Skin redness can be triggered by heat, cold, sun exposure, irritants, barrier damage and cosmetic procedures. For cosmetic anti-redness testing, researchers use induction methods to simulate these triggers, but responses are not always consistent. This single-blind, monocentric study enrolled 78 healthy Asian women aged 18–60 to characterize two short-term erythema models—50% glycolic acid on the face and tape stripping on the forearm—and to identify sensitive evaluation endpoints. Stage 2 used a reference cosmetic product containing Symsitive, hyaluronic acid and panthenol solely to assess whether the models could detect short-term treated-versus-untreated differences, not to confirm product efficacy.
Glycolic acid induction was performed under dermatologist supervision. Assessments included 5-point clinical grading, erythema index, a* value and imaging analysis. In Stage 1, both models induced significant erythema versus untreated controls. In Stage 2, the glycolic acid model detected reference product-related redness reduction on clinical grading at 4 h (P = 0.009) and 24 h (P = 0.020), and on VISIA-CR red-area analysis at 1 h, 2 h and 24 h (P < 0.05). The tape stripping model showed numerical improvement on clinical grading at 2–4 h, without significant treated-versus-untreated differences. No protocol-defined adverse events were recorded through 24 h.
The authors conclude that the glycolic acid model suits chemical irritation-related facial erythema, while tape stripping suits barrier-disruption erythema on body skin. Clinical grading and imaging were most sensitive for the glycolic acid model; tape stripping was mainly supported by grading at 2–4 h. Both models are presented as a practical framework for matching anti-redness claims to the erythema phenotype rather than as definitive validation. Delayed irritation and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation beyond 24 h cannot be excluded.
The work titled “Exploration of Anti-Redness Short-Term Evaluation Models for Cosmetics in Asian Females: Anti-Redness Cosmetics Evaluation Exploration” was published on Skin (published on September 23, 2026).
DOI:10.2738/SKIN.2026.0024