Skin & Ageing · Reader story
I work in a care home. Here's what nobody tells you about "old person smell."
By a UK care worker · as told to Madera Ritual
First thing I'll say: it is not a hygiene problem. Some of the people I look after shower every single day, and it's still there. For years I assumed the same thing everyone does. I was wrong.
You notice it the moment you walk into a room. A slightly musty, greasy note that no amount of scrubbing seems to shift. Families notice it too — they just never say anything. And the one person who genuinely can't smell it is the person it's coming from.
It took me a long time to understand why. It isn't dirt. It's a compound the skin starts producing more of as we get older, called nonenal. And here's the part that changes everything: it's oil-based.
That's why showering twice a day never fixed it for the residents — or for their families who tried everything. A water-based bar simply slides past an oil-based residue. It moves it around. It doesn't lift it.
The bit I found by accident
A colleague, whose mother is Japanese, mentioned that in Japan people have used persimmon — kaki — for this exact thing for generations. Not as a trend. As a normal part of getting older well.
The reason it works is simple once you know it. Persimmon is rich in natural tannins, and those tannins bind to the oil-based compound so it can finally be rinsed away — rather than buried under perfume. It doesn't mask the scent. It lifts it at the source.
Madera Ritual — Deodorising Persimmon Soap
A gentle, fragrance-free kaki bar formulated around persimmon tannin. From £19.99.
See the soapWhy I now recommend it to families
Here's the hard part nobody prepares you for: it's almost never the person themselves who goes looking for a solution. It's a daughter. A husband. A friend. Someone who noticed, and spent weeks working out how to say something without hurting them.
You don't have to say anything. I've watched families simply leave a bar in the bathroom. No conversation, no embarrassment. A week later the room smells different, and the person feels like themselves again — often without ever knowing why.
I use it myself now, by the way. Not because I need to yet, but because I've seen what it does, and because sooner or later we all start producing that compound. It's a small, honest thing. Gentle enough for every day, no heavy fragrance, just clean.
What readers have told us
"My granddaughter said I smelt lovely. That meant everything to me."
"He'd never have bought it himself. I just left it in his bathroom."
"Did what nothing else did. Simple, and it works. I've reordered."
"The only thing that made a difference — and I shower every day."
The ritual most people give to someone they love
One bar lasts about a month. The 3-bar set (£34.99) keeps a full season going — and it's how most people buy it, for themselves or for a parent. Backed by a 60-day money-back promise.
Start the ritualThis is a personal account shared with Madera Ritual. It is not medical advice. Madera Ritual persimmon soap is a cosmetic cleansing bar and is not intended to diagnose, treat or prevent any condition. Individual experiences vary.