Skin Colorimeter for Skin and Hair Color Measuring

It's important to be able to measure colors accurately because it has become essential in certain industries where appearance and biological differences matter. For cosmetics, dermatology, pharmaceuticals, and personal care research, skin colorimeters are a necessity as we cannot rely on our eyes. We use color measurement technology as a science and a solution to provide a dependable and consistent measurement in skin and hair color analysis. 

At first, skin and hair color as a concept seems conic, however, it contains a complex biological and optical phenomena. Color perception is affected by pigmentation, blood flow, and various other skin surface phenomena. A colorimeter eliminates these optical factors by measuring color using reflected light and converting it to numbers. These numbers are a good representation of color, and can even be assessed and monitored over time.

How Do Skin Colorimeter Work?

In simple words, a colorimeter is a tool used to measure the color of a person's skin by shining a light on the skin and using a light sensor to calculate the color of the light reflecting from the skin. Then the skin color is compared to a scale based on a specific color system used in skin color research. This is done by everyone to get the same result every time and to get the same result to eliminate the subjectivity of the readings by the person taking the measurement. 

More expensive professional colorimeters use a special system of color measurement. This system uses light and divides it into colors (chromatic components). This allows the researches to measure the amount of light (brightness) and the amount of the red and yellow colors in the light (chromatic components) of it. This is really important when you need to measure how much the skin changes color, gets irritated, gets a tan, or how much damage the pigments in the skin have. This is how colorimeters are used in a lot of research and in different industries. 

Standard Release: Standardization of Skin Color Measurement

Skin color measurement has long been plagued by inconsistent results due to the complexity of skin structure and non-unified measurement conditions, which undermines the comparability and reliability of both scientific research and industrial applications. Relevant technical authorities at home and abroad have formulated certain specifications and recommendations, two of which are briefly listed below:

CIE Recommendations

The International Commission on Illumination (CIE) has not issued mandatory standards for skin color measurement. However, it recently released the technical report CIE 251:2025 Measurement of Human Skin Color, which provides unified, repeatable recommendations for skin color measurement in scientific research and industrial applications based on rigorous experiments.

China National Standards (Specifications)

On February 18, 2021, the National Medical Products Administration of China incorporated seven testing methods, including Test Methods for Efficacy Evaluation of Cosmetic Skin Lightening and Freckle Removing Products (Annex 7), into the Technical Specifications for Cosmetic Safety. This move established a standardized basis for evaluating the efficacy of skin lightening and freckle removing products.

This testing method recommends using the L*, a*, b* values of each test area measured by a skin colorimeter. Each area shall be tested three times, and the ITA° value shall be recorded and calculated. The higher the ITA° value, the lighter the skin color; conversely, the lower the value, the darker the skin color. This indicator has become the gold standard for evaluating the efficacy of skin lightening products.

Measuring the color of a person's hair follows the same principles of research, but there are additional challenges it presents. Looking at hair, light behaves in a much more complicated way. Hair can scatter and reflect light at different angles and different amounts of light. Professional colorimeters measure these challenges using special geometric measurements and measurement probes to measure hair color accurately.

How About Some Measurements Made Right

Skin colorimeters have a few different aspects other than optics that can affect reliability. Quality instruments have stable white source lights that enable uniform visibility over the entire color spectrum. This is important for the accurate capturing and retention of color over time which prevents color drift and secures reliability over long periods. 

Interchangeable measurement tips is also a nice feature. General skin area measurement can be done and more localized areas like freckles, lips, nails with more pointed tips which can also be conical. This tips flexiblity allows for accurate measurement over a wider variety of purposes. 

Constant probe placement is also important. Even slight variations in angle or pressure can be really affect the results. Some devices have integration positioning aids to guide the user in achieving optimal contact with the surface to be measured. This helps mitigate any user-induced variability and allows for measurements to be made in a streamlined fashion, and especially for long duration studies or in settings with multiple different users.

Research Applications in Cosmetics and Personal Care  

Colorimetery is continuously being applied in a variety of fields, including the development of cosmetics and personal care products. Skincare products like brightening creams, sunscreen, anti-redness creams, and self-tanning products are thoroughly evaluated by researchers, taking objective color measurement data and assessing performance. Recognizing and measuring color the changes to skin after a product is used helps developers assess product effectiveness without relying solely on subjective evaluations.  

