The smell training technique
Your step-by-step guide to smell training
You will need a smell training kit and somewhere quiet to sit. For best results you should consistently smell train twice a day for a minimum of four months.
The smell training technique
Open a jar and hold it close to your nose. Take quick, gentle ‘bunny’ sniffs for 20 seconds. Really concentrate on what you are doing – focus your thoughts on what it is you are trying to smell. Be as attentive as you can and really try to ‘find’ that smell.
Relax, take a few breaths and move on to the next fragrance.
Work through all four fragrances in turn.
Useful insights into smell training
Click on any of these links to learn more about effective smell training:
The supplement that may improve smell training results
The best essential oils for smell training?
What you need to get started
You need a smell training kit containing four jars of essential oils: rose, lemon, clove and eucalyptus. These four scents were chosen because they represent distinct odour categories, giving your olfactory system a broad range of signals to work with.
The jars should be clearly labelled so you can focus on the smell itself rather than thinking about what you are trying to identify. Keep them somewhere easy to reach so that training twice a day becomes a habit rather than a task.
Scent Recover sells smell training kits that follow the AbScent protocol. You can find them at scentrecover.com.
How long does smell training take?
Most people smell train for a minimum of four months, though many continue for longer. Recovery varies considerably from person to person and depends on the cause and extent of your smell loss. The important thing is consistency: two short sessions a day, every day, will give you the best chance of results.
If you are not noticing any change after several months, it is worth speaking to your GP or an ENT specialist to rule out other factors.