Stabilization of facial skin physiological parameters after exposure to summer and winter climatic conditions

Abstract

Background: An increasing number of methods have been developed to determine skin properties in an objective way. Variable atmospheric conditions or climatic changes influence the physiological reaction process occurring in skin. Clinical studies investigating skin conditions are often performed through different seasonal environments. Therefore, physiological stabilization course in a standard environment is necessary to exclude climatic influence before measuring skin physiological parameters. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate stabilization course of several skin physiological parameters after exposure to summer and winter conditions. Methods: Fifteen healthy volunteers (9 males, 6 females) with normal skin, of age 20 to 35 (mean 25.3) years were included in the study. After 30 minutes exposure to summer or winter climatic conditions, the volunteers stayed in the standard environment for 30 minutes. Skin surface temperature, skin color, transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and sebum were measured every 10 minutes in the standard room. Results: Skin surface temperature stabilized after 20 minutes on forehead and 30 minutes on cheek irrespective of the season. Skin color (L*, a*, b*) stabilized after 20 minutes in standard environment irrespective of the season and location of measurement. TEWL stabilized after 10 minutes and sebum stabilized after 20 minutes in standard environment irrespective of the season and location of measurement. Conclusion: To obtain stabilized values of skin surface temperature, skin color, TEWL and sebum irrespective of season and measurement location, 30 minutes of stabilization course is needed.