Skin colour measurement

• A few devices exist for the measurement of skin colour. These devices are generally called skin colorimeters. The most well-known existing colorimeters are Chromameter, Mexameter, and the newly developed device DermaCatch.
• Skin colorimeters are usually equipped with a handpiece which is put on the desired area of the skin and emits certain wavelenghts on the skin surface. On the basis of the reflected light, the colorimeter calculates the colour of the skin.

• The Chromameter (Minolta) is, in fact, a general colorimeter not especially developed for the skin colour measurement. However, it has long been used for this purpose. Chromameter does not instantly provide the « pigmentation » and « redness » values of the skin, but provides the l*a*b* values. The pigmentation value should then be calculated by using certain formulations.
• The Chromemeter needs to be be plugged into electrical outlet and is thus not handheld.
• The price of the Chromameter is a few thousands dollars.

• The Mexameter (Khazaka) is a colorimeter which is more specific for the measurement of skin colour. Its advantage over the Chromameter is that it instantly shows the pigmentation and redness values of the skin and thus there is no need for further calculations.
• However, the device has its own limitations. For example, it is very sensitive to the environmental light and therefore should be used in a dark place.
• In a research trial performed by Scientis company (Switzerland) the Mexameter showed a few disadvantages; the most important being the fact that with increasing skin redness, the Mexameter became significantly less precise for the measurement of skin pigmentation (showing falsely lower values for pigmentation).
• The Mexameter should be plugged into electrical outlet and is thus not handheld.
• The price of the Mexameter is a few thousand dollars.

• The DermaCatch (Colorix) is a new type of colorimeter that uses a different technique for the calculation of skin colour.
• DermaCatch displays pigmentation and redness values on its screen and thus there is no need for further calculations. In a well-controlled research trial comparing DermaCatch with Mexameter, Dermacatch showed to remain precise for skin pigmentation measurement even in the case of significant increases in skin redness (Mexameter showed falsely lower pigmentation values when the skin redness increased).
• Another advantage of the DermaCatch was its higher reproducibility and the fact that it was not sensitive to the environmental light.
• The DermaCatch is powered by a battery and is thus handheld.
• This device seems to be a promissing skin colorimeter which has solved many technical problems of skin colorimetry.

 To learn more about Dermacatch, click here.