Experts say that the smell comes from a chemical compound called 2-nonenal, and it can show up much earlier than one expects
Last week, my mom complained that she’s starting to smell “like an old person”.
She had grabbed her favorite sweater and draped it over herself at the movie theater. “It smelled like my grandmother,” she said, almost whispering. “I thought someone must have borrowed the jacket. But it was just me.”
My mom, who’s in her 60s, has a ton of energy. Her hair is thick and still naturally chestnut. She’s healthy and strong; she likes to hike and go to rock concerts.
“I don’t feel like an old person. Why do I smell like one?” she whined.
I told her, truthfully, that I didn’t notice any new aroma. I thought she smelled the same as always: a mix of lotion and gardenia. But I immediately knew what she was talking about.
Experts say that we do smell different as we age. “It’s one of the most universal, least talked-about parts of being human,” says Dr Roya Javid, a dermatologist in Monterey, California. “It’s just biology, unfolding on schedule, the same way we grow taller, then our hair goes gray. Every single person on the planet goes through these same transitions.”
The musty odor that people sometimes call “old person smell” comes from a chemical compound called 2-nonenal. 2-nonenal is produced when certain skin oils oxidize and break down, says Javid.
It’s a normal – and unavoidable – change.
“Our skin is coated in a thin layer of natural oils called skin lipids. They keep skin soft, waterproof and protected,” she says. Those lipids are made up of fatty acids, and as we age, the fatty acids change in composition. At the same time, the skin’s ability to fight off every day wear-and-tear slows down. The oils are more exposed, and when they break down through oxidation, they release 2-nonenal.
“It’s just a natural byproduct of skin ageing – not dirt, not poor hygiene,” Javid says. “It’s just oil quietly changing over time, the same way metal changes when it’s exposed to air.”
Levels of 2-nonenal vary by person. “We don’t yet know why some develop a stronger scent than others,” says Javid. “Though an individual’s skin-oil composition, genetics, the skin’s microbiome, hygiene practices, clothing, health and environment may all play a role in both how much 2-nonenal is produced and how much stays on the skin throughout the day.”
Experts say “old person smell” can show up much earlier than you might expect.
A Japanese study from 2001 tested the skin of subjects between the ages of 26 and 75, and detected 2-nonenal starting at age 40. But Dr Arshad Rather, consultant geriatrician and general physician at Medical Express Clinic in London, says this doesn’t mean people wake up with a noticeable new odor.
“Research suggests 2-nonenal increases gradually the older you get, particularly past middle age. It’s not a switch flipping at 40 – more a dial slowly turning up,” says Rather.
