A validated facial grading scale: the future of facial ageing measurement tools?

Validated, standardized scales for measurement of ageing and response to cosmetic procedures are lacking. Numerous scales have been published and, while they allow intra-study comparisons, almost all remain non-validated, and their heterogeneity makes comparisons across studies impossible. A set of validated, objective, quantitative scales has been developed in association with experts from different specialties within aesthetic medicine. These scales allow evaluation of the key signs of ageing that cause individuals to seek cosmetic procedures. Each scale is a five-point photonumeric scale based on computer-simulated photographs incorporating each aspect to be evaluated in a stepwise manner. Validation studies show that these scales have good intra- and inter-rater reliability, with intra-class correlation coefficients generally in the range 0.85-0.95, and similar test-retest correlations.