I read that alcohol destroys pheromones. Is that true?
No, there is no evidence that alcohol destroys pheromones. In fact, alcohol may destroy bacteria that can break pheromones down slowly over time. Pure oil-base pheromone samples and products like Primal Instinct do seem to lose some potency with age, but it is a slow process that takes years and can be avoided to some extent by storing such products away from sunlight and heat, and keeping the cap on tightly.
Bottom line is… there are products that are entirely oil-base (eg: Primal Instinct); products that are entirely alcohol-base (eg: the Edge); and products that contain both alcohol and oil (eg: the Stone Lab products). All three have their fans for various reasons. Rumors that one or the other type is useless have probably been created by marketing propaganda.
Does alcohol kill or inactivate pheromones?
Most pheromones are of the class of small molecules know as steroids.
Steroids tend not to dissolve well in water, but they do dissolve in non-polar fluids such as alcohol. Alcohol does not change the structure of the pheromones, inactivate them, or cause any other changes or problems with the pheromones.
In fact, alcohol performs two other useful functions:
- It keeps the pheromone solution sterile, which increases shelf-life.
- It kills bacteria on the skin where the pheromones are applied. Skin bacteria are capable of breaking down pheromones fairly quickly, which destroys their effectiveness.
The idea that alcohol has a negative effect on pheromones seems to simply be mis-information spread by vendors of oil-based pheromone products!