"Care Beauty" for Seniors Spreading in Japan

Saitama, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)--So-called care beauty, which involves providing older adults with makeup, hand care and light aesthetic treatments at nursing homes and other facilities, is spreading across Japan, aiming to improve seniors' quality of life and encourage their social engagement.

The services have led to "more smiles among residents and higher satisfaction throughout facilities," said Satoshi Yamagiwa, chief of Mirai Project Inc., which operates schools to teach caregiving skills and beauty techniques for the elderly.

As care beauty is expanding steadily, the Japan Wellness Therapist Association, a nonprofit based in Osaka, a city in western Japan, holds more than 100 seminars a year, including on hand care sessions for older adults.

Mirai Project's Tokyo Beauty & Care Academy opened its first campus in Tokyo's Harajuku district in 2018. As of January this year, it operates eight campuses across Japan.

At the academy, students learn how to interact with people with dementia, apply makeup to soften the appearance of wrinkles and age spots and provide aesthetic treatments suitable for sensitive skin.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]