All this time you thought it was sculpted muscles, dazzling smiles and fast cars that were surefire babe magnets. Well have we got news for you. What really drives women wild are naturally occurring body chemicals called pheromones. Actually they work the same way to drive men wild, but the male and female pheromones are chemically different.

The name pheromone comes from two Greek words pheran (to transfer) and horman (to excite). According to Dr. Winnifred Cutler, pheromones are "substances excreted by an animal that affect the reproductive behavior of another same-species animal acting at a distance." Since 1870 when the French naturalist Jean-Henri Fabre discovered male moths flying from miles away to visit a female moth caged in his lab, scientists have known about and documented the effects of pheromones on mating in insect and animal species. For example male cockroaches go wild when exposed to a glass rod covered with female cockroach pheromones, and attempt to mate with it! A randy boar opens his mouth and puffs out a breath laden with pheromones that freeze a sow in heat, ready for mounting. It wasn't until 1986, however that Dr. Cutler, director of Pennsylvania's Athena Intstitute, proved the existence of human pheromones and began to document their effects.

In humans, pheromones are activated at puberty. Both men and women produce varying amounts of "male" pheromones: androstenone and androstenol, only women secrete the "female" pheromone copulins. Produced by the apocrine glands in the armpit and around the genitals pheromones send signals that are picked up by the vemeronasal organ (VNO), just inside the nose. The VNO passes these messages on to the limbic part of the brain which governs the most basic human sensations, like joy, anger, love, hate and sexual arousal.

While we aren't consciously aware of another person's pheromones, we can't "smell" them in the traditional sense, they do have a major impact on us. They ignite the sex drive, increase fertility and help regulate women's menstrual cycles.

For her early studies Dr. Cutler gathered sweat from the armpits of healthy women and men in their 20s, removed the bacteria and odor and used the extract. Because it's much too costly to collect and process human pheromones for sale, she and her team have produced laboratory equivalents. Since then controlled studies by Dr. Cutler and other organizations around the world have shown some amazing results.

In a double blind experiment with young women 36 percent of those exposed to pheromones had sex weekly during the first three weeks of the study. Of those receiving a placebo only 11 percent had weekly sex. By the end of the study, 14 weeks, 73 percent of the pheromone users were having sex every week, while those on the placebo stayed at 11 percent. In another of Dr. Cutler's control groups 38 men were given either a pheromone-alcohol solution to add to their regular cologne or a straight alcohol solution. None knew which they had been given. After 8 weeks of wearing the cologne 47% of the pheromone users reported that they had more sexual intercourse, compared with only 9.5% of those with the placebo. There have been a few unusual tests illustrating the effects of the male pheromone androstenone on women. For one study, a single chair in a dentist's reception area was sprayed with androstenone, all the others were left untouched. It was observed that women most often sat in the chair treated with the pheromone. Another test involved three attached pay telephone booths. Again one of the three phones was sprayed with androstenone and more women used the treated phone than the other two.

The Australian organization, Bennett Research, conducted a survey of 306 men using pheromones. Ninety percent of them claimed that the product had increased their attractiveness to women. Increased response from women was measured by:

? Making conversation ? 61%

? Starting up a conversation ? 52%

? Expressing an interest in the man ? 43%

? Being responsive to him ? 40%

? Paying unsolicited compliments ? 36%

? Overt flirting ? 34%

A significant measure was a big increase in physical response by women ? brushing against the pheromone wearers (31%), touching them (30%), becoming sexually excited (18%), expressing a desire for sex (17%), and actually having sex with them (16%).

One survey participant described his experience: "One night in a bar a woman walked past me and looked at me. The second time she walked past she came straight to me, said hello, started talking to me and I was very surprised when she grabbed hold of my hands and gave me a kiss on the lips?"

It's not just sexual attraction that appears to be boosted by wearing pheromones. Users of pheromone products report that people generally pay more attention to them, listen more when they speak, and are friendlier in social situations. Pheromones seem to affect people's general impressions and assessments. In one clinical study participants wearing surgical masks were shown photographs of buildings, trees, animals, women and men. Their task was to assess each according to impressions of friendly/unfriendly, aggressive/passive, attractive/unattractive and so on. The purpose of the test, they were told, was to examine how stress related to wearing a surgical mask affected decision-making. Participants were tested twice, with a two-week interval between sessions. For one of the tests small quantities of pheromones were sprayed on the mask, without the participants' knowledge. With the added pheromone there was no noticeable difference in the study group's impressions of trees and buildings. Animals were considered slightly more aggressive. Most stunning however was the difference in assessments of people, both women and men were considered to be more friendly, sensitive, intelligent, attractive, confident and good.

