Nose Blindness – Why Businesses Need To Alternate Fragrances

Nose blindness is perhaps somewhat explainable by an an old idiom that speaks of variety being the spice of life.

Also known as olfactory fatigue and fragrance fatigue, this condition refers to the loss of sense to certain odors after over exposure to them.

On an average day in the life of any human being under the sun, it is estimated that he or she will inhale smells more than 23,000 times.

The olfactory receptors in our nostrils pick up scents and communicate them to the brain, which then transmits their meaning.

Nose Blindness

For example, the smell of pumpkin pie wafting from an oven says it’s not only meal time but perhaps also the right moment to indulge in a holiday dessert.

The human olfactory system is potent, but it cannot withstand a continuous stream of any odorant, no matter how pleasant, over a consistent period of time.

In response, it shuts down, producing a complete loss of odor perception. This is the body’s defense mechanism to avoid overloading the nervous system so that responses to new stimulation are easier.

This is also why alteration of scents every month by business owners, or the scent marketing, Jan San or air care specialists that service them, ensures businesses and retailers of all kinds that fragrances are consistently fresh, new and receptive to the noses of their loyal clientele.

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Our physical and mental states of being are greatly affected by the impact of both bad and pleasant odors. This is due to the fact that they are processed in the brain’s olfactory bulb, which controls emotions and memory formation.

Every one of our five senses is susceptible to an over exposure to unchanging sensory streams. 

Eliminating malodors is part of the solution to creating a healthy work atmosphere, but it should also include replacing these bad smells with pleasant ones.

Store owners, managers or scent marketers can easily accomplish this by stocking up on two or even more our fragrances at a time, which allows for seamless alternation each month.

How Does Nose Blindness Happen?

While scientists cannot claim to know the precise, biological details behind the mechanism of nose blindness, they do understand human body mechanics when olfactory fatigue occurs. 

A person inhales a scent molecule, which automatically binds to a sensory nerve receptor, which detects scent. This cell then emits an electrical signal to the brain, which in turn processes the scent. 

Nose blindness occurs when this fragrance is repeated many times. The nerve cell then stops sending signals to the brain and the human no longer perceives it. 

According to Pamela Dalton, a cognitive psychologist with the Monell Chemical Senses Center, who has even studying the causes and effects of nose blindness for more than two decades, its development seems to occur faster in response to unpleasant rather than pleasing aromas.

 

Monell Chemical Senses Center Logo

 

How rapidly or slowly this happens depends upon the shape and chemical aspects of the particular smell. 

Research has further indicated that the way in which a smell enters the body can determine the impact of nose blindness. If the odor is inhaled through the nose as opposed to through the mouth, its impact on nose blindness is greater.

Maintaining Scent Sense And Combatting Fragrance Fatigue

Varying fragrances aids in keeping consumers blind to the scent of a particular product. It also maintains levels of product perception and loyalty. 

Lower concentrations of the same fragrance creates a weaker reaction to it. 

The human brain gets a bit lax when things smell the same as they have over an extended amount of time, and this can be illustrated whenever people inquire as to which fragrance a person may be wearing.

They do so because their noses detect a new and different smell.

Tricking the human brain isn’t easy, but there are several ways to regain sense to particular smells. Some suggest that the quickest solution is to smell something acidic, such a coffee or lemons.

If for example, an individual has become nose blind to laundry soaps in fabrics and the exposure time is about an hour, reset by smelling the sleeve of a freshly laundered shirt or blouse. 

If exposure is longer, up to a day may be required, and resetting can be accomplished by alternating between two or more our laundry-type fragrances, such as Laundry Fresh or Clean Cotton.

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Preventing And /Or Reducing Nose Blindness

Because it occurs automatically, nose blindness cannot be completely prevented. There are, however, some tried and true remedies to preventing and/or reducing nose blindness in work settings. They are as follows:

Keep Offices and Work Spaces Clean

Clean up spills and remove personal garbage promptly. Do not let trash sit too long, especially half-eaten food stuffs and the like. Pick up clutter, as it provides an easy trap for dust, mold and odor.

