To apprehend cognitive dimension
In recent years the trend in cosmetic communication has been increasingly to stress the idea of “ageing well” rather than to pretend to “slow or stop” the skin ageing process. Quantitative measurements of Quality-of-Life parameters and Well-Being concepts have emerged as new methods and claims addressed to consumers.
In this way, we have developed a specific method named “mirror test” which is able to apprehend cognitive dimension.
What is the fundamental rationale of the Mirror TestTM ?
It is to confront a subject to its own reflection. This confrontation is ecologically relevant for cosmetic studies as it corresponds to a natural daily situation for subjects. Moreover, such a confrontation is a potent psychological trigger endowed with a significant emotional load as it activates actual psychological problematic regarding self-conception and physical self-acceptance. As such, this confrontation acts as a mild stressor, allowing the measure of various parameters related to stress response.
Which parameters are evaluated ?
Several parameters can be evaluate such as the prosody (frequency of the voice), heart rate, semantic analysis (verbatims) etc…
This method was used during a study presented to the last IFSCC at Munich : East West synergy in cosmetics: Demonstration of an increased efficacy of an anti-ageing cream combined with Chinese Herbal Medicine. Arnaud Aubert, Francis Vial and all. 30th IFSCC 2018.
Thus, this study was conceived in a holistic perspective, we addressed psychological parameters (i.e. mood, emotion and self-perception) in addition to conventional skin parameters, thanks to use this new method “Mirror Test”™, in order to enlarge the scope of the potential benefits of care products.
