JP5738720B2 - Melanin synthesis ability evaluation method and beauty advice method, and melanin synthesis ability evaluation system and beauty advice system using them - Google Patents

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a melanin synthesis ability evaluation method and a beauty advice method, and a melanin synthesis ability evaluation system and a beauty advice system using the same, and more particularly, melanin for evaluating a person's ability to synthesize melanin from changes in ultraviolet irradiation amount and melanin amount. The present invention relates to a synthesis ability evaluation method and a beauty advice method capable of predicting a future melanin amount for each person and presenting beauty advice based on data accumulated in a database.

Conventionally, in the field of beauty counseling and medical care, there is a service for analyzing skin conditions such as spots, wrinkles, pores, texture, sebum amount, skin color, and the like and providing beauty advice accordingly. In that case, the evaluation of spots, wrinkles, pores, texture, etc. is performed by different measurement and analysis methods.
For example, with regard to the evaluation of the stain, the degree or the ease of the stain is evaluated by measuring and analyzing the excessive amount of melanin that causes the stain. At this time, analysis of the amount of melanin includes cell level analysis, skin level analysis, and the like. In the analysis at the cell level, a horny specimen is prepared, and the stain is evaluated by measuring from the two aspects of the amount of melanin per cell and the unevenness of the melanin distribution. In the skin level analysis, the surface condition of the skin is photographed using a microscope or the like, the amount of melanin is measured by analyzing the image for each color element, and the stain is evaluated.

  In the spot evaluation, an epidemiological population database is created by accumulating the evaluation results of the amount of melanin at the cell level or the skin level as described above. Using this database, the average value of melanin amount and spots can be obtained for any group such as by age group or region. And the system which evaluates the state of the present spot of the individual by comparing the average value and the newly measured individual data is developed (refer to patent documents 1 and 2). All of these techniques are suitable for evaluating the amount of melanin at the time of measurement, but the evaluation is based on the average value only and does not take into account the individual's constitution or normal amount of melanin. Therefore, it was insufficient to evaluate the state of the stain for each individual and to give future beauty advice for the state.

On the other hand, in recent years, it has been clarified that the state of the stain is affected by external factors such as the amount of ultraviolet rays and drying which vary depending on the season, internal factors such as hormone balance (menstrual cycle, etc.) and aging. Yes. For this reason, by incorporating these factors into the database, a system has been devised in which each factor is taken into account and advice is given for factors such as seasons and lifestyle habits, as well as the detailed status of stains (Patent Literature) 3-5). With such a technique, it has become possible to evaluate the state of the stain and specifically give beauty advice for future life patterns and seasonal changes.
However, in any system, since the current state of the stain is evaluated based on average values and experience values obtained from epidemiological data so far, it is a relative evaluation, and individual differences are not fully considered There was a problem.

  Recent studies have shown that there are individual differences in the values (blood pressure, blood glucose level, etc.) that indicate a person's physiological state, and they vary depending on the individual's state. For example, although the blood pressure shows a normal range, the blood pressure varies depending on the physical condition and the time zone to be measured, etc., and it is considered that only one measurement is insufficient to evaluate the normal value of the individual. Yes. The amount of melanin is one of the values that vary greatly from person to person and from time to time. This is because melanin synthesis has stages such as the beginning of melanin synthesis, the period when melanin synthesis is most active, and the period when melanin synthesis ends, and the state of melanin synthesis changes daily. (See Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2). In addition, there are individual differences in the degree of change and the ability to synthesize melanin. For this reason, as has been done in the past, even if the amount of melanin at that time can be evaluated by only one measurement of melanin and comparison based on the average value, the stage of melanin synthesis and future melanin synthesis It was difficult to determine the progress of It was also difficult to judge melanin synthesis ability for each individual. Under such circumstances, it has been desired to develop a method for enabling more effective and future evaluation of an individual's melanin synthesis and providing an optimal beauty advice for the individual.

