More and more nursing care facilities in Japan are offering beauty care for older people, providing makeup and beauty treatments to help improve their quality of life and encourage social engagement.
¡°People who use these services tend to smile more, and it boosts overall satisfaction among residents of nursing care facilities,¡± said a representative from a training school that teaches caregiving and makeup techniques.
The Japan Wellness Therapist Association offers over 100 seminars on hand care and other treatments for older people each year. Tokyo Beauty & Care Academy, a training school for personnel aiming to help older people with beauty styling, opened its first school in Tokyo¡¯s Harajuku district in 2018 and had expanded to eight locations as of January.
Students at the academy learn how to interact with people with dementia as well as studying makeup techniques to minimize the appearance of wrinkles and blemishes, and aesthetic treatments tailored to sensitive skin.
The academy held a practice session at an assisted-living facility in the city of Saitama, in which 20 people participated.
They provided hand and foot massages to the residents, with a 91-year-old woman smiling and saying it felt nice. An 88-year-old man beamed while saying his hands had become ¡°so smooth.¡±
Ayane Niitsu, a 25-year-old certified care worker from Nagano Prefecture who participated in the training, said her grandmother¡¯s experiences inspired her to study beauty care. Her grandmother had been reluctant to visit a daily center that helps care for older adults, but being able to do her own eyebrow makeup helped her feel more positive about going.
¡°I felt that beauty care gives people the energy to take action,¡± Niitsu said.
The operating company for the Tokyo Beauty & Care Academy also provides on-site beauty treatments at senior care facilities. They visited 206 facilities in fiscal 2022, which ended in March 2023, 448 in fiscal 2023, and 532 in fiscal 2024.
As people age, many find the strength in their hands and legs weakens, making it difficult for them to apply makeup or skin care products as they used to.
¡°Many people choose beauty care so that they can continue the routines they have always followed,¡± said Satoshi Yamagiwa, 47, CEO of the operating company. ¡°It leads not just to a positive change in the person receiving such a service, but to their loved ones as well.¡±
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