Observation, Measurement, and Evaluation of Skin and Hair
Cosmetics, hair care, and skin care products must provide consumers with a high level of added value while keeping up with constantly changing trends and needs. As such, these products require advanced and fast research and development.
KEYENCE’s latest 4K digital microscope provides clear, high-definition images, which can be used to easily and quickly observe, measure, and evaluate skin and hair. The result is that the cycles for R&D and improvement become shorter. These shorter cycles help make it possible to supply products having high added value in a timely manner.
- Trends in the Cosmetics Industry and Direction of R&D
- Latest Observation, Measurement, and Evaluation Information
- Observation of skin texture (uneven surface)
- Handheld observation of skin texture (uneven surface)
- 3D shape measurement and evaluation of skin texture (uneven surface)
- Observation of emulsions (emulsification/dispersed state)
- Particle size distribution of emulsions (quantitative evaluation)
- Observation and evaluation of hair cuticles
- The Latest Tools for Increasing the Speed of R&D
Trends in the Cosmetics Industry and Direction of R&D
The beauty and cosmetics industries previously targeted mainly women. In response to changes from one era to another and the fluctuating needs corresponding to the market, competition has always been ruthless between companies in these industries to see who can provide their customers with products that meet the latest trends and needs the fastest.
Recent years have seen increased subdivision of the targets of these industries, with one such example being the expansion and diversification of needs for cosmetics aimed at men. Hence, the research and development of products that meet market trends have been carried out with fast cycles. Examples of such products include high-quality cosmetics corresponding to the branding of high-class product lines and additive-free and organic products.
Speed of rapidly spreading trends
In recent years, there has been a major change in the marketing field. Social networking services, which enable the immediate sharing of the latest information as videos, images, and text, have increased the speed of the cycles of trends related to beauty.
The effect of marketing using reviews and how-to videos made by regular users having a set number of subscribers (people registered to the user’s channel) and videos and information sharing from influencers and brand ambassadors having a large number of followers has been large, leading to new trends, brands, and products spreading around the world at a speed that has never been seen before. The result of this shift in marketing is that there have been cases where new or small-scale manufacturers, brands, and products have suddenly leaped out in front of the competition from major companies.
Requirements for safety and transparency
There are increasing needs for products that do not include toxic substances and harmful components. Hence, there has been an increased movement toward the requirement for transparency regarding factors such as cleanliness, product manufacturing, and product components. For example, the Personal Care Product Safety Act, a piece of federal legislation formed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States that strengthens the regulation and supervision of cosmetics and personal care products, has risen to prominence. At the same time, to stay in line with public opinion even before the pros and cons of such legislation being adopted become clear, companies in the industry have been deeply considering—more than ever before—not just transparency for factors such as product safety, components, and manufacturing methods but also the ability to recycle product packaging.
Requirements in intense competition
In recent years, it has become necessary to respond to advanced market requirements that are both diverse and various such as the intensification of competition due to the speed of changes in marketing strategies and trends and needs for quality, safety, and protection of the natural environment. As such, all companies—regardless of their scale—are pursuing accuracy and speed in research and development with a focus that has not been seen before.
Furthermore, frank opinions regarding the quality and usability of a product can be shared on e-commerce websites via reviews by people who have purchased the product, so if negative opinions of a product spread, the outcome is determined by how fast the product can be improved.
Latest Observation, Measurement, and Evaluation Information
A new era is dawning on the competition in the industries for cosmetics and personal care (such as skin care and hair care) products. The accuracy and speed of observation and evaluation are not only part of research and development, they are also one way to differentiate a company from its rivals on the sales floor. The microscope is one of the most important tools, and recent years have seen a trend toward the installation of microscopes that use cutting-edge technology to meet the needs of the current era.
KEYENCE’s VHX Series high-definition 4K Digital Microscope uses a specially designed high-resolution lens, 4K CMOS, and lighting to observe and evaluate skin and hair in a clear and fast manner.
Observation of skin texture (uneven surface)
Skin texture is evaluated according to the shallowness and detail of the uneven surface of skin. However, the shallower this uneven surface, the lower the contrast. A low contrast makes observation and evaluation difficult.
With the VHX Series 4K Digital Microscope, omnidirectional lighting data is automatically captured by the multi-lighting function with the easy operation of the push of a button.