JP 2003-199727 A JP 2007-133518 A JP 2001-353129 A JP 2006-103051 A JP 2007-130104 A

Fragrance Journal, Takashi Kitahara et al., 9, p9-15, 2000 Fragrance Journal, Hitoshi Masaki et al., 9, p16-23, 2000

As described above, an individual's skin condition (melanin synthesis) changes every day, and the degree of change and the ability to synthesize melanin vary greatly from person to person. Therefore, it is difficult to determine an individual's ability to synthesize melanin and the stage of melanin synthesis only by measuring the amount of melanin once. In particular, regarding melanin synthesis, melanin synthesis is induced in response to various external factors (climate, UV irradiation, season, etc.) and internal factors (menstrual cycle, skin care, lifestyle, stress, etc.). After a period when synthesis is thriving, it shifts to a period when melanin synthesis ends. In addition, melanin synthesis ability varies depending on each individual, and the amount of melanin actually synthesized varies from person to person.
For example, it is generally known that the amount of melanin synthesis increases from spring to summer, but the degree of increase (specifically, depending on the ability and speed of melanin production, the amount of accumulated melanin, etc.). Even among people of the same generation who live in an area with similar external factors, it varies from individual to individual. The cause may be that skin care and lifestyle habits differ from person to person, and that melanin synthesis ability is different. For this reason, the conventional method of measuring the amount of melanin once can know the current amount of melanin of the individual, but can judge the stage of melanin synthesis and accurately predict future changes in melanin. There was a problem that it was difficult to do. In addition, the ability of individuals to synthesize melanin could not be evaluated.

  In addition, despite the recent increase in awareness of UV protection and whitening, there was no way to evaluate an individual's ability to synthesize melanin. I couldn't.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned present situation, and it is possible to know the stage in which an individual's melanin synthesis induced by various external factors and internal factors is present, and the individual's melanin synthesis. Melanin synthesis ability evaluation and beauty advice that can evaluate ability, and can provide beauty advice including skin care and lifestyle habits that match the individual's melanin synthesis ability, and can predict future changes in melanin amount The purpose of this is to provide a method.

  The present inventors diligently studied to solve the above-mentioned problems, ascertained a variation in individual melanin amount, and found a method for evaluating melanin synthesis ability capable of evaluating an individual's ability to synthesize melanin and the stage of melanin synthesis. . In addition, it accurately determines external factors and / or internal factors that affect an individual's ability to synthesize melanin, and provides effective beauty advice tailored to each individual's ability to synthesize melanin and the stage of melanin synthesis. A beauty advice method and beauty advice system that can predict the amount of melanin in the future have been developed.

