Kao Corporation has developed a new method of measuring skin damage from UV rays.
The new technology has been developed to quantify hidden skin damage from daily exposure to UV light, based on the measurement of ultraweak photons emitted from the body, known as biophotons.
Biophotons are photons of light in the ultraviolet and low visible light range generated within the body.
This technology is therefore able to assess the extent of invisible skin damage one to three minutes after exposure.
Whereas, traditional methods of measuring UV damage are performed by assessing skin erythema (redness) a day after exposure.
UV-induced skin damage is known to accelerate symptoms of photoaging such as pigment spots, wrinkles and sagging skin.
Kao hopes this new tool will help in detecting unintended skin damage and the development of more efficient skin protecting technologies to protect even against slight UV-induced damage.
Further research has also revealed substantial biophoton signals are produced in a UV dose-dependent manner, even if there is no detectable change in skin colour.