A straight male friend of mine in his 40’s who has had a lifelong struggle relating to women sent me this youtube video on Trust spray and asked me if I thought it would help him attract women.
Trust spray is a product that is supposed to make people trust you, which I guess means they will want to have sex with you.
It’s meant to mimic oxytocin, a chemical in the brain that makes people accept social risks and if you ingest it up your nose, it will increase trust and interrupt the fear circuitry in your brain. Oh, and it’s also supposed to heighten orgasm.
Is their target audience men who want to drug women, with or without their permission? Or is it for sales reps who want to seal the deal with their clients? Or is it cologne for lawyers and politicians?
I contacted the company that makes Liquid Trust, Vero Labs (careful, when you click on the link, a creepy woman’s voice automatically tries to talk you into buying some, which is $30+ a bottle) and requested a sample, but they never got back to me.
When I showed some of my fellow skeptics the site, as well as this article by the New York Times, they responded with:
If you scroll down to the bulleted list on Wikipedia, you’ll see that oxytocin is shown to REDUCE trust of strangers. So if someone’s wanting to go creeping around trying to pick up random chicks with this, they’re liable to see it backfire. Also reference the wiki section on drug forms, where the idea that it can be warn like a perfume is completely unrealistic. You’d have to employ a strategy where you can somehow give someone an injection or spray a large quantity directly to their sinuses. I don’t know about you, but someone sneaking up behind me and poking me in the ass doesn’t exactly inspire trust.
Upon further reading, it seems that any dose which is sufficient enough to produce actual effects may be dangerous: “Patients receiving oxytocin should be hospitalized and under the supervision of a physician experienced in its use … It is recommended that oxytocin infusion be administered intravenously by means of an infusion pump, a microdrip regulator, or a similar device to allow precise adjustment of the flow rate.”
So there you have it. As tempting as it may be to spray, drug, or trick someone into liking you, it is not a good idea. There is no cheap, ethical quick fix for getting laid. Instead, try investing a little time and effort into learning how to interact with fellow human beings.
For men in St. Louis, there is a male only free class being held Thursday, September 22 at Shameless Grounds at 7pm. This class is intended to teach men how to better relate and interact with women in an honest way. For those of you who cannot attend, the class will be audio recorded and posted online.