The present invention is as follows.
1. Measuring the amount of melanin for each person on at least two days, and storing and storing the amount of melanin in the customer information database as person data;
The measurement period is defined as the period during which the melanin amount is measured for one person in the melanin amount measurement step, and the amount of change in the melanin of the person in the measurement period and the ultraviolet irradiation amount stored and stored in the weather database , A melanin synthesis capacity calculation step for calculating the amount of melanin change per unit UV irradiation amount during the measurement period as the melanin synthesis capacity of the person,
A melanin synthesis ability evaluation method comprising:
2. Above 1. A beauty advice method using the described melanin synthesis ability evaluation method,
A customer information input step of storing and storing the internal factors in the measurement period input for each person as person data in the customer information database;
Corresponding to the measurement period in which the amount of melanin was measured for the subject, with the period before the previous year as a reference period, the person data stored in the customer information database and the ultraviolet irradiation amount stored in the weather database On the basis of, a matching information search step for extracting, as a reference person, one or more persons whose melanin synthesis ability in at least the reference period is close to the melanin synthesis ability of the subject;
Based on the person data stored in the customer information database and the ultraviolet irradiation amount stored in the weather database, with the period before the previous year corresponding to the predetermined future period of the subject as a future reference period, For the reference person extracted by the matching information search step, a future prediction step for extracting the internal factor having a high influence on the melanin synthesis ability in the future reference period as an influence factor;
Beauty advice method characterized by comprising.
3. The future prediction step extracts a person whose internal factor in the future reference period is high in similarity with the internal factor of the subject among the reference persons extracted by the matching information search step. The melanin amount prediction step of predicting the melanin amount in the future period of the subject based on a change in the melanin amount in the future reference period of the person. The beauty advice method described.
4). The future prediction step includes an advice creation step of creating an advice for suppressing the amount of melanin for the subject based on the extracted influence factor and the internal factor of the subject. Or 3. Beauty advice method as described in.
5. The internal factors include one or more of age, skin quality, menstrual cycle, lifestyle, UV protection, skin care and stress level,
The customer information input step creates an internal factor score in which the degree of each internal factor is quantified, and accumulates and stores the internal factor score as personal data in the customer information database. To 4. Beauty advice method according to any of the above.
6). The weather database stores and stores the amount of ultraviolet radiation for each region,
The melanin synthesis capacity calculation step calculates the melanin synthesis capacity based on the ultraviolet irradiation amount according to the area where the person lives based on the ultraviolet irradiation amount for each area stored in the weather database. To 5. Beauty advice method according to any of the above.
7). The weather database stores and stores the amount of ultraviolet radiation for each region,
The said melanin synthesis capability calculation process calculates the said melanin synthesis capability by the ultraviolet irradiation amount according to the living area of the said subject based on the ultraviolet irradiation amount for every said area memorize | stored in the said weather database. The melanin synthesis ability evaluation method as described.
8). 1 above. Or 7. A melanin synthesis capacity evaluation system using the melanin synthesis capacity evaluation method described in 1.
Melanin synthesis comprising: the meteorological database; the customer information database; a melanin amount measurement processing unit that performs the melanin amount measurement step; and a melanin synthesis capability calculation processing unit that performs the melanin synthesis capability calculation step. Capacity evaluation system.
9. 2. To 6. A beauty advice system using the beauty advice method described in any of the above,
The weather database, the customer information database, a melanin amount measurement processing unit that performs the melanin amount measurement step, a melanin synthesis ability calculation processing unit that performs the melanin synthesis ability calculation step, and customer information that performs the customer information input step A beauty advice system comprising: an input processing unit; a matching information search processing unit that performs the matching information search step; and a future prediction processing unit that performs the future prediction step.

  According to the melanin synthesis ability evaluation method of the present invention, a melanin amount measuring step of measuring a melanin amount for at least two days for each person, and accumulating and storing the melanin amount in a customer information database as person data, and the melanin From the amount of change in the melanin of the person during the measurement period and the amount of ultraviolet irradiation accumulated and stored in the weather database, the period between the days when the amount of melanin was measured for one person by the quantity measurement step, And a melanin synthesis ability calculation step for calculating the amount of melanin change per unit UV irradiation dose during the measurement period as the person's melanin synthesis ability. The ability to synthesize melanin can be known well, and the stage of melanin synthesis can be judged.

According to the beauty advice method using the melanin synthesis ability evaluation method, because it includes a customer information input step of storing and storing the internal factors in the measurement period input for each person as person data in the customer information database, In the customer information database, for each person, internal factors and the amount of melanin measured by the melanin amount measuring step are recorded as person data over time. In addition, with the period before the previous year corresponding to the measurement period in which the melanin amount was measured for the subject as a reference period, the person data stored in the customer information database and the ultraviolet irradiation amount stored in the weather database Based on this, it is equipped with a matching information search process that extracts a person whose melanin synthesis ability in the reference period is close to the subject's melanin synthesis ability as a reference person, so it approximates the subject's melanin synthesis ability in the same period before the previous year. One or a plurality of reference persons (for example, several tens to several hundreds) that have the ability to synthesize melanin can be extracted. Then, based on the person data stored in the customer information database and the ultraviolet irradiation amount stored in the weather database, with the period before the previous year corresponding to the predetermined future period of the subject as the future reference period In order to provide a future prediction process that extracts the internal factors that have a high influence on the ability to synthesize melanin in the future reference period as influence factors, the past corresponding to a predetermined future period (for example, the next three months) An internal factor that has a large influence on the melanin amount fluctuation of the reference person in the period can be statistically extracted as an influence factor. This makes it possible to accurately provide appropriate cosmetic advice including skin care and lifestyle habits based on an internal factor that is evaluated to have a large influence on the subject's future melanin fluctuation.
In addition, if this beauty advice method is applied, it will not only be possible to present changes in the individual's future melanin amount over time, but also the internal factors and weather data will be assumed based on the individual's ability to synthesize melanin. By doing so, it is possible to predict the time course of melanin amount after 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, etc., and to simulate various time course patterns of melanin amount due to differences in skin care methods and lifestyle habits, etc. Can do. This makes it possible to advise skin care and lifestyle habits for bringing the amount close to the ideal amount of melanin or maintaining the current amount of melanin. In addition, because of the characteristic of obtaining individual melanin synthesis ability, it is possible to record (input) daily skin care, lifestyle, and weather data without newly measuring the amount of melanin. It is possible to estimate the amount of melanin, and to provide advice on daily skin care, lifestyle, etc. for the ideal amount of melanin in real time.