Color measurement technology also helps in the dye performance and color retention stability research of various hair care products. A colorimeter can assess color retention, performance after washing, UV exposure or exposure to other chemicals, and fades of dye in hair. This data is key in making sure a formulation can be used on various hair types and conditions and will achieve the desired results.  

3nh colorimeters tackle the personal care industry challenges economically by focusing on color measurement. These skin colorimeters enable product testing to become a measurable and repeatable exercise.

Clinical and Dermatological Use Cases

As hyperpigmentation, erythema, and post-inflammatory discoloration are all conditions that could be described visually, a skin condition colorimeter in a clinical and dermatological setting is a great tool that can be used over a period of time to monitor changes in a patient's skin condition quantitatively in a clinical and dermatological setting. This allows evaluatively progressive objective evaluations of milestones and treatment decisions to be made by via measurable change.

Color metric standardization is a requirement of clinical trials. New therapy treatment compliance and results that show concurrent positive changes in all study participants is a necessity. Ongoing study skin colorimeters support baseline metric value contouring and optimal data synthesis to achieve set study parameters.

3NH Colorimeter Application Case

Motion Sickness Research (Medical Field) Instrument Used: 3nh TS7600 Spectrophotometer In the medical field, a joint research team from the Fourth Military Medical University and Yan'an University published an innovative study in Frontiers in Neurology. This research pioneered the objective assessment of Motion Sickness (MS) severity through skin color measurement.

The study employed the 3nh TS7600 spectrophotometer to measure the L*a*b* values and average values (CIE-L*L−R, CIE-a*L−R) of cheek skin. Combined with machine learning algorithms, an objective evaluation model for Motion Sickness (MS) susceptibility was established. This method breaks through the limitations of traditional subjective rating scales, providing a novel approach for medical research.

The Value of Objectivity in Color Measurement  

The cognitive perception of color is subjective due to illumination changes, contrast, and vision differences. Changes in subjective skin color descriptions can derive from inconsistent data from multiple observers of the same skin tone. Skin tone colorimeters convert subjective skin tone descriptions to standardized objective data. 

Skin Color Difference Measurement: TS7020

The TS7020 spectrophotometer is designed for skin color difference measurement, helping manufacturers control product consistency. In the cosmetics industry, precise color difference control is crucial to meeting the needs of consumers with different skin tones.

The importance of transparency and standardized color data comparison explains the absence of subjective skin tone descriptions in scientific research, quality control, and regulatory conditions. Stored results in laboratories, and studies enable systematic standardized color data traceability.

Working with Digital Systems

Today's skin colorimeters work well with digital and computerized systems, which hold and analyze measurement data. It helps record data incrementally, helps users track changes, creates reports, and shows trends that may not be visible or recognizable from a one-time measurement. Digital integration helps capture color data and enhances its value.

Skin Lightening Efficacy Measurement: TS7700

The TS7700 spectrophotometer can be connected to PC software to simultaneously measure L*a*b* and ITA° values. This system is capable of detecting imperceptible skin color changes that cannot be identified by the naked eye, providing reliable data support for product efficacy evaluation.

For years-long research projects involving digital data management, historical digital capture and measurement data remain easily retrievable and comparable. This essential historical data retrieval and comparison is especially important for studies that last for months or years and need the same method over and over.

Moving Foward

As more industries pursue personalization and data-driven progress, the need for accurate measurement and understanding of skin and hair color will only increase. Improvements will be centered on better measurement accuracy and ease of use along with advanced integration of analytical components. No loss of measurement accuracy will occur with more compact systems, better design, and improved ease of use.

A skin colorimeter is a measurement device, but more importantly, it is a tool that helps provide support for the transition that is occurring in some fields from vision-based qualitative assessment to the more accurate and objective measurements evaluation, assessment, and validation. These devices will be transformative in many fields, improve measurement accuracy, support research innovation, and more deeply define the skin and hair measurements and qualities that exist.

threenh.com is where organizations looking for reliable color measurement solutions go because of our commitment to accuracy, reliability, and scientific work in color measurement.