It's no wonder then that people are trying pheromone products not simply for sexual attraction, but to give themselves a competitive edge. Salespersons are wearing them to boost their sales, job applicants are using them to create a favourable impression and social butterflies are spraying them on to increase their party invites.

As you can well imagine a whole crop of pheromone products has hit the market with differing formulas for both men and women. Most are made of laboratory synthesized versions of male and female hormones, and as is the case with most anything you get what you pay for. It appears that the more pheromones contained in the product the more money you'll pay. Some of the top selling brands are more than $100 for a sixth of an ounce, but the concentration of pheromones is such that that sixth of an ounce will last you a long time.

There are scented and unscented versions. Unscented can be added to your regular cologne or aftershave. You may want to experiment with applying pheromones to your clothes as well as to your skin. Both methods have different effects. Due to body heat pheromones sprayed on skin evaporate quickly putting them into action right away, the "instant attractor". The downside is that the active ingredients are used up just as fast. Sweat and surface bacteria also tend to break down and wash away pheromones on the skin. Spraying unscented products on clothing gives a slower acting but much longer lasting effect. It may in fact last longer than you want, requiring dry cleaning or several launderings to remove, and some delicate fabrics may not take kindly to a spray-on product at all. Some folks go for the double whammy with a combo of scented pheromone on the skin and unscented on the clothes.

By now, you may be wondering how you can get your hands on some of this liquid sexual magnet. We have links to many of these products on our Pheromones web page: http://www.tantra-sex.com/ep6.html#lure It is not likely you will find any of these products in retail stores, not yet. You will have to order them on the Internet and have them delivered by mail. At our web site, you will also find additional scientific studies about pheromones in case you need more convincing that they work. By the way, both Al and Pala have used pheromones and they work for us. Al added the unscented variety to one of his musk colognes. Right after that Pala not only started hugging and kissing him more frequently, but she started telling everyone how much she loved that cologne-she had never mentioned it before!

Here's a look at a few of the pheromone products available:

? Androstenone Pheromone Concentrate, for men an androstenone only oil-based formula. Scented.

? Athena 10X for men and Athena 10:13 for women ? by none other than Dr. Cutler herself. The formula is a closely guarded secret

? DateMate 2000 for men with androstenone and androstenol. DateMate FM for women with androstenone, androstenol and copulins. Unscented 15 ml. spray.

? Primal Instinct for men only, contains 5 mg of androstenone per 10 ml bottle. This baby will last you a long time! Scented.

? Realm, men's and women's formulas. Scented. Contains .05% androstenone by volume.

? Xcite wipes, foil wrapped moist towlettes impregnanted with pheromones, easy to carry and quick to spread on the body. Scented.

Everyday new "pheromone" products are being touted on the market. How do you know you're going to get the real thing and not just an ineffective cologne with a lot of hype and no results ? Well, when buying a pheromone product you should ask yourself these questions:

1. Is there a money back guarantee? Most of the reputable brands offer this.

2. Does the product information clearly indicate that pheromones are present, what type they are and in what quantity? There are different mixtures, but generally look for androstenone, androstenol, and for women - copulins

3. Do the results promised sound absolutely too good to be true? They probably are.

There is one similarity with regular perfume, it seems that various pheromone formulas can react differently with each individual. So you may want to experiment with a few types. You can find out more about pheromone products-brands, what they do and how to get them - at this website: http://www.tantra-sex.com/pheromones.html

Al Link and Pala Copeland own and operate 4 Freedoms Relationship Tantra. They regularly host Tantra Sacred Loving weekends near Ottawa Canada, and weeklong retreats in exotic locations around the planet. For more information call toll free from Canada or USA: 1-800-684-5308 International long distance: 1-819-689-5308. Visit their website http://www.tantra-sex.com/ or send email: 4freedoms@tantraloving.com Their book, Soul Sex: Tantra for Two, is published by New Page Books, 2003. http://www.tantra-sex.com/soulsex.html