Makeup routine keeps elderly women healthy
Making a routine of applying makeup can help elderly women improve their muscle strength and prevent dementia, according to research findings.
Senior citizens tend to have few opportunities to go out and get physical exercise. Thus the findings, which show it is possible to maintain health with the aid of cosmetics, have attracted attention.
The researchers also said women’s desire for eternal beauty can provide a solution that allows them to spend their days enjoying a higher quality of life.
Jointly conducted by Shiseido Co. and Chiba University, the research found that more muscle loading is imposed on the shoulders and arms when elderly women apply skin care products and cosmetics.
When the women unscrewed caps to open and close cosmetic containers, and massage their faces, the muscle loading volumes were two to three times greater than those when they had meals. The researchers discovered this by measuring their muscle movements using sensors.
In another study conducted by Shiseido, researchers asked 19 elderly women whose average age was 90 to continue applying makeup every day. Three months later, their grip strength had risen by two kilograms on average.
Among the test subjects was a woman who regained the ability to feed herself with a spoon and other utensils. She had needed assistance with her meals before the experiment.
Similar research results by other universities and study groups have found that if elderly women apply makeup, it can lead to an improvement in dementia symptoms and reduce stress.
The purported synergy effects include putting elderly women in a brighter mood, resulting in a tendency to hold more conversations and improve the appetite.
Some hospitals and nursing care centers have introduced cosmetic therapy for patients and elderly people as a result.
If elderly women are reluctant to walk, stretch or do other physical exercise, they can experience a sense of joy even if all they do is put on makeup.
Care Town Narimasu, a special nursing home for the elderly in Itabashi Ward, Tokyo, recently held a seminar on cosmetic therapy for its residents.
Mieko Ichimaru, 79, who attended the event, actively moved her hands and said, “As I’ve been putting on makeup recently, I feel happy because I look more attractive.”
Shiseido launched a study in July to seek evidence of a link between putting on makeup and such factors as muscle strength and cognitive ability. It involved 300 people aged 65 or older living in Tokyo.
The firm asked people in varying levels of physical health — from those who are healthy to those with dementia — to attend seminars twice a month and put on makeup every day. After three months, the company will measure how much the recipients’ grip strength and memory have improved.
Shiseido has fostered about 50 specialists for cosmetic therapy seminars. In 2013, the company held about 2,200 such seminars in hospitals and nursing care homes for the elderly across the nation.
By the end of this fiscal year, the company will tally the results and will make a recommendation to other entities on holding such seminars.
The government will also back Shiseido’s efforts. The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry’s Healthcare Industries Division will provide subsidies for the firm’s research.
Source: The Japan News
Published: 07 Oct 2014
