[pippystardust (OP)]

I think every one of us is familiar  with that old person smell.. i dont mean unhygienic smells from neglected , unwashed, incontinent old people.. I mean that typical Granny or old Aunt smell. its always the same . Although i noticed something interesting lately in that, a woman i work with is only in her mid to late 50's but has the old person smell... she lives in in her old Mum's house and dresses like an old woman  so maybe its a life style thing  .. my parents, however are aged 81 and 76 and they live active lives in relatively modern surroundings and they dont have "the smell"...i have posted this question to various science forums and no one has ever being able to answer the question (or even suggest an answer)  "WHAT EXACTLY IS IT THAT OLD PEOPLE SMELL OF?

[RD]

... a woman i work with is only in her mid to late 50's but has the old person smell... she lives in in her old Mum's house and dresses like an old woman ...  "WHAT EXACTLY IS IT THAT OLD PEOPLE SMELL OF?

tweed ?, not the cheap perfume, the Scottish cloth ...

Urine has often been used as a mordant to help prepare textiles, especially wool, for dyeing. In Scotland, the process of "walking" (stretching) tweed cloth is preceded by soaking in urine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urine#Textiles


Metabolic disease can cause distinctive body odour, e.g. diabetes, which is more common in the elderly.

[Don_1]

There is, if I am not mistaken, a decrease in sweat glands as skin ages. I wonder if this might cause sweat from the fewer active glands to be more pungent.

Just a guess, is there a doctor in the house who can comment on that?


BTW, Welcome to TNS. Just a short while here and you've got two answers. Can't be bad eh?

[RD]

you-reek-a !

This distinctive odor of elderly persons results from the accumulation of omega-7 fatty acids in the sebum glands of the skin ... these fatty acids become palmitoleic acid on the skin, but only in persons aged 40 and older.

[ not permitted to post the link, google the text to find the article ]

Warning the above article contains too much information.  [xx(]

Over time, this fatty acid is broken down by bacteria inhabiting the skin or by lipid peroxides (which are present in larger quantities in older people), producing a substance called nonenal that "has an unpleasant and greasy odor with a grassy nuance*." A common smell closely approximating this odor is that of old books.

http://web-japan.org/trends00/honbun/tj990921.html

[ * very Jilly Goolden. ]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-Nonenal

[neilep]

...and why do old ladies have purple hair ?



 [ Invalid Attachment ]

[RD]

...and why do old ladies have purple hair ?

a hypothesis for the “blue rinse brigade” on wikipedia  …

The ability to see blue decreases with age due to the development of cataracts, so an older woman perceives her uncolored hair to have a yellow-tinge, and the blue rinse brings the color back to a perceived normal color in their eyes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_rinse

[Mazurka]

In answer to the original question, it was many years until I discovered granny's "perfume" was in fact gin.

[acecharly]

The answer to your question is Lavender.... go in any old peoples home and it is used to mask the smell of incontinence.