scent” that is unlike anyone else’s. Just as our pheromones can cause us to be attracted to another person they can also cause us to be turned off by someone else. Our body chemistry is intimately tied in with our sexual yearnings.

One of the most well known pheromone enhanced scents is called “Realm” and is manufactured by the Erox Corporation. Anatomist David L. Berliner created the scent in 1989 when he discovered that the addition of human pheromones to scents helped boost the self-confidence levels of men and also gave them a better sense of well being in relation to their interactions with women. More scents with human pheromones are now available on the market and the research into whether pheromones play a role in getting men and women together, and keeping them attracted to one another, are advancing all of the time.

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Why Smelling Good with Perfumes Could Be Making You Feel Bad

In our society, we use perfumes in almost every product we make. Perfumes are in our soap and our cleaning products. We use perfumes to freshen our air, our bodies, and our pets. We cannot escape these scents in our society, yet they could be making you feel much worse than you could ever imagine.

People have used perfumes for thousands of years, but the problems with perfumes have only come about recently. Until this century, all perfumes were made of completely natural ingredients. The combining of these ingredients simply produced a nice scent, not a chemical trail that could hurt others. In recent years, perfumes have become less expensive. As a result, more and more people are able to purchase them in a variety of products. However, as these two things have happened, they have lost most of their natural ingredients and become more synthesized. More than ninety five percent of the chemicals that come in perfumes today are synthetic. They come from things like petroleum. Petroleum is known to have toxins that cause cancer, birth defects, disorders to the central nervous system, and a whole host of allergic reactions. In fact, many of the chemicals that perfumes now contain are the same chemicals that cigarette smoke contains. You wouldn’t want to spray cigarette smoke on yourself, your clothes, your pets, or your laundry, but you use most of the same components when you use items containing perfumes.

The use of these chemicals goes completely unregulated because it is thought not to be dangerous. The industries that use perfumes do not have to give anything to the Food and Drug Administration. This includes formulas, testing results, safety data, or any complaints from consumers. Even if you do not notice the effects from the chemicals in perfumed products, someone else in your household or in your surroundings may be noticing them. The chemicals used in perfumes enter your blood stream when you apply the products to your skin. They can also be absorbed into your blood stream if you have residue on your clothing from your laundry soap or fabric softener. When you inhale perfume, the fumes can go straight to your brain. It is the equivalent of huffing gasoline. Your brain can suffer the same serious effects just from a single spray. Moreover, the people standing in line next to you at the post office or anywhere else you may visit may have headaches or sinus problems triggered by your artificial scent. Many people are so sensitive to the perfumes used in various products that the effects can be serious and immediately triggered by one whiff of the chemicals contained in the fragrance you are wearing. Shortness of breath and other asthma like symptoms are a very common reaction to fragrances. Fragrances can cause sneezing, watery eyes, nausea, sore throat, and coughing. If fragrances are absorbed through the skin of a person with an allergic reaction, rashes, hives, dermatitis, and eczema are not uncommon reactions. Sometimes once the fragrance is absorbed in the skin, the chemicals are more powerful than they were before they were broken down.

Many places are starting to institute fragrance free policies because of the serious reactions people can suffer from fragrance related products. For example, Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, has recently asked both its students and employees to voluntarily quit wearing any scented products. The regional municipality in Halifax, Nova Scotia, urges citizens to only use unscented products in their day to day life. One California Company, Alacrity Ventures, encourages employees to use only fragrance free products. They also only use unscented products in their janitorial clean-up as a commitment to a scent-free work environment. Companies across the United States and Canada are trying to create these fragrance-free policies in order to accommodate individuals who have difficulty dealing with these dangerous products because it is easier for them to enact them now than later in time when they are under scrutiny for some type of law suit action.

It is essential to others that you consider a fragrance-free policy in your own home and work place. While you may not be suffering from the serious health damage chemically produced fragrances can cause, be aware that others around you may. Until people as a whole realize that we do not need fragrances to mask every odor around us, it is essential that we, on an individual level, become aware of the serious, negative consequences these fragrance products can have on the world and people around us.

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How to be a beauty guru?

I’m just starting out and I want to know some tips that will help me
here’s the link to my youtube channel(it only has 2 videos up so far):

sorry for some reason your video wouldn’t play on my computer, so no tips sorry, but i saw the thumbnail thing and you’re pretty just wanted to say that ha

Facebook Forum 10/7/09: beauty tips

Floral Facts for Fragrances

There’s a popular saying that goes, “Stop and smell the flowers.” It usually means that you need to slow down a bit in your life and take time for simple pleasures … like smelling those proverbial flowers. Isn’t that the first thing you do when someone hands a bouquet to you or you are walking through a flower garden? It’s instinctive, something that we just do unconsciously. When buying flowers for yourself, many times the smell is what draws you to a purchase. That smell is what perfume manufacturers use to lure you to try and wear certain fragrances. In fact, flowers are an integral part in creating a fragrance.

Perfumes are derived from a variety of sources like fruits, bark, herbs, grasses, wood, resins, leather and even tobacco and chocolate. However, it is the flower that provides the foundation for many fragrances. Each flower offers a unique scent that can affect a perfume. In fact, even the same type of flower can elicit various aromas. For instance, roses often smell the same, but because there are hundreds of varieties of roses, each one will offer a scent that is slightly different from the next.