The future prediction step extracts a person whose internal factor in the future reference period is high in similarity with the internal factor of the subject among the reference persons extracted by the matching information search step, In the case of including a melanin amount prediction process that predicts the melanin amount in the future period of the subject based on the change in the melanin amount in the future reference period, Based on the variation data of the melanin amount of the reference person closest to the physical factor, the variation of the melanin amount of the subject is predicted. Based on the data of a person whose melanin synthesis ability is close to that of the subject and whose lifestyle and skin care are similar to the subject, it is possible to accurately predict future fluctuations in the amount of melanin of the subject. Can do.
When the future prediction step includes an advice creation step of creating an advice for suppressing the amount of melanin for the subject based on the extracted influence factor and the internal factor of the subject, Appropriate advice including skin care and lifestyle habits can be automatically generated based on internal factors that are predicted to have a large impact on future changes in melanin content, and more reliable and quick beauty advice is provided. be able to.
The internal factor includes one or more of age, skin quality, menstrual cycle, lifestyle, UV protection, skin care, and stress level, and the customer information input step quantifies the degree of each internal factor When the internal factor score is created and stored and stored in the customer information database as person data, it is a lifestyle factor such as smoking frequency, which is generally an internal factor that has a large effect on melanin fluctuation, and measures against ultraviolet rays ( For example, frequency of foundation, sunscreen, hat, parasol, etc., frequency of skin care (for example, face wash, milk lotion, cream, massage, whitening cosmetics, whitening supplement, sleeping without removing makeup), stress level, etc. Can be selected as appropriate, and an internal factor score can be created that is quantified in the order of increasing or suppressing the amount of melanin depending on the degree of each factor. Because, to facilitate application of the cosmetic advice method, it is possible to perform the analysis process accurately.
The weather database stores and stores the ultraviolet irradiation amount for each region, and the melanin synthesis capacity calculation step is based on the ultraviolet irradiation amount for each region stored in the weather database according to the person's living area. When the melanin synthesis ability is calculated based on the amount of ultraviolet irradiation, more detailed and accurate analysis processing and beauty advice can be performed according to the weather in the person's living area.

  In the melanin synthesis ability evaluation method, the amount of ultraviolet irradiation for each region is accumulated and stored in the weather database, and the step of calculating the melanin synthesis ability is performed for each region stored in the weather database. When calculating the melanin synthesis ability based on the amount of ultraviolet irradiation according to the person's living area, the melanin synthesis ability and the melanin synthesis stage are evaluated more precisely and accurately according to the weather in the person's living area. It can be performed.

  A melanin synthesis capacity evaluation system using any one of the melanin synthesis capacity evaluation methods, wherein the weather database, the customer information database, a melanin amount measurement processing unit for performing the melanin amount measurement step, and the melanin synthesis capacity calculation According to the melanin synthesis capacity evaluation system comprising the melanin synthesis capacity calculation processing unit that performs the process, the melanin synthesis capacity evaluation method is effectively used, and the accuracy is determined according to the melanin measurement period or living area for each person. The ability to synthesize melanin can be known well, and the stage of melanin synthesis can be judged.

