Tuesday, January 15, 2008

A whiter shade of pale

When we render complexion in preferred color reproduction, we must enhance the color to match local cultural expectations. The expectations are set by color consultants, who are influenced by what is available from industry. A recent breakthrough will require we tweak our color lookup tables.

CC-By-SA-2.5 Daniel BachlerKanebo Cosmetics Inc., the maker of the Blanchir brand of medicated whitening skin care, has developed a way to double the skin-penetrating capacity of magnolignan, a compound for skin whitening products that inhibits the activity of the enzyme tyrosinase which catalyzes the production of melanin. By adjusting the ingredients of the carrier oil, Kanebo was able to develop a formulation of magnolignan that penetrates below the keratinous layer to the true skin, where the cells that activate melanocytes live.

The new product will be released this spring, so there is still plenty of time to update the perceptual color rendering tables.

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