New insights into skin appearance and measurement.

When viewing the human face, the eye is drawn automatically to the areas of uneven topography and high color contrast, and the perception of skin age and attractiveness is dependent on these features. Although it is well recognized that topographic features, such as lines and wrinkles, contribute to the perceived age of skin and many cosmetic procedures are directed toward modifying these, the contribution of color contrast to the perceived age of skin has been less widely studied. A new technique, spectrophotometric intracutaneous analysis, is able to measure and characterize the distribution of chromophores in aging human skin and represents a significant advance in evaluation of the role color contrast plays in perception of the aging human face. This technique may be useful in the assessment of cosmetic interventions to reduce the appearance of aging by modification of skin color.