Key Takeaways:
Shiseido unveiled a breakthrough optical imaging system that measures how light passes through the different layers of skin, revealing why some complexions appear luminous while others look flat, dull, or fatigued. In doing this, the brand is shifting the idea of “translucent skin” from an abstract aesthetic goal into a noninvasive, three-dimensional analysis.
The conglomerate, known for breakthrough technologies that deepen our understanding of skin and elevate product performance, adds to its innovation portfolio with this new light-measuring tool. Shiseido’s award-winning diagnostic tools, like the Shiseido Skin Visualizer, which maps capillary and internal skin conditions, have allowed the company toconsistently translate cutting-edge research into beauty solutions. Shiseido collaborated with the Muroran Institute of Technology to create this 3D optical measurement system.
Shiseido’s optical technology illustrates how melanin protects the skin, that higher levels help to block light, protecting cells from oxidative stress and free-radical damage. The imaging system also shows that lower melanin levels mean less controlled interaction with light, which can reduce radiance and increase vulnerability to damage.
The tool also assesses collagen status in living human skin, evaluating collagen fiber density and analyzing the correlation between the two. Ageing sees a depletion of collagen, less light is reflected back, resulting in skin that appears dull and flat. We have long known that melanin protects skin, and collagen declines with age. What is new is the ability to measure these changes in three dimensions, in living faces, without invasive procedures. For the first time, Shiseido can visualize collagen density inside the skin, quantify how much light is truly reaching into and returning from deeper layers, and track how aging, pigmentation, and treatments alter radiance. This transforms “glow” from a subjective marketing claim into something that can be scientifically optimized.
Shiseido’s work signals a larger shift in skincare: moving from products that promise radiance to technologies that can engineer it at a biological level. Future formulas could be designed to support optimal melanin balance, preserve and rebuild collagen where light matters most, and maximize beneficial light scattering while minimizing oxidative stress. With this new 3D optical tool, beauty science is finally learning how to see glow the way biology does.