A NEW METHOD FOR ASSESSING THE GLOSS OF HUMAN SKIN

A new method for an objective assessment of the gloss of human skill i s presented. The reflectometric measuring set-up complies with DIN 675 30. The principle of this new method is based on a contactless determi nation of the skin's reflection of light from a tungsten filament lamp , recorded at an angle of 60 degrees by a silicon photocell. In a comp arative study with 30 test persons it was discovered that the forehead , with 2.70 standardised reflectometer units (RU; SD +/- 0.59 RU), dis played a significantly higher gloss than the lower arm (1.99 RU, SD 0. 28 RU, p < 0.0001). In an investigation into the influence of four dif ferent cream bases on the skill gloss ii could be determined that the value depends on the percentage of grease, the water concentration and the consistency of the respective base. The method presented permits a fast, contactless, randomly repeatable objective assessment of skin gloss. Since the acceptance of cosmetics and pharmaceutical products d epends not least on their skin gloss effect, this method can provide v aluable information when estimating the success of old and new product s.