Seasonal skin darkening in Chinese women: the Shanghaiese experience of daily sun protection.

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.

Chemical stability and degradation mechanisms of ferulic acid (F.A) within various cosmetic formulations.

Ferulic acid (F.A) receives significant interest in the beauty industry with regard to its skin-whitening and anti-oxidant properties. However, its use in cosmetics is limited due to pH- and temperature-related instabilities.

Instrumental and clinical studies of the facial skin tone and pigmentation of Shanghaiese women. Changes induced by age and a cosmetic whitening product.

The pigmentation patterns of facial skin of 354 healthy Chinese women aged 18-80 years were investigated clinically and instrumentally. Chromasphere(®) was used to acquire pictures from the cheeks of subjects. Facial skin tone was described by L* parameter from the L,a,b system as well as Individual Typology Angle (ITA).

Influence of season on some skin properties: winter vs. summer, as experienced by 354 Shanghaiese women of various ages.

The facial skin of 354 women, aged 18-80, living in Shanghai, was investigated over two successive 6-month periods, summer and winter. Results from clinical assessments indicate that aging signs, such as wrinkling and sagging, are unaffected over such period. However, physical measurements revealed alterations in some functional criteria of the skin, such as sebum output, skin colour, melanin content of pigmented spots, skin hydration, all being increased during summer.

The zeta-potential of the endogenous particles of a wine of Champagne in relation to the foaming behaviour.

It was shown that the endogenous particles of the champagnes influence the lifetime, and not the maximum expansion of their evanescent foam (Food Hydrocolloids (1999) 12, 217-226). Actually, champagnes are electrolytic solutions with pH 3 and ionic strength equal to 0.02 mol/l in which bentonites, diatomites, and yeast cells are the more numerous colloids and particles present.