A Study on the Changing of Biophysical Properties of the Facial Skin according to Aging

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the differences in skin characteristics such as crow’s feet, visible and invisible spots, pores in the left and right cheek areas of the face, porphyrins, brown spots, and skin color and texture with increasing age.Methods: This study utilized Visia-CR software Mirror® to capture images of the entire face of 457 individuals aged 30–60 years. Facial skin characteristics were analyzed using image analysis software, VAESTRO, and a toolkit. The analysis of facial skin characteristics according to age was performed using one-way analysis of variance to test for significance, followed by Scheffe’s post-hoc test.Results: Significant differences in age-related crow’s feet, visible and invisible spots, brown spots on the left and right cheeks, and skin texture were observed in all age groups, except for groups in their 50s and 60s. Porphyrins, depending on age, showed significant differences between the mean values of the 30s and all other age groups and those of the 40s and 60s. Significant differences in L* and a* according to age were observed between the mean values of the 30s and 50s–60s and those of the 40s and 60s. Significant differences in age-dependent b* were observed between the mean values of the 30s and all other age groups.Conclusion: This study found significant differences in wrinkles, spots, brown spots, and skin color (L*, a*, and b*) with age. However, there were no significant difference in the pores of the facial skin and b* with increasing age. Based on this result, L* and a* are likely to require further research for the age groups in the 30s and 40s, 40s and 50s, and 50s and 60s. In addition, pores and b* require follow-up studies on morphological changes of the facial skin regardless of aging.