As the seasons change, so do Korean men’s skin barriers

28-Jan-2015 - Last updated on 27-Jan-2015 at 16:22 GMT

When the seasons change so can our mood or outlook, or even… South Korean men’s skin. A new study by the Inha University College of Medicine claims the factors that can maintain homogeneity of the skin barriers may noticeably change by seasons in the country’s male population.

The physiological characteristics of the skin are very different, depending on gender, age, region and race, and many dermatologic researches have been performed through various research methods.

With this in mind, the Korean research team set about finding how Korean men's skin conditions were influenced by temperature or humidity changes caused by seasonal rotations.

Their study showed that the skin surface pH, Transepidermal Water Loss (TEWL), sebum content, hydration, elasticity, wrinkles, skin pore and skin sensitivity, all vary with seasons and body regions in Korean men.

Research

For the research, 100 healthy Korean men, aged between 20–59 years old, participated for both summer and winter, comparing the characteristics of both.

The skin hydration, skin pH and TEWL were evaluated on the forehead, cheek and forearm. The skin sebum content of the glabella, nasal ala and cheek was measured using Sebumeter, while elasticity was measured by on the cheeks with Cutometer, and PRIMOS lite was used to evaluate wrinkles on crow's feet.

The skin pore of the face was also measured using the Janus, which is a facial analysis system.

Findings

The team found that the comparison of hydration in summer and winter showed significant differences in the forehead, cheeks and forearm.

The pH values of the skin surface were generally higher in winter and significantly different on each site; and the sebum content was higher in summer than in winter.

As a result of the pore measurement, the summer showed more pores compared to the winter, and there was a statistically significant difference in skin pores between summer and winter.

The sensitivity measured by stinging test increases significantly more in winter than in summer. However, there were no seasonal differences in wrinkles and skin brightness.

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Song, E. J., Lee, J. A., Park, J. J., Kim, H. J., Kim, N. S., Byun, K. S., Choi, G. S. and Moon, T. K. (2015), A study on seasonal variation of skin parameters in Korean males. International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 37: 92–97. doi: 10.1111/ics.12174