Why women adore make-up: scientists have an answer

Tokyo, Japan, January 23: A latest brain function study by Japanese scientists seems to have an answer for why women love make-up. Women foresee a rush of optimism as they get ready to put on make-up.

The findings are an outcome of a research that took more than 2 years. It was undertaken by cosmetic giant Kanebo but the conclusions have been revealed by the team lead by brain scientist Dr. Ken Mogi.

The organisation’s venture named “Cosmetics, Beauty and Brain Science”, established that there are well-defined cognitive actions involved in a woman’s assessment of her face with and without make-up.

In the study, the scientists used a brain scanner to keep a tab on the activity that occurs in the caudate nucleus of the brain. This validated their claim that on seeing her own face without make-up, a woman anticipates how she might look to others; a “reward system” gets stimulated, releasing dopamine to give sensations of delight.

Keishi Saruwatari from Kanobe’s laboratories said, “We know from previous research that when this area of the brain is activated we can derive pleasure from certain activities. We interpret that as meaning that when a woman looks at her face she is imagining how she will look when she has applied her make-up.”

“There is a mixture of expectation, encouragement and ambition. Make-up contributes to building relationships with others and feelings of pleasure in women.”

Though the study was centered on female responses, the team thinks that males might also respond the similar ways, when they shave or put on cologne in the morning.

Scientist Yasuhiko Tanaka was quoted as saying, “We can now not only put a functional value on a product now, but also measure the emotional appeal. By using quantifiable research, we will be able to strengthen the emotional value of a product and enable us to develop more appealing versions.”