Clean Bathrooms Well

Store owners and managers can minimize nose blindness by keeping company bathrooms free of mold and mildew. Drains must be maintained and free of clogs as well because they can also be a source of foul smells.

Get Pro Active

Managers should take the time to talk to their team and ask them for their impressions about office conditions. If there are bad smells, someone is bound to mention it and then action can be taken to avoid nose blindness by alternating fragrances.

Be Open To Explore and Learn New Things

Exposure to new ideas and perspectives is helpful on many fronts within an industrial or commercial setting. In the case of nose blindness, experiencing new things keeps the mind fresh and active as well our noses that respond to pleasant, changing and diverse aromas.

Become Determined To Combat Olfactory Fatique

By becoming intentional in the fight against nose blindness, business owners and/or air care companies open up a team narrative with their staff, and gain insight into their organization from the inside out. They can learn to know and appreciate them even more, making work more pleasant on more than one front.

The following roster of some favored Air-Scent fragrances are certain to lighten the mood of any office or retail setting. By varying them each month, nose blindness will soon become a thing of the past dimly recalled.

Apple Bake

This Air-Scent creation opens with fruity elements of crisp green apple. These soon float into streams of piquant, inviting cinnamon and potent, hot clove, which evoke memories of winter and festive holiday times. These aspects soon meld into a lush vanilla base note, which completes the fragrance.

Beach Dreams

This delightful tropical blend opens with a top note marked by rich and creamy black coconut, sweet, slightly pungent banana, gingery exotic mango, green, tart pomegranate and succulent pineapple.These aspects soon fold into a heart note of slightly sugary and earthy nectar and light, polished teakwood. The scent finishes with a redolent base note of vanilla-like, velvety tonka bean.

Cinnamon Buns

Warm and inviting cinnamon tinged with aspects of spicy, fruity clove and nutty, slightly sugary nutmeg define this mouthwatering fragrance. Opening elements soon surrender to a streaming heart note of golden baked bread, which eventually melds into a final, scrumptious base note of caramelized vanilla.

Endless Summer

Fragrant, fruity streams of lush orange, fresh dewy melon, velvety peach and waxy, exotic pineapple open this scent. These aspects soon blend into a floral heart note bouquet of intoxicating jasmine, delicate, fresh and feminine lily-of-the-valley, romantic, aromatic rose and sugary, woody violet. This scent finishes with earthy elements of nutty, savory and peppery sage and sensual passionate musk.

Fresh And Woody

A scent evocative of summer, opening notes feature streams of fresh, green grass and sulphuric, sensual sea water. These meld to create a touch of the forest primeval and the great outdoors with final elements of balsamic, refreshing pine, earthy, woody cedar, and creamy sandalwood.

Grapefruit

A burst of citrus opens this uplifting, tart, grapefruit-infused fragrance that is tinged with succulent orange and sour/sweet lemon. These elements quickly flow into a fruity/ floral heart note of tangy, woody-nuanced raspberry and sugary orange blossom. The scent completes with sensual tones of earthy musk and sugary orange peel.

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Our Ambient Air Freshener Solutions

Since the late 1940s and the invention of the first fan operated air-freshener dispenser, Air-Scent International has been both a pioneer and leader in ambient-air-care. 

Our legacy of superior air-care, odor neutralizing products and ambient scenting services continues to this day. 

We understand both the mechanics and power of scent branding and state-of-the-art air-care and application.

Our cutting edge, state-of-the-art scent diffusion technologies and odor-control strategies developed in the laboratories of our Technology Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, can be adjusted for any space requirement.

Air-Scent International Headquarters Logo

Over the years, we have created and amassed a seemingly endless collection of scents in our own house fragrance division via our sister company, Alpha Aromatics.

This allows diverse companies to harness the controlled power of scent, which if applied correctly, will help to reduce nose blindness and influence consumer perception.

In Conclusion

So if you’re a business owner or manager, or a company that tends to the air quality of commercial interiors, contact our team today and find your company’s solution to the problems caused by blindness.


Photo Credits: Pixabay


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