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Divergences in instrumental examination results and results of sensory

analysis of skin hydration after application of moisturizing cosmetic
emulsions

Chapter · January 2016

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Jerzy Szakiel
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Jerzy SZAKIEL

DIVERGENCES IN INSTRUMENTAL EXAMINATION RESULTS

AND RESULTS OF SENSORY ANALYSIS OF SKIN HYDRATION
AFTER APPLICATION OF MOISTURIZING COSMETIC
EMULSIONS

The analysis of legal regulations governing the market of cosmetic products has
demonstrated that the legal standards stipulate in detail the general requirements and rules
on how to perform tests only in terms of the composition of cosmetic products. However,
there are no standardized test methods of other cosmetic properties. Current standards focus
solely on ensuring that cosmetic products are safe. What they do not include are, for
example, the requirements regarding the level of quality of the finished product, which is of
vital importance for consumers - who not only expect the products to be safe, but also to
boast as good quality as possible.
This paper presents a comparison of research results on the level of skin hydration
obtained through sensory evaluation and conductometric analysis. The results of this
research help provide an answer to the question whether the results obtained with
instrumental research methods are characterized by a strong correlation with the sensory
evaluation test results. Replacement of sensory analysis with the instrumental method
would significantly accelerate the research on innovations in terms of compositions of
moisturizing cosmetics and lead to a large decrease in research costs. A prerequisite,
however, is a strong correlation between subjectively perceived sensory impressions and
the results of objective conductometric tests performed with the use of a specific method.
The results thus obtained, through appropriate selection of research material, may also help
assess the impact of nanoparticles, or the ingredients produced with the application of
nanotechnology methods and techniques, on the overall effectiveness of the cosmetic
products.

1 Research material

Eight cosmetic emulsions of Polish production were selected for the study (Table 1).
Among the products were: hand creams, cleansing milks and face creams. Half of the
selected cosmetics had nanoparticles in their composition and/or contained
nanotechnologically produced ingredients. All of the products tested are available on Polish
market.
For the purpose of sensory analysis, cosmetic products were divided into four pairs:
 Each pair represented products of similar function (e.g. hand creams),
 In each pair, the first product contained nanoparticles in its composition and the
other did not
 Product formulations and active substances of both cosmetics were comparable,
except for the nanotechnologically produced components and/or those that can be
defined as nanoparticles
2

The pairs of cosmetics and the individual code number each of the products was given
are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. The pairs of cosmetic products and their individual code numbers
Pair Product Product
Product name
ID ID code
Krem do rąk aktywne rozjaśnianie
1 675
1 (Ziaja Ltd Zakład Produkcji Leków Sp. z o. o.)
2 Krem do rąk wygładzający kolagenowy (Miraculum S.A.) 558
Witaminowe mleczko do demakijażu z ekstraktem z
3 zielonej herbaty 935
2 (Nantes Systemy Nanotechnologii Sp. z o. o.)
Mleczko kosmetyczne – oczyszcza, łagodzi, nawilża
4 441
(Uroda Polska Sp. z o. o.)
Krem antybakteryjny (Ziaja Ltd Zakład Produkcji Leków
5 600
Sp. z o. o.)
3
Krem nawilżająco – matujący przeciw błyszczeniu
6 840
(Laboratorium Kosmetyczne Dr Irena Eris)
7 Krem matująco-nawilżający (Świt Pharma) 934
4 Krem ogórkowy (Ziaja Ltd Zakład Produkcji Leków Sp. z
8 324
o. o.)
Source: own research

2 Sensory examination of the skin hydration after application of selected

moisturizing cosmetic emulsions with the use of linear scale

The tests were performed by a sensory panel of 54 subjects classified as selected

assessors. The team consisted of the students of Faculty of Commodity Science at Cracow
University of Economics.
All assessors had obtained positive results in tests towards sensory sensitivity (sight,
smell, touch) and completed a 45-hour course in the field of sensory analysis. Among all
assessors (a group of 120 students), i.e. those participating in sensory analysis, a team of 54
subjects, who boasted the required level of sensory sensitivity, was selected. Due to the
specificity of the attribute tested (the level of skin hydration), only those subjects who
showed particular sensitivity of touch were selected to form the sensory panel. The test of
sensory sensitivity of touch included exteroceptive and proprioceptive sensation.
The sensory tests were conducted in the Sensory Analysis Laboratory at the Department
of Industrial Commodity Science, Cracow University of Economics, Poland.
The test samples were prepared in accordance with the subject area standards:
 all samples were prepared with the utmost care to avoid any risk of assessors’
observing the whole or any part of the preparation process; the same equipment and
tools were used (including identical laboratory glassware),
 the presentation of samples made it impossible to draw any conclusions about
them, their production method, brand etc.
 the quantity of each sample submitted for testing was the same in every case
 3

