Shiseido sheds light on skin’s aging process and translucency

Shiseido has developed a technology to evaluate how light interacts with skin, with the aim of achieving skin translucency. The company claims it to be the world’s first optical measurement system capable of measuring and analyzing three-dimensional facial shape and optical conditions without being invasive.

The research is being conducted in collaboration with the Muroran Institute of Technology, Japan. The scientists are focusing on how light penetrates the stratum corneum, reaches the dermis, and then exits the skin’s surface.

The research has found that short-wavelength light (blue light) reaches the epidermis, the skin’s outermost layer. Mid-wave-length light (green light) reaches the area from the epidermis to near the upper dermis, also known as the papillary dermis. Long-wavelength light (red light) reaches the collagen layer of the dermis before it is re-emitted from the skin’s surface.

The interaction of blue light with the skin revealed that melanin plays a significant role in light absorption.

“Melanin blocks light, making it difficult to penetrate the skin, thereby reducing the amount of light emitted from the skin’s surface,” the company says.

Additionally, the researchers concluded that reduced collagen density decreases the amount of light reaching the dermis and emitted from the skin’s surface. Red light was the most effective in penetrating the collagen layer.

“As long-wavelength light (red light) penetrates the dermal collagen layer, Shiseido applied the internal and external skin elasticity 3D imaging system that visualizes both inside and outside the skin and enables non-invasive observation of collagen status in living human skin, to evaluate collagen fiber density and analyze correlation.”

The study also found that as the skin ages, it decreases the amount of light being emitted from the skin as melanin absorption increases.

The technology tracks the behavior of light on the skin, both how it is absorbed and how it is emitted.Skin’s light emissions

The optical research from Shiseido began by focusing on radiance and translucency in skin texture.

The technology tracks the behavior of light on the skin — how it is absorbed and how it is emitted. Shiseido says that light emission from the skin has previously been challenging to study.

Using a nine-layer model to simulate light behavior on the skin helped determine the propagation of light and its wavelengths. The study included 150 female participants aged 20 to 70, which helped researchers determine a correlation between collagen levels and light emissions.

The research uncovered that as the skin ages, light emissions from the epidermis decrease, and melanin decreases.

“By measuring and analyzing light at different penetration depths, researchers discovered that light reaching the epidermis and re-emitted from the skin’s surface tends to gradually decrease with age,” says Shiseido.

Shiseido has recently introduced skin technologies for various applications. Last year, it introduced Reservoir in Skin, which works to retain the skin’s natural moisture and deliver beneficial ingredients to the stratum corneum — part of the epidermis.

The Japanese company also developed a technology that enhances the penetration of its brightening ingredient, 4MSK, into the skin, potentially increasing its effectiveness in reducing dark spots, pigmentation, and freckles.