Skin clarity deemed the hallmark of youth

Tokyo advertising agency I & S BBDO has released findings of a research project to explore the role of skin transparency in people’s perceptions of women. The project was undertaken in conjunction with Shiseido’s White Lucent skin care brand

The survey involved 207 men and women in their 20s and 30s living in the Tokyo metropolitan area. It was carried out through street interviews during December 2012. The results showed that first impressions of a woman are influenced by her skin clarity, among both men and women

Respondents were shown almost identical photographs of a young woman. The pictures differed only in the appearance of the skin, which varied slightly in transparency/clarity. Respondents were asked their opinion of the age of the pictured lady. Pictures with the more transparent skin were consistently reckoned to be of a younger lady than the others. The mean age of the lady with transparent skin was 23.5 compared with an age of 35.1 for less transparent skin. Small differences between estimates by male and female respondents were not significant.

The research concluded that skin transparency was a key factor for ladies in maintaining youthful appearance and also in creating favourable first impressions