Coco Chanel may have been right when she said, “If you’re sad, put on more lipstick.”
A study has found that wearing makeup can have a marked effect on improving women’s mood and even helps maintain good mental health.
The researchers recruited 240 volunteers who did not normally wear makeup, and asked half to apply it three or more times a week, while the rest did not wear it.
They found that those who wore makeup saw symptoms of depression significantly decrease, stress levels halved, and self-esteem soared.
One theory they propose is that the “camouflage effect” of makeup helps the wearer with self-image concerns by changing their appearance and at the same time stimulates feelings of attractiveness that elevate their mood.
“Our results show that frequent use of makeup can contribute to an effective and sustainable improvement in well-being and mental health,” the research team reported in the scientific journal Dermatology And Therapy.
A study has found that wearing makeup can have a marked effect on improving women’s mood and even helps maintain good mental health (file image)
Inge van Lotringen (pictured) believes that makeup is one of the most powerful, yet completely harmless, methods for women to combat depression.
“Makeup has the potential to contribute to improving depressive symptoms, mood swings and low self-esteem.”
Half of the women in the study received a makeup kit with 16 items, including lipstick, eye shadow, blush, eyebrow pencil and foundation, and received expert advice on application.
All recruits completed a psychological depression test (the Zung scale, which measures 20 different feelings and emotions) before and after the experiment.
Women who wore makeup recorded an average 8.3 percent drop in depression symptom scores. There was also a 25 percent increase in feelings of self-worth among makeup users.
Wearing makeup also caused a 55 percent drop in levels of the hormone cortisol in saliva. Cortisol is a marker of stress levels and a trigger for episodes of depression.
“Regular use of makeup was associated with a lower incidence of mild depression and a lower intensity of depressive symptoms,” said the research team from Sao Paulo in Brazil and Queensland and Curtin Universities in Australia.
Professor Carmine Pariante, Professor of Biological Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry and King’s College London, said: “Makeup is a form of self-care and, as shown in this study, it helps with depression.” The benefit is clinically significant, as demonstrated by the use of the Zung scale.’
Women who wore makeup saw an average 8.3 percent drop in depression symptom scores (file image)
Wearing makeup also caused a 55 percent drop in levels of the hormone cortisol in saliva (file image)
The scientists are right… I rejoice in its transformative powers of two minutes by INGE VAN LOTRINGEN
BY INGE VAN LOTRINGEN
It’s no surprise that makeup works as an antidepressant.
For most women, a concealer that eliminates blemishes or a lipstick that brightens the complexion is the difference between a brilliant day and a disastrous day, and that’s not proof that the world has succumbed to empty vanity.
The true wonder of makeup is that it allows us to put on the face we want to present to the world. Feeling good in your skin means confidence, and confidence is the root of many of our achievements in life, as well as our joy.
I enjoy the transformative power of two minutes of my mascara and eyebrow pencil. It’s not about trying to achieve perfection or some ideal of beauty, it’s about temporarily erasing tiredness from your face. Or project fierceness with bold eyeliner and innocence with rosy cheeks.
As women, we have used (and to some extent, felt compelled to use) this tool for centuries, so we understand its power.
Ask beauty entrepreneur Maxine Laceby, who, as part of a ‘dare to go naked’ project for her fine arts degree, went makeup-free for four months. She suffered disastrous results and her mood plummeted to the point that it prompted her to start her own line of collagen products.
Proof that, for many of us, the magic of makeup is among the most powerful, yet completely harmless, depression-fighting methods we have.