Simply select the image most suitable for skin texture observation from among this data to greatly reduce the time conventionally spent on setting the lighting. Furthermore, after selecting or registering an image, it is also possible to immediately load an image with different lighting conditions by way of easy mouse operations.
Handheld observation of skin texture (uneven surface)
With a 4K Digital Microscope, handheld observation can be used to express the crista cutis and sulcus cutis of the skin surface with high definition.
With KEYENCE’s latest 4K Digital Microscope, the handheld observation-compatible lens, which realises a deep depth of field, makes it possible to observe microscopic uneven surfaces of skin easily and with high definition. Hence, faster and more accurate evaluation of skin texture is possible.
3D shape measurement and evaluation of skin texture (uneven surface)
Generally, smooth and beautiful skin has fine crista cutis and shallow sulcus cutis on the skin surface. Skin can be evaluated correctly by measuring the 3D shape and the depth and height of the uneven surface and by converting the measured results to numeric values.
With the VHX Series 4K Digital Microscope, the 3D data of the target is obtained at the same time that imaging is performed, so the uneven surface status can be measured. Also, numeric values of the shape and height of the uneven surface of the cross section are obtained during 3D profile measurement, so variations in the evaluations of skin texture, which was a conventional issue, can be quantified.
3D data and measured values can be used to enable quantitative evaluation using numeric values. These quantitative evaluations can be used to improve the accuracy and speed of product research, development, and improvement and can be put to use in trend analysis.
Observation of emulsions (emulsification/dispersed state)
Emulsions are frequently used as the base material of cosmetics such as makeup and skin care products and have high energy states, so various adjustments are required to stabilise emulsions. The state and stability vary greatly due to minor differences in mixing method and composition. Therefore, in R&D promotion, it is very important to accurately observe the dispersion status of particles in O/W emulsification or W/O emulsification of emulsions.
With the VHX Series 4K Digital Microscope, the focus view camera captures the lens and the target from a direction parallel to the stage, and the user needs only to click the intuitive GUI. The focusing and lighting settings can be configured easily and quickly, thereby enabling clear and high-definition observation of the emulsification and dispersed state while, at the same time, greatly shortening the observation time.
Particle size distribution of emulsions (quantitative evaluation)
In addition to planning to stabilise an emulsion, it is also important to physically quantify and evaluate the feeling of using the emulsion (the particle size distribution). In the rheological approach, the tactile sensation is derived from an evaluation index from various parameters, and attempts are made to evaluate this sensation.
With KEYENCE’s latest 4K Digital Microscope, high-definition imaging and image processing technology enable automatic analysis and quantitative evaluation of the particle size distribution.
With the VHX Series 4K Digital Microscope, the automatic area measurement function can be used to automatically complete advanced image analysis.
Area measurements, counts, and histogram conversions on the target within the specified range with the easy operation of the push of a button. Also, analysis can be performed after excluding targets that are not required and separating overlapping targets. Even people who are not familiar with the operations of digital microscopes can easily and quickly obtain highly accurate analysis results.
Observation and evaluation of hair cuticles
One of the items for evaluating hair quality and the results of hair products is the evaluation of cuticle peeling.
With the VHX Series 4K Digital Microscope, Optical Shadow Effect Mode can be used to analyse the contrast from an image lit from multiple directions, thereby enabling detections of microscopic uneven surfaces such as those on cuticles. In addition, colour information can be overlaid on the Optical Shadow Effect Mode image, making it possible to express the uneven surface information and the colour information at the same time. Furthermore, uneven surface information can be displayed with different colours in an easy to understand manner.
The features described above make it possible to easily observe and evaluate cuticles.
The Latest Tools for Increasing the Speed of R&D
As explained above, the VHX Series high-definition 4K Digital Microscope enables easy observation.
The VHX Series can greatly reduce the time spent on research and development of cosmetics and can increase both the accuracy and speed of the quality improvement cycle and R&D.
The VHX Series is also equipped with other functions that are useful in observation and evaluation, making it a powerful partner in overcoming the constantly changing trends and intense competition in the industry. For product details, click the button shown below to download the catalogue. For inquiries, click the other button shown below to contact KEYENCE.