 the laboratory glassware with the use of which the samples were presented had all
been coded by three-digit random numbers (the assessors did not know the names of
cosmetics brands and the manufacturers of the products which were tested)
Before the test, each assessor became acquainted with the test methods, evaluation
forms, and how to note down the results. The assessors performed the test in a manner that
prevented contact with other members of the evaluation team (i.e. they were assigned
separate booths), and each of them received four pairs of cosmetics products (each product
coded by a three-digit random number).
The aim of the study was to obtain information on how the perception of the intensity of
skin hydration after application of a particular moisturizing cosmetic emulsion changes
from the moment of first application up to an hour later. The samples were selected in such
a way as to ensure that in each pair there was a product whose key ingredient with a direct
impact on the level of hydration was actually made with the application of nanotechnology
solutions.
The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the degree of hydration of the skin after
application of selected emulsions using unstructured, bipolar linear scale. In order to obtain
reproducible results it was decided to use a 100mm bipolar scale.
Separate evaluations were expressed in millimeters as a distance of the point
(corresponding to the intensity of the characteristic tested) indicated by the assessor from
the zero point on the scale. Thus expressed value reflects the percentage of intensity of a
given attribute relative to a maximum point on the applied scale.
During the study, selected assessors were to evaluate the intensity of skin hydration
after a separate application of each cosmetic product:
 immediately after application
 one hour after the application
Estimating the intensity of hydration involved assigning an appropriate value on the
scale of 1 – 100 by the assessor (where 1 stood for dry skin, and 100 for very intensely
hydrated skin). In this case, the assessors did not have access to a control sample of known
intensity values of skin hydration.

3 Sensory analysis – test results

To analyze and interpret the test results obtained by scaling with a linear scale, standard
subject matter guidelines were applied. The assessors used unstructured intensity scale with
only two marginal points defined, and they did not have access to a control sample of
already estimated intensity value. The test results are presented as arithmetic averages.
Figure 1 and 2 present the intensity of skin hydration assessed with the use of linear
scaling in each pair of products: right after application to the skin (Fig. 1) and an hour later
(Fig. 2). Data presented in graphs show that differences in the perception of the intensity of
skin hydration among test participants regarding particular products in pairs are rather
small. The data presented in Fig. 1 show that cosmetics with nanoparticles are generally
perceived as intensely hydrating the skin immediately after application. Based on the data
presented in Fig. 2 it may be concluded that cosmetics containing nanoparticles are
considered better in two cases out of four.
On analyzing the above test results obtained by methods of sensory analysis it can be
concluded that the results do not allow to clearly demonstrate that cosmetics products that
4

contain nanoparticles are noticeably better perceived by consumers than their counterparts
which do not contain such structures.

Figure 1. Intensity of skin hydration assessed with the use of linear scaling right after
application to the skin of products:  - containing nanoparticles,  - without
nanoparticles
Source: own research

Figure 2. Intensity of skin hydration assessed with the use of linear scaling one hour after
application to the skin of products:  - containing nanoparticles,  - without
nanoparticles
Source: own research

4 Research methodology – determination of electrical conductivity after

application of cosmetic emulsions
 5

In order to perform instrumental research, a specially designed and manufactured

processor device for assessing the degree of skin hydration on the basis of its electrical
conductivity was used. The device consists of two modules: an analog humidity sensor and
a processor evaluation board ATB 1.04 produced by ATNEL, which allows to program the
processors from ATmega family and to make flexible connections with peripherals.
In the project, the processor ATmega32 was used. It supports 32kB flash memory and
4kB RAM, with external quartz at a frequency of 16MHz. The software controlling the
operation of the processor is written in C with the use of Eclipse Indigo which acts on the
basis of the principles of free software development environment. The source code of the
main module of the program is shown in Fig. 4. For the purpose of the research, a prototype
of an analog electrical conductivity sensor was designed and manufactured, the Circuit
diagram of which is presented in Fig. 3.
The measuring system uses a generator in Wien half-bridge. The signal from that
generator is gated by U1D system. A contact of the detection surface with an electrically
conductive object (such as e.g. human body, consisting of approx. 70% water) triggers the
signal from the generator to pass through the U1D and D1 diode. The capacitor C6 serves
as an integrator designed to obtain a voltage proportional to the electric conductivity of the
placed object. U1B is responsible for matching the output signal so as it fell within the
range from 00 to 100mV. To set both thresholds (100mV when the detection surface is dry,
0mV when it is wetted with water) two potentiometers are used: R12A and R14A. U3 and
U4 systems are used to process the power supply 12V to ±5V powering electronics (U4
reduces the voltage to 5V, whereas the U3 converts it).
The design was also to use the heating system in order to maintain constant temperature
of the detector plate. However, preliminary experiments showed no effect of the sensor
temperature on the obtained results, allowing the disconnection of the heating system and
thus making it possible to supply the entire system with a compact gel battery. The use of a
DC voltage source in place of the previously used stabilized power supply allowed for a
higher precision of measurement due to elimination of a possible occurrence of the ripple
effect.
The analog output of the humidity sensor is connected with the A7 port of the processor
ATmega32, while the mass of the sensor has been bridged with analog mass of the
evaluation board. In order to obtain clear measurement results, an analog to digital
convertor ADC0 embedded into ATmega32 processor was used (internal reference voltage
with a value of 2.56V). The applied program is responsible for averaging the results
obtained based on a series of instantaneous measurements and rescaling them to 0-100,
where 0 means no conductivity and 100 means complete wetting of detection surface. The
results are dimensionless in form. The prototype of the device especially made for the
purpose of the study is presented in Fig. 5.
6

