Changes in emotional response towards different facial application gestures following skincare application: An electroencephalogram approach

BACKGROUND: Amidst increasing global levels of stress and a growing concern for well-being, facial massage gestures have emerged as an option to improve the comfort and well-being of women. OBJECTIVE: To characterize four emotional indices (stress, comfort, valence, and arousal) and their evolution when induced from two experimental and standardized facial gestures (Q and S). METHODS: This prospective, monocentric, intra-subject comparison study was conducted in Japan where 17 healthy female subjects aged 38-55 years were enrolled. Two experimental standardized gestures (Q and S) were administered in pairs to the subjects over 2 days. Gesture Q was a 60 s smoothing and hand press gesture while Gesture S was a smoothing gesture alone. Prior to each application, subjects cleansed their faces and completed a self-assessment questionnaire. During the procedure, subjects were fitted with a portable electroencephalogram (EEG). A beautician applied a cosmetic product to the eye and cheek area based on specific gestures (P/R control gesture followed by Q, or S). EEG measurements were taken before, during, and after the application. Subsequently, participants filled out another self-assessment questionnaire. IMPORTANT RESULTS: Gesture Q was identified as less stressful, more comfortable during application, and higher positive valence after application which was aligned with self-perception questionnaire results. The portable EEG analyser further revealed the evolution of emotions during application whereby Gesture Q induced a constant and positive evolution of emotion after 20 s, while Gesture S showed a slight decrease of stress only after 40 s and induced a dominant feeling of lower valence after application, associated with a negative feeling. CONCLUSION: The portable EEG analyser showed high potential to capture and differentiate between emotions during the beauty experience. Gesture Q positively influenced the emotional state of subjects, which was complimentary to what subjects reported. Emotions captured during the evolution of gestures helped identify key moments of application. Combined with the self-questionnaire, these findings contribute to the development of user experience.