Issue link: https://www.ascpskindeepdigital.com/i/148952
ascp and you: news notes What's In Your Retail Area? The Day Spa Association's 2013 Spa & Wellness Retail Survey asked a sample of US spas about their retail offerings. Here are the most common retail items they reported. • Professional skin care products for the face (88.3 percent) • Professional skin care products for the body (74.3 percent) • Cosmetics and lash products (51.9 percent) • Aromatherapy/essential oils (38.9 percent) • Candles (38.7 percent) • Nail products (34.5 percent) • Jewelry and other accessories (32.9 percent) • Herbal eye and neck masks (27 percent) • Nutritional supplements (24.6 percent) • Robes and other clothing (21.5 percent) • Books and music (14 percent) • Hair products (7.9 percent) The survey also found that 71 percent of day spas have a retail area that uses 10 percent or less of the spa's total available space. The association suggests maximizing retail space by placing products in additional locations throughout the spa: bathrooms, hallways, and treatment rooms, as well as the usual location at the front desk or waiting area. For more information, visit www.dayspaassociation.com. Facial Contrast and Aging A study conducted earlier this year by Chanel Research and Technology shows that the amount of contrast between the skin and the facial features is one of the signals we subconsciously use to judge a person's age. Psychologist Richard Russell and his team measured facial images of 289 people ranging in age from 20 to 70 and found that through the aging process the color of the eyes, eyebrows, and lips becomes lighter, while the skin becomes darker. This results in less contrast between the features and the surrounding skin in older people. Tests in both France and the United States by the same researchers revealed that when photographs were altered to have a greater or lesser amount of contrast, test subjects guessed older ages for the lowcontrast versions and younger ages for the high-contrast versions. The researchers believe this partly explains why, throughout history, makeup has focused on making the eyes, eyebrows, and lips stand out more brightly against the skin. Looking Inside the Corneocyte A new type of microscope probe has been developed at the University of Bath in England that will allow scientists to study the internal structure of the corneocyte and the stratum corneum for a greater understanding of the skin's barrier function and the processes involved in skin aging. The probe uses nanotechnology to construct a needle fine enough to enter a single corneocyte and transmit images via an atomic force microscope. The new method was announced June 2013 in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. 38ASCP Skin Deep September/October 2013