Figure 3. Circuit diagram of conductivity sensor

Source: own research
 7

#include <avr/io.h> }
#include <avr/interrupt.h> else {
#include <util/delay.h> sr=usr*sr;
#include <stdint.h> sr=sr+value*factor;
#include <string.h> sr=sr/(usr+1);
#include <stdlib.h> }
#include "LCD/lcd44780.h" v=sr;
#define VREF_256 (1<<REFS1)|(1<<REFS0) if(!time) {
#define VREF_256_MUL 25 //(uint16_t)((2.56*10000)/1024) if ((sr*1.01>sr1) && (sr*0.99<sr1)){
volatile uint32_t value; lcd_locate(0,0);
int main(void) v1 = v*25/factor/10;
{ v1=112-v1;
DDRC |= (1<<PC7); lcd_int( v1 );
PORTC |= (1<<PC7); lcd_str(" ");
lcd_init(); }
ADMUX = 7; sr1=sr;
ADMUX |= VREF_256; time=10;
ADCSRA = (1<<ADEN)|(1<<ADPS2)|(1<<ADPS1)| } else time--;
(1<<ADPS0); if (timer>50000){
lcd_cls(); lcd_cls();
lcd_str("start..."); lcd_locate(1,0);
_delay_ms(1000); lcd_int(v1);
lcd_cls(); _delay_ms(3000);
uint32_t v, sr=0, v1=0, time=5, sr1=0, timer=0; lcd_cls();
while(1) timer=0;
{ }
uint16_t usr=2000, factor=2500; if (v1==0) timer=0;
ADCSRA |= (1<<ADSC); timer++;
while( !(ADCSRA & (1<<ADSC)) ); }
value = ADCW; }
if (value*factor*1.1<sr) {
sr=value*factor;

Figure 4. Source code for ATmega32 processor used during examination

Source: own research

Figure 5. The prototype of the device

Source: own research

5 Determination of electrical conductivity of skin – test results

In parallel with sensory analysis, the study of electrical conductivity of human skin was
also performed. The results show that directly after application of moisturizing cosmetic
8

emulsions to the skin it is impossible to conduct the measurement with the use of the
sensor, since the remains of the product on the skin surface lead to obtaining false data.
Oftentimes, the device showed 100% electrical conductivity. That is why, the study was
limited to the measurements performed one hour after application. The electrical
conductivity test results and their comparison with the results of the sensory analysis are
presented in Fig. 6.

Figure 6. Comparison of the sensory examination results and the electrical conductivity
test results.
Source: own research

The results indicate that there is a strong correlation (0.91) between the average results
of electrical conductivity tests and those obtained from the sensory analysis of skin
hydration. The average results obtained instrumentally show noticeably higher values
compared to the average sensory evaluation, which may be due to the differences in the
scales used for both methods.
Averaged results do not, however, reflect relatively large individual differences between
the instrumental and sensory analyses, which in extreme cases reach values of 19%. This
may be explained by subjectivity of the sensory evaluation, which according to its basic
assumptions, requires a particular number of ratings to be made in order to eliminate
discrepancies between individual ones. Another way to reduce the individual variances
between sensory evaluations is to ensure a long-term training of the assessors, which is
very difficult to achieve in practice, is time-consuming and cost-intensive.
The results obtained with the use of instrumental test methods of electrical conductivity
of the skin show a slight divergence when the same cosmetic product is applied by different
subjects. These variances were up to 8% of the mean value. The deviations may be due to
differences in moisturizing effects of the products on different subjects and the
physiological condition of the assessors (in terms of the amount of water in the body or
extreme conditions such as dehydration).
In conclusion, the performance of the study of electrical conductivity of the skin using a
standardized method allows for the assessment of the moisturizing effect of cosmetic
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emulsions on human skin. It is advisable, however, to conduct further studies that will
determine the minimum sample size ensuring the reproducibility of the results.

Publication was financed from the funds granted to the Faculty of Commodity Science
at Cracow University of Economics, within the framework of the subsidy for the
maintenance of research potential.

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