Until now, it was understood that a beauty treatment improves the appearance of the skin and is a relaxation tool. The firm Natura Bissé in collaboration with the University of Murcia and Starlab demonstrates this for the first time
A meditation session, focusing on your breathing for five minutes, playing sports, interacting socially, going for a walk in nature and… a facial massage in the cabin. This could be a good tool to combat stress, according to neuroscience.
What seems like evidence, especially after the pandemic, when beauty centers proliferate like mushrooms, has been demonstrated in a exhaustive study from the Spanish brand Natura Bissé, the expert neuroscience research institute Starlab and the University of Murcia, an ally of EuniWell, the European University for Wellbeing.
The main conclusion of this experimental report is that the rituals spa increase well-being and self-esteem around 67%. “There is a statistically significant correlation between higher levels of salivary oxytocin, related to a lower level of perceived stress,” explains Laura Gamboa, corporate training director at Natura Bissé involved in the entire process.
THE CIENTIFIC METHOD
The biomarkers have been recorded from a sample of 33 volunteers between 25 and 60 years old and with four types of instrumental measurements (objective) and four different subjective surveys before and after a treatment. signature from Natura Bissé 60 minutes long. “We have dedicated more than 50 hours to the registry, with almost 400 shots of the control group and about 400 macrophotographic captures. The most interesting thing, in addition to quantifying well-being numerically, was discovering how the person’s self-esteem can also be increased” , he asserts.
In addition to the obvious benefit to the skin that is assumed from a beauty treatment with exfoliation, cleansing and hydration products, the measurement with enobium, a type of cap with electrodes, has served to verify how manual contact affected the nervous systemand not only through a simple manifestation in the surveys, an abbreviated version of the Ryff test (psychological well-being scale) with 17 questions.
“The peaks of pleasure They always gave themselves with manual massage. The volunteers declared that their skin felt much better, but also their well-being, from control of the environment to their own empowerment, significantly increasing their levels of self-acceptance. The novelty is that all this has been recorded in a very scientific way during 500 hours of work,” says Gamboa.
EMOTIONAL BENEFIT OF TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF
In a society where we produce cortisol all the time in our fast pace of life, which inflames us and keeps us on alert, getting into a treatment room can be a scape valve within the reach of many. “This could be verified after analyzing brain activity, heart rate or biomarkers such as this main stress hormone, but also alpha-amylase and oxytocin among others, and taking into account the five most relevant emotions for the study: relaxation, activation, harmony, satisfaction and happiness,” admits Gamboa.
So a facial protocol is not simply aesthetics that contributes to looking better. In a superficial and banal way. It is also a plus to feel calm and stop running everywhere, at least for a few minutes. “If you give yourself a massage twice a week, pro-inflammatory cytokines that can contribute to the development of pathologies decrease, it has been seen in this study. The power of touch increases the activity of the vagus nerve and slows down heart rate and blood pressure, showing relaxation in the brain waves,” concludes the firm’s specialist in the Abadía Retuerta destination hotel, a property located in the Douro Valley, where the report has been presented. The integrative beauty It is a trend, always linked to good nutrition, physical activity, contact with other people and the search for experiences.
