Hair coloring positively impacts Quality of Life, says a new scientific study. The role that the hair plays on both men and women’s identity has been evident throughout history, the hair – its style, color, abundance or luck thereof – representing often femininity, virility, freedom, beauty, as well as belonging to a specific religion and culture. While we all intuitively know about the link between our physical appearance and our well-being, very little research has been carried out in order to ascertain that relationship.

Some cosmetics companies work together with hospitals in order to speed up recovery of patients suffering of cancer in organizing cosmetic workshops inside the hospital. The successful results of these initiatives that often involve hairstyle variations point out not only to the impact on general well-being but indirectly also on general health.

The new measuring instrument, BeautyQoL has been specifically developed to scientifically assess the effect of cosmetic products on Quality of Life, leveraging the common fact that the way we look can indeed influence the way we feel, think and interact with others. The scientific article recently published in the Journal of Cosmetology and Trichology presents the results of this study assessing two popular haircoloring products from L’Oréal (Excellence^® by L’Oréal Paris and Olia^® by Garnier).

Tested on a total of 240 adult women whose age ranged from 45 to 70, BeautyQoL confirmed the improvement of quality of life both on the general index as well as dimension-specific scores, demonstrating the added value of the tested hair coloring products.

The importance of this new generation of studies using BeautyQoL is that it scientifically demonstrates how the cosmetic products – in this case hair color – don’t just enhance one’s physical appearance in a superficial way but actually impact one’s self-esteem, social relations and general well-being.

According to Dr Ariel Beresniak, project leader of the BeautyQoL initiative and Chief Executive Officer of Data Mining International, an independent research agency based in Geneva, Switzerland:

“For the very first time, these findings confirm the interest, sensitivity and robustness of the BeautyQoL instrument in assessing branded cosmetic products that relate to physical appearance”.

Indeed, considering the financial importance of the hair and beauty industry as well as the deep psychological and emotional relationship that women (and men) of all ages and all cultures have with their hair style, this innovative scientific approach shows the marketed hair coloring products and their impact in a completely new light, demonstrating how a seemingly simple action can have significant and far reaching positive consequences on people’s lives.

*Assessing the Hair Colourings’ Impact on Quality of Life. Beresniak et al., J Cosmo Trichol 2015, 1:1. http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/jctt.100010

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A L’OREAL STUDY IN JAPAN USING BEAUTYQOL

Cosmetic skin concerns and their impact on the quality of life is once again the subject of a scientific article published recently by the Journal of Cosmetic and Laser Therapy*. This study run by L’Oréal Research & Innovation in collaboration with Data Mining International, a Swiss independent research agency and the project leader of the development of the BeautyQoL^® measuring instrument, aimed to assess the link between the skin pigmentary disorders among the Japanese women and the various aspects of their lives, all of which contribute to their quality of life. As fairer skin tone is culturally more desirable in Japan and Asian countries in general, the hypothesis that the uneven skin tone and facial dark spots do indeed influence negatively the quality of life, was confirmed by this research project.

The BeautyQoL^® instrument has been specifically designed to scientifically measure the impact of cosmetic products and physical appearance on Quality of Life (QOL). By providing both a global score and specific scores for each of the five dimensions, namely social life, self-confidence, mood, energy, and attractiveness, the BeautyQoL^® questionnaire enables the assessment of each dimension contributing to the overall QoL of subjects having cosmetic concerns, as well as the potential benefits of cosmetic products used to either treat or camouflage them.

The specificity and the sensitivity of the BeautyQoL^® instrument make it possible to capture even the smallest variations in QoL influenced by the physical appearance or the use of cosmetic products, thanks to which, the study in question was able to discover, for instance, which of the five dimensions of QoL was impacted the most (mood) but also, how the other four dimensions were distributed with regards to how the Japanese women were gravely concerned or not with their skin issues. Overall, both the global score and the five dimensions measured in the study, point to the fact that the Quality of Life does appear to be affected in the subjects with skin tone problems and dark spots.

The BeautyQoL^® instrument is currently the only existing scientific instrument validated in 16 cultures and built specifically to discriminate small variations in the Quality of Life relevant to the physical appearance. BeautyQol^® provides the most robust tool for scientific and market research application in cosmetology. Indeed, with its wide-ranging potential applications it is currently being used in various studies both in the cosmetic and beauty care industry as well as in the academic research projects. As a pioneer in its field, BeautyQoL^® represents an important advancement in the domain of the quality of life, reserved until recently mostly to the pharmaceutical research. By generating robust quantitative evidence, for the first time, BeautyQoL^® can scientifically assess and firmly establish the humanistic impact of pigmentary (and other aesthetic) disorders as well as to differentiate and demonstrate the added value of cosmetic products and interventions.

