Pheromones, excreted or secreted chemicals that trigger a sexual or social response in members of the same species, explain a lot when it comes to attraction. (Especially when little else can solve the mystery of who we find ourselves in bed with). But being attracted to the actual sweat is its own fetish in the kink community.
What Is Sweat Fetish?
Sweat fetish, or salophilia, is the sexual attraction to salt or salty things, especially human sweat. I suppose it could include things like the salt we ingest before a tequila shot or munching a bag of salt and vinegar chips while bingeing a tv show, but it’s more to do with sweat—the glistening secretion that emanates from our overheated bodies.
What fetishes are related to Salophilia?
Osmophilia
Osmophilia is a sexual paraphilia in which individuals (osmophiles) derive sexual pleasure and are aroused by bodily odors, such as sweat, urine, and menses (menstruation).
Although I’m not interested in smelling what’s been left in the toilet or sniffing women’s discarded panty liners or tampons, I sure do love keeping a lover’s sweat-soaked shirt after making out. Sometimes I’ll keep it under my pillow for days, huffing it while masturbating.
My partner and I also enjoy sniffing each other’s armpits, which I know may seem gross to most, but it turns us both on—a kind of foreplay if you will.
Read: Armpit Fetish: What, Why, and Ways to Play
Olfactophilia
Also called osmolagnia, olfactophilia involves being sexually aroused by smells and odors emanating from the body, especially the sexual areas.
“Androstenol is a hormone secreted by fresh sweat, and is said to be arousing. Androstenone is the hormone emitted once that sweat becomes exposed to oxygen, and is said to be an unpleasant smell, but can still be arousing for some. The former, androstenol, is short-lived (about 10 minutes after fresh sweat is produced,) and then becomes androstenone, which generally does not elicit a chemical reaction of arousal in a majority of people.” – GayFetishGoth
Just as beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, smells that turn one person off may arouse another.
7 Ways to Play with Your Sweat Fetish
1. Sauna before Sex
If you want to be extra sweaty and slippery with your lover, try a sauna before sex. If you’re not one of the lucky few that have a sauna nearby or aren’t renting a chalet that has one in your bathroom, then let sex produce its own sweat. Depending on your climate, it shouldn’t take long.
2. Save Her Sweaty Lingerie
Always ask before you stuff a pair of her worn panties or stockings into your pocket before saying goodbye, but you’ll find that most women are turned on by the fact that their aroma has such a strong effect. When you see your girlfriend the next time, bring her the old pair for a freshly used pair to huff—this is my policy, anyways.
Read: 4 Ways to Enjoy Your Used Panty Fetish
3. Buy Sweaty Clothes Online
Yes, there’s a sweat fetish community just waiting to talk shop online with other fetishists. There are also private online shops that will sell you sweaty merch to satisfy your kink. It can be expensive, so look around before you send that e-transfer.
4. Explore related Fetishes
I’ve noticed that many men who love the smell of sweat also have a cunnilingus fetish, or a foot or armpit fetish. And it makes sense—these are all sweaty areas of the body. If you haven’t explored these kinks, try burying your nose in a woman’s armpit or even fucking her there, lick her toes, or huff her sweet and savory scent before you go muff diving.
Read: Cunnilingus Fetish? 9 Kinks You Might Enjoy
5. Watch Sweat Fetish Porn
Sure, there’s lots of sweaty sex in porn vids, but did you know it has its own category and then some on big-ticket porn sites. You’ll find subcats like “sweaty MILFs,” “sweaty lesbian sex,” “sweaty footjobs,” and more.
If you know specifically the sweat scene you’re fantasizing about, there’s a good chance you’ll find porn to match—something to hold you until you live your sweat fetish fantasy in real life.
6. Join a Gym
Just want to look at sweaty women? Maybe feel the sweat left on a weight machine that they forgot to wipe down? This is a win-win. You can get fit and feel good about yourself while satisfying a kink, with a look-don’t-touch code. For those with a voyeuristic streak, this gets my thumbs up.
7. Sample Her Sweat
We talk a lot about the sniffing and huffing of sweat, and the feel, but many salophiles will tell you that the taste is tops. And it goes back to pheromones—how one person’s scent will be a turn on while others you may find repulsive. Taste testing a lover’s sweat through kissing and licking can make a fetishist come faster than penetration.
Read: How the 5 Senses Affect Our Kinks and Fetishes
Do you have a sweat fetish? Please share in the comments.
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