title: Seasonal skin darkening in Chinese women: the Shanghaiese experience of daily sun protection.
abstract: The facial skin tone of two groups of Chinese women from Shanghai was compared using standard colorimetric space techniques during a 6-month interval between January and July 2011. During the study period, one group of women (n = 40) applied a potent sun-protective cosmetic product daily, while the other group (n = 40) did not use any sun protection. The results, based on images taken using a standardized digital camera coupled to a spectroradiometer, showed that sun protection largely mitigated changes in the components of skin tone, ie, lightness, melanization, and individual typology angle parameters. The skin darkening process appeared to be reduced or prevented in the sun-protected group when compared with the control group. The sun-protected women had participated in an earlier study in 2008, which confirmed that seasonal skin darkening occurs from winter through summer in Shanghaiese women. Comparing the data obtained in the winters of 2008 and 2011, we were able to identify better the impact of 3 years of aging on the components of skin tone. Comparing data between seasons on the same women with (2011 study) and without (2008 study) sun protection highlights the role of the test product in preventing skin darkening.
authors.affiliation: L'Oréal Research and Innovation, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Huixia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Frederic
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Flament
authors.forename: Xiaohui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Mengzhi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Didier Saint
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Leger
authors.forename: Helene
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Meaudre
authors.forename: Jerome
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Senee
authors.forename: Bertrand
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Piot
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bazin
keywords: aging; skin seasonal darkening; skin tone; sun protection