In America, people have long equated skin care with self-care. But the rise of "neurocosmetics" marks a new escalation in the industry: Spray our product on your skin and it will change your brain for good.
This kind of rhetoric "is based on the well-established principle that the well-being of the skin and the brain are interconnected".
Some claims are backed up by research - such as how acne and psoriasis can flare up with stress, potentially exacerbating poor mental health and lowering self-esteem. "But accepting the connection between mental and dermatological health is an entirely different perspective than claiming that active ingredients in some skin care products can act directly on the nervous system," the experts wrote.
None of these skin care products can affect the mental health of the people who use them.
Psychologists have found that smells, such as lavender and rosemary, can have a calming effect on people. "But such effects have little to do with the chemical composition of the lotion" and are not "long-term interventions for mental health".
