A group of trainees

Everyone wants to look good. However, for some of the elderly and people with certain disabilities, it can sometimes be hard to maintain those vital appearances. In response to this, the National Welfare Beautician Training Association, which visits homes and care facilities to provide beauty services, recently held a seminar for home beauticians. A total of 70 people took part. Since it has become clear that demand for home beauty services will increase in the future as Japanese society continues to age, the Association has recently been focusing its efforts on training additional human resources.

Mr. Akagi with a woman who uses the service

Katsuyuki Akagi, the head of the organization, is currently 41 years of age. He began work at 15 at a beauty salon, and later took part in a volunteer program to provide haircuts to agricultural trainees from developing nations. When he opened his own business at the age of 27, he began visiting nearby care facilities. This eventually provided the impetus to establish a nonprofit organization in 2007. At his NPO, he bases his activities on the two pillars of visitation and training. His activities have come to be highly regarded, and in 2008 his efforts were recognized with a Valuable Contribution to Society award from the Foundation for Encouragement of Social Contribution.

Training on a dummy

For this seminar, training sessions were held twice, on July 23 and November 16, 2009, with a total of 123 trainees. The second session in November was held at Nagoya University Hospital. In addition to Mr. Akagi, Designated Assistant Professor Yoshihisa Hirakawa of the Nagoya University School of Medicine’s Post-Graduate Clinical Education Center and Associate Professor Mieko Kino of the Doho University Faculty of Social Welfare also served as instructors. Each session consisted of a three-hour class, with practical technical guidance provided following discussions on subjects that included the current state of welfare and long-term care and beauty, basic long-term care and medical knowledge needed by visitation beauticians, and safety management.

Mr. Akagi after receiving an award for his contributions to society from Nippon Foundation Chairman Sasakawa

Most trainees were qualified beauticians who had left the workforce for reasons such as marriage or childbirth. Those completing the training were certified to work as staff members, and became eligible for support from the organization should they decide to go into business for themselves. According to Executive Director Hitomi Iwaoka of the Association, the number of families desiring makeup services for funerals has been increasing, and the Association is now sending instructors to training sessions for nurses and long-term care staff, in addition to providing visiting services.

Mr. Akagi and Ms. Iwaoka speak of the significance of the visiting services

At present, the Association provides visiting beauty services at 60 locations, including senior citizens’ homes and individuals in the city of Nisshin. A haircut costs 2,500 yen plus visiting charges. Mr. Akagi emphasized the significance of the training sessions, noting, “Recently we have seen significant use by bedridden elderly individuals. Knowledge of long-term care and medical care is required to serve them more completely.”