Abstract
“Smoothness” is one of the keywords used for women's image of beautiful skin. In the present study, for the purpose of clarifying the components that contribute to visual skin smoothness, a survey of consumer consciousness, visual evaluation of skin by experts, and biophysical measurements were conducted in a multilateral manner. In the consciousness survey, factors contributing to the image of smooth skin were investigated. Those factors differed between subjects who considered their own skin to be smooth and those who thought that their skin was not smooth, indicating varying images regarding smooth skin. In the visual evaluation, the smoothness score was correlated with the scores for various skin conditions such as ‘uruoi’, while it was closely correlated with skin texture as demonstrated by furrows. The results of skin biophysical measurements suggested that smooth skin was characterized by high elasticity and fine texture, which provided optical characteristics of bright and transparent skin related to beauty. Our findings in both the consciousness survey and objective evaluations showed that skin smoothness is closely related to various skin conditions, of which fine texture is an important keyword.
