The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) before and after the intervention of make-up therapy on 122 elderly persons attending nursing care prevention classes. The SF-8TM (SF8 Health Survey), a HRQOL scale was used to conduct a questionnaire survey, before and 1 week after make- up therapy, on 8 domains of health: physical functioning, physical role, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, emotional role, and mental health. The number of valid responses was 80 (response rate, 65.6%), and comparisons were examined by Wilcoxon's signed-rank test before and after the intervention. The results showed that the elderly group who regularly use make-up and those who do not regularly use make-up showed significantly higher “vitality” after make-up therapy. In addition, the summary score for mental health was higher in the elderly group who do not regularly use make-up, suggesting that make-up therapy can lead to a positive sense of mental health in elderly persons who do not regularly use make-up.