  A beauty advice system using any one of the beauty advice methods, wherein the weather database, the customer information database, a melanin amount measurement processing unit that performs the melanin amount measurement step, and a melanin that performs the melanin synthesis ability calculation step Beauty provided with a synthesis capability calculation processing unit, a customer information input processing unit that performs the customer information input step, a matching information search processing unit that performs the matching information search step, and a future prediction processing unit that performs the future prediction step According to the advice system, appropriate beauty advice including future skin care and lifestyle can be promptly performed for each person by effectively using the beauty advice method.

The present invention is further illustrated by the following detailed description with reference to a number of referenced drawings, given non-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments according to the present invention, wherein like reference numerals denote Similar parts are shown throughout the figure.
It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the melanin synthesis ability evaluation system and beauty advice system which concern on this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the process in a melanin synthetic ability calculation process. It is a graph for demonstrating the change of the amount of melanins by time (year, month, day), and the fluctuation | variation of the ultraviolet irradiation amount for every day. It is a graph showing the daily integrated UV-B amount (ultraviolet ray irradiation amount) every month in each region for a certain year. It is a graph showing the relationship between the ultraviolet irradiation amount of March of the year shown in FIG. 4, and the latitude for every area. It is a figure for demonstrating the relationship between a measurement period, a reference period, a future period, and a future reference period. It is a figure showing the example of the input screen displayed in order to input the customer's present state (internal factor). It is a table | surface which shows the example of an internal factor and its quantification (internal factor score). It is a flowchart which shows the example of the main processes in a beauty advice system. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the process in a compatible information search process. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the influence factor extraction process in a future prediction process. It is a scatter diagram which shows the example of the relationship between an internal factor and melanin synthetic ability. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the process in a melanin amount prediction process. It is an example of the numerical formula for evaluating the similarity of an internal factor. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the process in an advice preparation process. It is a figure showing the example of the result display screen of a beauty advice system. It is a block diagram which shows another structure of the beauty advice system. It is a figure for demonstrating the estimation method of the melanin amount corresponding to a predetermined period. It is a figure for demonstrating the estimation method of the internal factor score corresponding to a predetermined period. It is a table | surface for demonstrating the calculation example of melanin synthetic ability. It is a table | surface which shows the example which calculated the melanin synthetic | combination capability about the person in which the data in the reference period are recorded from the person data accumulate | stored in a customer information database. It is a table | surface which shows the example which computed the melanin synthetic ability in a future reference period about a reference person. It is a table | surface which shows the example of the internal factor in the future reference period of a reference person. It is a table | surface which shows the example which calculated the relationship between the internal factor in the future reference period of a reference person, and melanin synthetic ability, and extracted the internal factor with a high influence degree as an influence factor. It is a table | surface which shows the example of the produced beauty advice. It is a table | surface which shows the example of the influence factor extracted with respect to another subject. It is a table | surface which shows the example which calculated | required the similarity (distance) of the internal factor of a subject, and the internal factor of a subject and a reference person. (A) The table | surface which shows the ultraviolet irradiation amount of the subject's residence area, and (b) The figure showing the example which estimated the melanin amount fluctuation | variation of the subject.

  Hereinafter, the melanin synthesis ability evaluation method and beauty advice method of the present invention, and the melanin synthesis ability evaluation system and beauty advice system using them will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. The items shown here are exemplary and illustrative of the embodiments of the present invention.

In the embodiment of the method and system of the present invention, in order to evaluate the melanin synthesis ability for each customer (person) and create a beauty advice based on the evaluation, the melanin synthesis data is combined with the melanin measurement data for each person. It uses a database that stores information about external and internal factors that affect it.
In this database, a large number (for example, 100 or more) of persons with different skin responsiveness at the time of sunburn are selected by a questionnaire or the like, and a horny sample of a specific part is collected for each person over a long period of time. In addition to measuring the amount of melanin from the stratum corneum, we are investigating information on external and internal factors that are thought to have an impact on each person's ability to synthesize melanin, and accumulate the obtained data.

  That is, a database was created by collecting data on changes in the amount of melanin throughout the year and the corresponding external and internal factors of persons showing different reactivity to ultraviolet rays. In this database, gradual fluctuations in melanin content, and information on external and internal factors corresponding to the fluctuations are accumulated as individual data, not average values, as time-lapse data for the same person throughout the year. . In the present invention, this database is used to evaluate each individual's ability to synthesize melanin and the stage of melanin synthesis, and to derive external factors and internal factors that affect the ability to synthesize melanin.