Flowers grow all over the world, so there are a lot of factors that play a part in creating a unique scent for your perfumes and fragrances. Soil acidity or alkalinity can alter a flower’s scent. The weather and environmental conditions like pollution and use of pesticides also contribute to a flower’s smell. Take the rose, for example. Roses grow all over the world, from France to the United States to Bulgaria, known for its corner of the market for rose production specifically for perfumes. For some flowers, they will not grow anywhere except in a small particular corner of the world. One example of this is the ylang-ylang flower. This delicate smelling flower only grows naturally in parts of Southeast Asia.

Manufacturers of fragrances have to isolate the essential oils from the flowers. These essential oils are what give plants and flowers their distinctive aromas. Numerous flowers are used in the production of perfumes and other fragrances. However, the most important flowers that provide the foundation to many fragrances are from the rose, jasmine and orange flowers. Also commonly used are ylang-ylang flowers.

Roses used in perfumes and fragrances date back to the Roman and Greek times and account for appearances in over seventy percent of all perfumes. Roses are rarely picked during the day; rather, they are harvested at night when their aromatic fragrance is at its strongest. The Damask Rose and the Rosa Centifolia are the two most popular roses cultivated for perfumes and fragrances.

Jasmine flowers are also picked at night time to preserve its peak aroma. And once jasmine flowers are picked, they must be processed and refined right away. Otherwise, their scent will fade from the picked blooms. Jasmine flowers are delicate, so great care is taken in the handling of the blooms. The precautions are needed because jasmine accounts for over seventy-five percent presence in the perfumes made today.

Parts of Europe and Africa account for most of the orange flowers used in perfumes and fragrances. Orange blossoms were once the popular flowers for weddings. The flower oil garnered from orange blossoms provides a fresh, clean, citrus-y scent that is quite refreshing to the senses. In fact, even orange trees have some beneficial things that can contribute to the fragrance market. Essential orange oils can be derived from the skin or peel of an orange. Even the leaves and bark can be harvested for some fragrance uses like cleaning products or linen sprays.

Finally, the exotic ylang-ylang flower found predominately in Southeast Asia is another popular flower used the production of perfumes and fragrances. The secret to the most aromatic ylang-ylang flowers is harvesting is waiting until the flower buds have been open for several weeks. And like the jasmine, the ylang-ylang flower must be processed and refined quickly before it loses aroma quality.

When choosing a fragrance for yourself, one way to make a good choice in perfumes is to determine which flower is your favorite. From there, you can do a little research into which perfumes use that flower and go “sniffing” around the department or fragrance stores in search of the right scent for you.

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Your Sense of Smell Explained in Scientific Terms

The sense of smell is one of the most fascinating of all of our sensual receptors. It is also one of the most critical for all animal species. As humans, we can detect and distinguish more than nine thousand odors. We use our sense of smell for any number of different things, including enjoying the aromas of our favorite foods and beverages as well as deciding whom we want to associate with based on smell. We can use it to detect danger as in a fire or a gas leak, and we can use it for fun like in reading scratch and sniff books to our children. Over the course of the past twenty years, science has made extensive study of the human sense of smell. The science community can now tell us both how our nose detects odor molecules and how the brain is able to deal with that information once it is detected.

Every odor your nose detects comes from molecules, tiny particles emitted from the object. Almost everything emits a smell, but some of them don’t reach as far as others. For example, bread, onions, perfume, fruit, and similar things give off many light, volatile molecules that are long range. They float through the space around the object and eventually end up in your nose. Other objects, like steel for instance, gives off molecules, but they are not long range and do not float as easily. As a result, we might say it has no smell.

Your sense of smell kicks in when the molecules enter your nose. At the very top of the nasal passage, there is an area, around the size of a postage stamp, which contains a large patch of neurons. Actually, it contains millions of neurons, called olfactory receptor neurons. The area is called the olfactory epithelium. The interesting, and unique, thing about these olfactory receptor neurons is that they are unprotected. This means they can come into direct contact with the air you breathe in. Their projects, a bit like hair, increase the surface area they can reach. The projections are called cilia. As an odor molecule comes up the nasal passage. The cilia will trap it. This forces the olfactory receptor neuron that the cilia are attached to, to send a message to your brain and cause you to perceive a smell.

Not everyone perceives the same smells, though. Recently, scientists discovered that the ability to smell certain odor molecules is genetic. Your individual genome encodes your olfactory receptor neurons. Each of the receptors has a place where an odor molecule can form a bond with it so your brain can perceive the smell correctly. If the right molecule falls into the right place, you get the smell. If, however, you are missing a genetic sequence, or the correct genetic sequence has been damaged in that area, your olfactory receptors are unable to accept the molecule. As a result, your brain is unable to receive the electrical impulse, and you never get the smell. It is possible to regrow these olfactory neurons if they are damaged.

There are four zones of olfactory receptor neurons within your brain. These four zones can help to distinguish the quality of the odor, the intensity of the odor, and the type of odor you are detecting. Even babies in the womb have a sense of smell. By nine weeks into gestation, the nasal cavity has separated from the mouth. It is at this point that the olfactory receptor neurons are formed. By the thirteenth week of gestation, the connections between the baby’s brain and the olfactory receptor neurons are formed. From that point onward, the baby can smell throughout the gestation. Smelling does not require air; it simply requires the odor molecules, which can be transmitted through the amniotic fluid. In some scientific studies, a baby can recognize its mother’s scent immediately after birth.

The sense of smell is often termed one of our chemical senses because it requires that we process the chemicals around us for use. Smell can alert us to danger, but it can also offer us a sense of recognition. Ever have someone wander by you wearing your mother’s perfume? You probably immediately recognized it as such. The sense of smell, as complicated as it is, is one of our most powerful.