Differences in Skin Properties of Korean Women at the Initial Aging Phase

Abstract

Many studies on aging have focused on evaluating differences between older and younger people, but only a few have focused on differences in skin properties among subjects from the same age group according to their skin aging status. In this study, we evaluated the facial skin condition and life style factors in 110 Korean women aged 25 to 35 in an attempt to evaluate factors which may affect the skin aging status in the initial aging phase. The facial skin condition of 110 healthy Korean women was assessed over two successive 6-month periods, summer and winter. Using clinical assessments including aging, wrinkles and skin’s elasticity values, the subjects were divided into 7 groups. Then, various facial skin conditions and life style factors were examined between a severe aging group and mild aging group. In the severe aging group, the mean value pH was lower and the mean value of water content was slightly lower than women in the mild aging group. Also, the seasonal site variation in water content and sebum secretion level were significantly higher in the severe aging group than in the mild aging group. Topical sunscreen using percentage was not significantly different between the two groups. However, the number of cosmetic subject use was slightly higher in the mild aging group than in the severe aging group. The study suggested that there were several differences in skin characteristics between women in the severe aging group and in the mild aging group at the initial aging phase. Seasonal site variation between cheek and forehead were most dominant differences. We also considered that life style factors such as cosmetic use could affect skin aging status.