Background/aims: A new device allowing recording capacitance images of the skin surface was recently presented. Parameters, extracted from the gray-level histogram of the images, are tested for a new approach of skin surface hydration measurement in comparison with the classical capacitance method. Illustration of the interest of having both images and parameters for studying the homogeneity and the level of skin surface hydration are presented.
Methods: Software for selecting a region of interest from an image and measuring the parameters derived from its gray-level histogram was used to characterize skin hydration.
Results: There is a very close correlation between a Corneometer and the parameters extracted from the SkinChip measurements. The importance of having capacitance images of skin is demonstrated in case of non-homogeneity of the skin hydration, either because of photoaging or following an inflammation process.
Conclusion: Capacitance imaging is a necessary tool for both completely describing and quantifying skin surface hydration.