Emergent Perceptual Skin Quality

Standard for defining skin quality. This includes:

• Skin firmness
• evenness of the skin surface
• evenness of the skin tone
• evenness of the skin's radiance.

Skin quality is important for a person's attractiveness and determines whether and which aesthetic treatments are required. It has a significant influence on the perception of age, attractiveness, health and youthfulness. This applies to all ethnic and gender groups.

Age-related skin changes are due to changes that occur in all layers of tissue. The ageing of the skeleton primarily leads to a loss of the bony support structure. The ageing of the supporting ligaments and muscles leads to an expansion of the facial spaces, which reinforces the increased laxity and the impression of volume loss. Age-related changes in the fatty tissue of the face lead to loss of volume and sagging. Skin elasticity decreases with age due to loss of collagen and elastin, while surface roughness may increase due to decreased water and sebum content in the skin, contributing to the development of skin wrinkles, including periorbital, forehead and glabellar lines.

The age-related deterioration of viscoelastic properties is most pronounced after the age of 50, but insufficient skin hydration is more common in younger age groups, particularly between 40 and 50. This necessitates a multimodal and age-dependent treatment algorithm to improve skin quality.

1. Goldie K et al. (2021) Skin Quality - A Holistic 360° View: Consensus Results. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol14:643-654.