Scientific references:

*Beresniak A, Auray JP, Duru G, Aractingi S, Krueger GG, Talarico S, Adam AS, Piot B, Dupont D, de Linares Y. Impact of pigmentary disorders on quality of life in Japan: Interest of the BeautyQoL instrument. J Cosmet Laser Ther. 2015 Dec;17(6):313-7. doi: 10.3109/14764172.2015.1039034. Epub 2015 Jul 2.

Beresniak A, de Linares Y, Krueger GG, Talarico S, Tsutani K, Duru G, Berger G. Validation of a New International Quality-of-life Instrument Specific to Cosmetics and Physical Appearance. BeautyQoL Questionnaire. Arch Dematol 2012; 148 (11): 1275-1282

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THE INTERNATIONALLY VALIDATED QUALITY OF LIFE INSTRUMENT BEAUTYQOL PROVIDES SCIENTIFIC PROOF ABOUT THE LINK BETWEEN PHYSICAL APPEARANCE AND QUALITY OF LIFE

What if cosmetic products and interventions could not only improve one’s physical appearance but also one’s quality of life and its different dimensions – emotional life, relationships, energy level, mood etc.? As we all know, looking good has always been associated with feeling good. For the first time, this correlation can be scientifically proved with the internationally validated Quality of Life instrument called BeautyQoL^®. This original initiative, supported by L’Oréal Research & Innovation, has been developed in collaboration with an international expert panel composed of dermatologists, plastic surgeons, evaluation specialists and mathematicians, and is the subject of a recent article published by the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology:“Quality of life assessment in cosmetics: specificity and interest of the international BeautyQol instrument”.

The BeautyQoL^® instrument, is composed of 42 questions covering different aspects related to Quality of Life and has been validated in 16 languages and 13 countries. Not only is BeautyQoL^® specific to cosmetic products and physical appearance but also thanks to its advanced scoring procedure and comprehensive analytical potential, it is highly sensitive and is capable of capturing even smallest variations in Quality of Life, brought about by the use of innovative cosmetic and beauty care products, or changes in the physical appearance following aesthetic interventions.

Our society values beauty, youth and health. Therefore, people living with various physical appearance issues, distinctive aesthetic features or noticeable skin conditions can feel a great strain on their lives, the repercussions of which can be quite significant, influencing their emotional, professional and social interactions and overall well-being. According to the World Health Organization’s determination of health, it is not only about the absence of disease but about a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. Therefore, if an instrument such as BeautyQoL^® can prove the link between the improved physical appearance and improved well-being – another paramount pillar of our society – it can contribute to demonstrating the added value of cosmetic interventions on Quality of Life – and indirectly health – which goes well beyond the superficial dimension that the use of cosmetics used to be associated with.

Dr Ariel Beresniak, Chief Executive Officer of Data Mining International, an independent research agency based in Geneva, Switzerland, and project leader of the BeautyQoL^® international initiative, said: “The BeautyQoL^® questionnaire is the only existing instrument in the world specifically built to discriminate small differences of Quality of Life cross-culturally, relevant to cosmetics and physical appearance, thus providing the most robust tool for scientific and market research applications in cosmetology.” The BeautyQoL^® instrument is currently being used in various studies promoted either by cosmetic and beauty care industry or by academic research organizations.

As BeautyQoL® measures the improvement in quality of life related to physical appearance, its potential applications are wide-ranging, including for valuing and differentiating cosmetic and beauty care products, dermatological treatments, aesthetic procedures, anti-ageing interventions, plastic surgeries, aesthetic dentistry, etc. The BeautyQoL^® instrument being specially designed and internationally validated to assess physical appearance and quality of life, it represents an important advancement in the field of quality of life and health outcomes research. By generating robust quantitative evidence, for the first time, BeautyQoL^® enables to scientifically assess and firmly establish the humanistic benefits of improving quality of life and overall well-being related to physical appearance.

Scientific references:

Beresniak A, Auray JP, Duru G, Aractingi S, Krueger GG, Talarico S, Tsutani K, Dupont D, de Linares Y, Quality of life assessment in cosmetics: specificity and interest of the international BeautyQol instrument, J Cosmet Dermatol. 2015 Sep;14(3):260-5.

Beresniak A, de Linares Y, Krueger GG, Talarico S, Tsutani K, Duru G, Berger G. Validation of a New International Quality-of-life Instrument Specific to Cosmetics and Physical Appearance. BeautyQoL Questionnaire. Arch Dematol 2012; 148 (11): 1275-1282

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