It is not only their smartphone adolescents and young adults do not want to do without in their everyday life. A surprising must-have: deodorant.
At the beginning of puberty, young people experience their own body odour to be rather embarrassing or even disgusting – and the same goes for that of others. An unpleasant smell is to be avoided by all means. In extreme cases, adolescents and young adults are even mobbed because they smell of sweat –
and they mob others because of their body odour.
Most young people therefore do not leave the house without deodorant. It is also a permanent companion in sports and school bags which helps to control some of the unpleasant sensations of the transition to adulthood. 83 percent of adolescents and young adults use deodorant once or several times a day. This is the result of an in-depth psychological-representative study with adolescents and young adults conducted on behalf of IKW – The German Cosmetic, Toiletry, Perfumery and Detergent Association.
For 81 percent, deodorant can even contribute to strengthening their self-esteem. There is a psychologically interesting explanation for this: One’s own body odour is closely linked to the emerging sexuality during puberty. During puberty, young people actually and figuratively get ‘hot’ more frequently. And the body odour gives this away. Attraction and rejection are not least down to pheromones. Deodorant is therefore not only used to conceal the personal smell and instead create a more favourable scent, but also serves to mask the treacherous pheromones. This provides adolescents and young adults not only with more confidence when dealing with friends. They can also play it safe when meeting the opposite sex, avoiding embarrassment and the risk of being rejected because people do not like their smell.
The connection between odour and the transition to adulthood can also be recognized from the fact that deodorants are often a bone of contention between parents and their children: parents often do not like the new scent or perceive it as extremely exaggerated – this is why young people frequently use deodorant in their own room or only after they have left the house.
This is what young people say:
“Deodorants are part of the day-to-day.”
“When I’m with my girlfriend, I do not want to stink.”
“We will leave a note on the table if somebody stinks: “Buy yourself a deodorant.” – You may easily be mobbed.”
“Deodorant leaves me feeling safe.“
“My father always says that it stinks and that I use too much of it – I’m only allowed to use it in my
room.”
Deodorant plays a relevant role in the daily life of young people from an early age on. Come secondary school deodorant is used regularly. 24-hour-protection is very important in this respect – in the morning, at noon, in the evening and also in-between.
Is there anything else that is almost as embarrassing as body odour for young people?
Yes – for the boys and girls interviewed in the study, greasy hair is high upon the “scale of embarrassment”, too.
Read the full study on the German Cosmetic, Toiletry, Perfumery and Detergent Association (IKW) website