The "external factors", among the influences weather the melanin synthesis of the person, temperature, humidity, and weather and the amount of UV irradiation.
It said The "internal factors", of the state of affect a person in melanin synthesis, age, living area, skin type, the reactivity of the skin at the time of sunburn, outdoor activity time during the day, awareness of ultraviolet (UV protection ), skin care, menstrual cycle, is a lifestyle and stress level.
In the present invention, which items are used as external factors and which items are used as internal factors are not particularly limited. For example, the external factor can be the amount of ultraviolet irradiation. In addition, internal factors include one or more of age, skin quality , skin reactivity during sunburn, daytime outdoor activity time , menstrual cycle, lifestyle, UV protection, skin care, and stress level. be able to.

  The “database” can be of any configuration, for example, a weather database that mainly stores and stores information on external factors, and a customer that stores and stores information on the amount of melanin in a person and mainly internal factors. And an information database. In the customer information database, data relating to the amount of melanin and internal factors is accumulated over time in association with each person (data for each person is collectively referred to as “person data”).

In the present invention, the amount of melanin is measured at least twice for one person (the same single individual), and the melanin synthesis ability of the individual is calculated by calculating the variation of the melanin amount (gradient of melanin variation) during that time. I found out how to digitize.
The “melanin synthesis ability” refers to a numerical value representing how much the person's melanin synthesis and excretion amount has changed due to an external factor or an internal factor of a person during a certain period. The factor that has the greatest influence on the fluctuation of a person's melanin is the amount of ultraviolet irradiation. In the following, the ability to synthesize melanin with respect to the amount of UV irradiation is mainly taken up. In that case, the melanin synthesis ability can be calculated as the amount of melanin change per unit ultraviolet irradiation amount as in the following equation.
Melanin synthesis capacity = Melanin change ÷ UV irradiation

Furthermore, a beauty advice method and a beauty advice system capable of providing effective beauty advice to one person (referred to as “subject”) have been developed. The beauty advice method and the beauty advice system are configured to search person data stored in the database based on the numerical value of the melanin synthesis ability calculated for the subject, and to show the melanin synthesis ability similar to the subject. (Referred to as “reference person”), and based on the data of external factors and internal factors that have influenced the melanin synthesis ability exhibited by others, the subject's current melanin synthesis Predict changes in stage and future melanin content, accurately determine external factors or internal factors that affect the subject's ability to synthesize melanin, and provide the most effective cosmetic advice be able to.
The “subject” is usually a new customer, but is not limited thereto, and may be one of conventional customers whose personal data is already recorded in the customer information database.
The number of reference persons to be extracted is not limited, and may be one person or a plurality of persons (for example, several hundreds or more).

  The present invention comprises imaging means, calculation means, and storage means, calculates the subject's ability to synthesize melanin, further predicts the aging of the subject's future amount of melanin, and improves the state of melanin synthesis or It is configured to present beauty advice by selecting an effective method (skin care, lifestyle habits, etc.) for maintaining the state. Therefore, at least one week at an interval of 2 weeks or more, the subject's corneocytes are collected or photographed to measure the amount of melanin, and the period from the first measurement to the second measurement (referred to as “measurement period”) .) Based on information on the subject's internal factors and past weather data, as well as a database that accumulates time-lapse (year-round) data on the status of each item of melanin content and information on internal factors for multiple individuals Further, it is possible to provide a method for selecting a change with time in the future melanin amount of the subject, a change with time in the ideal melanin amount, and skin care and lifestyle habits for approaching the ideal.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a melanin synthesis ability evaluation system 1 for effectively performing a melanin synthesis ability evaluation method according to an embodiment of the present invention and a beauty advice system 10 for effectively performing a beauty advice method. FIG. The melanin synthesis ability evaluation system 1 and the beauty advice system 10 include an image photographing device 2, an input device 3, an output device 4, an information processing device (server) 5, a weather database (storage device) 61, and a customer information database (storage device) 62. It can comprise.
The specific configuration method and connection method of the melanin synthesis ability evaluation system 1 and the beauty advice system 10 are not particularly limited. For example, the information processing apparatus 5 can be configured by one computer or two or more computers. The number of each of the image capturing device 2, the input device 3, the output device 4 and the like is not limited. The weather database 61 and the customer information database 62 may be provided in the information processing apparatus 5, or may be configured to connect and use an external database. Further, the information processing device 5 and each device, the information processing device 5 and each database, and the like may be connected to each other via a communication network.

