Sexy Spiders: Spider Pheremones in the Sol de Janeiro Delicia Drench Body Butter

Towards the end of 2023, Sol de Janeiro, a very popular fragrance company, released a new scent, thrilling those that are familiar with their other products. The Delicia Drench Body Butter and spray is described by Sephora as an “uplifting and delicious” scent, including notes of vanilla orchid and sandalwood, a sweet and calming combination of smells that was sure to delight fans of the other previously released scents. 

However, soon after it was released to the public, a startling review appeared on the Sephora website. An anonymous user that went by the name “chemkats” claimed that whenever she used the product, spiders – wolf spiders in particular – would flock to her. She went as far as to say that they would chase her even if she tried to run or dodge them, and stated that it was as if the spiders wanted to eat whatever ingredients were in the body butter. She also said that the product itself was mediocre at best, and said that any vanilla scented lotion would achieve the same effect – minus the spider attraction. 

Naturally, the review went viral, and people on all social media platforms began to try it for themselves. Several TikTokers made videos about leaving a swipe of the body butter out on a piece of paper or simply using the lotion, to see if spiders would approach it when it was left out. Though it would be easy to fabricate such a phenomenon, the videos vary in terms of the outcome, and it is difficult to tell who is really telling the truth. 

The review reached the screens of a few professionals–some self-proclaimed, and others proven by factual evidence. One Twitter user claimed that the reason why spiders were attracted to the body butter in the first place was because of the combination of farnesyl acetate and hexadecyl acetate, which mimics the chemical compound in wolf spider pheromones. This combination is found in several skincare products, not just this new body butter. However, this specifically was debunked by Sol de Janeiro themselves. The company made a post on Sol de Janeiro’s Instagram story, in which they insisted the product was free of both farnesyl acetate and hexadecyl acetate, as well as diisobutyl phthalate, which was another suspicion that people had. 

Biologists have confirmed that this “hoax” doesn’t make sense, scientifically. In order to mimic a chemical compound such as a wolf spider pheromone, it would take a lot of trial and error. The compounds are not simple, and it would be a miracle if Sol de Janeiro just happened to nail it on the head. Additionally, experts insist that for any sort of credibility in terms of this rumor, it would have to be exclusively sexually mature male wolf spiders that would be attracted to the body butter, as it would mimic female wolf spider pheromones and encourage them to mate. 

They agree that the likely explanation is that wolf spiders are coming into people’s homes due to the season and the weather. Though wolf spiders are of course outdoor creatures, in the winter it gets too cold for their liking, and they tend to sneak inside homes and other warm enclosed structures. Since the release of this new scent was during the winter, it makes sense that more wolf spiders are being seen indoors – though this does not explain the apparent franticness of the spiders when they catch a whiff of the scent, as described in the original viral review. 

So, I decided that I had to try this for myself. I am an arachnophobe, and there are very few things that I fear more than interacting with spiders. Regardless, I needed to know – the Delicia Drench body butter has an enticing smell, but if this Internet myth were true, I would avoid it at all costs. No lotion could smell good enough for me to accept attracting spiders. 

I did two tests: firstly, I wanted to try leaving some out on a piece of paper, to see if spiders would flock to the scent out in the open, and secondly I wanted to use the body butter on myself to see if they would actually come to me. Over the span of a few days, I would routinely leave out a dollop of the body butter, and then use it on my skin. 

I felt a mixture of relief and disappointment when not a single spider showed up. 

The body butter remained untouched, with no spider sighting reports from my roommates either. Additionally, no spiders approached me when I used the body butter on myself either. I know that my apartment building is crawling with spiders – once I woke up to one crawling up my neck – yet, that didn’t make one show up either. 

So, is the spider attracting lotion a hoax? 

Mostly, yes. Scientifically, it doesn’t add up, and when experimented with my own hands I reached the same conclusion. However, it’s a funny story, and definitely a good lotion overall. Regardless of the spider attraction, it smells nice and is very moisturizing – I can now confidently say that I highly recommend it. 

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• biology
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• pheremones
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