A new method for visualizing facial pigmentation - a real gamechanger


New methods digitally transfer visible, irradiation-induced pigmentation effects observed on the forearm and other sites to the face

At ISBS World Congress 2021, DSM scientist Remo Campiche, PhD presented details of a new method he has developed with our partner Newtone Technologies. It involves digitally transferring pigmentation observed on volunteers’ inner forearms to their faces to visualize the effectiveness of specific ingredients. Read below the abstracts and download the conference presentation including a summary.

Authors: Remo Campiche1, Sarah Gougeon2, Marie Cherel2, Magalie Roche2, Mathias Gempeler1, Dominik Imfeld1

1 DSM Nutritional Products, Personal Care & Aroma, Kaiseraugst, Switzerland
2 Newtone Technologies, Lyon, France

Studies of cutaneous pigmentation and its modulation are commonplace in both academia and industry. To induce a pigmentation reaction in skin, it is necessary to irradiate it with ultraviolet radiation (UVR) or high energy visible light (HEV, or blue light). However, because the wavelengths, doses, and fluencies generally used are too high to make the face a feasible irradiation site, surrogate body sites such as the inner forearm or the back are usually chosen instead. To help the cosmetics industry understand what pigmentation reactions and their modulation would look like on the face, we developed a method to digitally transfer pigmentation observed on volunteers’ inner forearms to their faces.

 Figure 1 summarizes this method:

 1) We began by irradiating inner forearms with a specific blue light irradiation protocol. This induced visible pigmentation which we then modulated with a cosmetic active ingredient. Next, we took photographs of this pigmentation and measured it with a chromameter. We also took photographs of volunteers’ faces and digitally transferred images of pigmentation on their inner forearms to corresponding images of their faces. Using a dedicated and newly developed algorithm, we adjusted facial pigmentation to match forearm pigmentation and in this way, visualized what a pigmentation reaction on the forearm would look like on the face.

2) We also induced pigmentation on forearms using a combination of ultraviolet irradiation and a pro-pigmenting peptide. In this case, no real faces were available so we transferred the pigmentation reaction to artificial average faces.

Through these methods, we can predict facial pigmentation reactions without irradiating individuals directly on the face.

Figure 1: Flow chart illustrating the method. A pigmentation reaction is induced on the forearm. It is then digitally applied to images of the face to simulate facial tanning as if the face had been irradiated instead of the forearm.