Beauty wellness is a broad term that offers insight into how physical and mental well-being contributes to skin health. This article delves further into the concept, offering snapshots of recent studies and psychological connections that could support this future direction in skin care.
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Beauty wellness is a broad term that offers insight into how physical and mental well-being contributes to skin health. This article delves further into the concept, offering snapshots of recent studies and psychological connections that could support this future direction in skin care.
I have written for more than a decade about beauty evolving beyond aesthetics to encompass overall health and well-being. Many terms have arisen for this holistic approach — one of the most recent was coined by Shiseido in 2023 as beauty wellness.1 This concept recognizes skin health and its link to physical and mental well-being.
As most readers know, traditional routines have focused solely on caring for skin through topical cosmetic products or oral supplements but now, the focus is to boost overall skin health. As such, using data intelligence to consider skin holistically will be the next big step for the industry.
Skin as a Reflection of Health
As discussed in previous work,2 the skin is the body's largest sensory organ and a mirror reflecting internal health. Mental health conditions, e.g., anxiety and stress, whether a cause or a consequence, are known to exacerbate skin conditions such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.
Even individuals with generally healthy skin may notice a dull and patchy complexion or roughness during periods of stress or acute illness. Deoxygenation of blood in facial skin capillaries, associated with cardiac and respiratory illness, causes a dull, blue tint to the skin.3 Conversely, increased skin blood perfusion and oxygenation enhance coloration and the healthy appearance of human faces.4
Understanding complex relationships such as these – i.e., between skin health and overall wellness – by integrating physical and mental health measures into cosmetic research will help to build a comprehensive framework to evaluate and enhance skin health and beauty. This comprehensive approach, grounded in scientific data and holistic parameters, promises to revolutionize personalization in skin care.
However, despite the known effects a healthy lifestyle can have on skin’s appearance, it is challenging to identify which habits positively affect skin and can address a given skin concern. This is due to the complex interplay between individual health factors and skin health. Untangling these interplays will require continued comprehensive research, ultimately improving quality of life and all aspects of consumer health and beauty.
Modeling Skin-Body-Mind Dynamics for Product Personalization
Regression analyses to establish prediction models for skin factors based on all available data can reflect a fully comprehensive understanding of such skin-body-mind relationships. Shiseido developed such a model examining the links between skin and body health indicators that is the most comprehensive to date, which it presented at the IFSCC 2023 in Barcelona.1
According to Shiseido, it is incorporating technologies to visualize the conditions of the mind while strengthening analyses using data science methods in collaboration with outside parties to uncover skin, body and mind relationships. As a result, the company has developed predictive “beauty algorithms.”5
For example, in a study of healthy Japanese women in their 20s to 40s, measurements were made of skin conditions such as age spots and dullness, wrinkles and moisture, as well as subjects’ physical shape and composition, blood components, lifestyle habits and psychological indicators. Predictive mathematical formulas were then applied to explain the measured skin indices in terms of physical and psychological indices.5
This research revealed correlations between skin health and physical and mental health indices. For instance, higher or lower amounts of moisture in the stratum corneum were related to the body's oxidative stress state, physical constitution, electrolytes (minerals) in blood and even grip strength of the hands.
On a broader scale, Shiseido is applying this predictive model to its 100+ years of research knowledge to quantitatively understand the relationships between the skin, body and mind. The goal is to develop highly accurate measurement technologies to improve consumers’ understanding about their own skin, per the company. “Our algorithms will continue to evolve to contain more than 2,000 types of skin-body-mind relationships in the future,” the company stated.5
The insights gained from research such as this present a real opportunity for developing personalized skin care, treatments and interventions. Backed by this holistic perspective, treatment regimens could also integrate given habits into daily routines; e.g., diet, exercise, stress management, period tracking and other lifestyle factors, tailored to individual needs and enhancing overall well-being.
The dynamic interactions between skin, body and mind are the future for skin care. The development of predictive models such as Shiseido’s for personalized recommendations based on comprehensive health and skin data represents a significant first step forward.
Inferring Skin-brain-skin Connections from Infodemiology Data
Approaching skin-brain-skin complexities from a dermatological point of view, this year (2024), La Roche-Posay published a study on the interplay between skin conditions and symptoms related to mental health illnesses such as anxiety, depression, social isolation and loneliness. The researchers employed a new approach to model these interactions using infodemiologic data from Google COVID-19 public information, providing a graphical representation of the interactions and distinguishing between causes and effects.6
Another important mediator La Roche-Posay examined was sleep quality, which was linked to pruritus. Sleep disorders were notably over-represented in individuals with skin conditions, as was the reverse; i.e., the prevalence of skin diseases in individuals with sleep deprivation. Also, sleep and the immune system were found to have a bi-directional relationship that seemingly contributed to the chronic inflammation observed in many skin diseases.
Psychological stress is also known to worsen skin conditions. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responds to psychological stress by producing both pro- and anti-inflammatory effects on the skin. Initially, the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines by the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) starts a quick inflammatory process. However, CRH also triggers a slower anti-inflammatory process, leading to the release of glucocorticoids.6
Furthermore, pro-inflammatory cytokines induce mast cell activation, promoting immune dysregulation and neurogenic inflammation. Thus, stress, anxiety and depression can aggravate or precipitate the onset of most inflammatory skin diseases, as was evidenced by the increased incidence of flares during the COVID-19 pandemic.6
In the Next Decade
The notion to study connections between mental health and skin issues was first pioneered by Shiseido in 2013,7 which affirmed the skin-brain axis and linked inflammatory states of the body to altered skin barrier integrity. Continuing this work, it appears Shiseido has become a voice of authority, providing a fully holistic picture in this area.
Respecting that the skin barrier is a key to mental health delineates a new field of exploration. To advance this field, the industry will need to gain a more thorough understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms behind psychological stress, human health and skin condition. Making such connections can drive the development of more holistic approaches to improve skin barrier health and function.8
References
1. Okamura, C. (2023). Beyond holistic beauty, towards beauty wellness: A novel approach to evaluate the skin condition of healthy women based on comprehensive physical and mental indices. Poster PRB-128, Shiseido (Japan), presented at 33rd IFSCC Congress, Barcelona.
2. Steventon, K. (2022, Oct 26). Skin health x mental wellness: Underpinning the science – An exploration. Cosmetics & Toiletries. Available at https://www.cosmeticsandtoiletries.com/magazine/article/22512495
3. Ponsonby, A.L., Dwyer, T. and Couper, D. (1999). Sleeping position, infant apnea and cyanosis: A population-based study. Pediatrics, doi:10.1542/peds.99.1.e3
4. Stephen, I.D., Coetzee, V., Law Smith, M. and Perrett, D.I. (2009). Skin blood perfusion and oxygenation color affect perceived human health. PLoS One, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005083
5. Shiseido. (2023, Sep 20). Shiseido, in collaboration with Riken, develops novel skin prediction models based on relationships between skin, body and mind. Available at https://corp.shiseido.com/en/news/detail.html?n=00000000003691
6. Scutari, M., Kerob, D. and Salah, S. (2024, May 4). Inferring skin-brain-skin connections from infodemiology data using dynamic Bayesian networks. Sci Rep, 14(1) 10266, doi:10.1038/s41598-024-60937-3
7. Denda, M., Takei, K. and Denda, S. (2023). How does epidermal pathology interact with mental state? Med Hypotheses, doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2012.11.027
8. Biazus Soares, G., Mahmoud, O., Yosipovitch, G. and Mochizuki, H. (2024). The mind-skin connection: A narrative review exploring the link between inflammatory skin diseases and psychological stress. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol, doi:10.1111/jdv.19813
