Puberty makes teenagers’ armpits smell of cheese, goat and urine, say scientists

Mar 22, 2024

The study compared infants under three years old with 14- to 18-year-olds and found teenagers had two particular chemical compounds that smell of sweat, urine, musk and sandalwood, which were not present in babies.

Helene Loos, of the Friedrich-Alexander University in Germany, and her colleagues adapted T-shirts and babygrows with cotton pads sewn into the armpits.

Babies’ samples showed higher levels of the ketone alpha-isomethyl ionone, which smells of flowers and soap, with a hint of violet.

The hormonal changes that occur during puberty are associated with an increase in body odour, linked to the activation of sweat glands and the secretion of sebum.

“In contrast, body odours of pubertal children are rated as less pleasant and parents are unable to identify their own child during this developmental stage.”

The researchers extracted the chemical compounds absorbed by the armpit pads using a technique called mass spectrometry to identify them.