  The image photographing device 2 is a device for photographing human keratinocytes. As a method for photographing keratinocytes, for example, a keratinocyte sample collected by the tape stripping method is stained with melanin by the Fontana-Masson method, and the keratinocyte sample is photographed with a microscope connected to the image photographing device 2. preferable. In addition, a keratinocyte sample collected by the tape stripping method may be photographed using a laser microscope in which melanin is labeled with a fluorescent dye or a melanin antibody and the keratinocyte sample is connected to the image photographing device 2. Alternatively, the corneocytes may be directly photographed with the probe in close contact with the face using a confocal laser microscope or a two-photon excitation microscope connected to the image photographing device 2 without collecting the corneocytes.

The input device 3 is a device for inputting information to the information processing device 5, and a personal computer, a keyboard, a touch panel, a scanner, or the like can be used as appropriate according to the input information.
The output device 4 is a device for outputting a processing result by the information processing device 5, an instruction to the operator, and the like, and a personal computer, a monitor, a printer, a voice output device, or the like is appropriately used according to the output information. Can do.

  The information processing apparatus 5 is configured by a computer that performs various types of information processing. A future prediction processing unit 55, a result display processing unit 56, and a history search processing unit 57 are provided. The future prediction processing unit 55 can include a melanin amount prediction processing unit 551 and an advice creation processing unit 552. The function of each processing unit can be configured mainly by software of a computer, but may be configured in combination with hardware such as an arithmetic circuit.

  This melanin synthesis capability evaluation method includes a melanin amount measurement step mainly performed by the melanin amount measurement processing unit 51 and a melanin synthesis capability calculation step mainly performed by the melanin synthesis capability calculation processing unit 53. The beauty advice method further includes a customer information input step mainly performed by the customer information input processing unit 52, a fitness information search step mainly performed by the fitness information search processing unit 54, and mainly by the future prediction processing unit 55. A future prediction process to be performed. Further, the future prediction step can include a melanin amount prediction step mainly performed by the melanin amount prediction processing unit 551 and an advice creation step mainly performed by the advice creation processing unit 552.

The weather database 61 and the customer information database 62 are configured on a storage device and can be accessed by the processing units of the information processing device 5. The databases (the weather database 61 and the customer information database 62) may be integrated and configured as one database, or each may be configured by being divided into a plurality of units.
The weather database 61 can store and store data related to weather in the past in each region in Japan. The ultraviolet ray irradiation amount for each region included in the weather data is an external factor that affects the fluctuation of the melanin amount of a person living in the region.
The customer information database 62 accumulates and stores person data related to past and new customers. The person data includes, for each person, at least two melanin measurement days (corneocyte collection or photographing date), the melanin amount of the keratinocytes on each measurement day, and the person's data between each measurement day. Data on internal factors can be included. The data relating to the internal factor can be stored as an internal factor score obtained by quantifying the degree of each internal factor.

1. Melanin synthesis ability evaluation method and melanin synthesis ability evaluation system This melanin synthesis ability evaluation method measures the amount of melanin at least two days for each person, and stores the measured amount of melanin in the customer information database 62 as person data From the measurement process and the amount of melanin change in the measurement period in which the melanin amount was measured for one person in the melanin amount measurement process and the ultraviolet irradiation dose accumulated and stored in the weather database, the unit ultraviolet rays in the measurement period A melanin synthesis capability calculation step of calculating a melanin change amount per irradiation dose as the melanin synthesis capability of the person.
As described above, the “measurement period” refers to a period between two days when the melanin amount of the subject person was measured. If the date when the second melanin amount was measured is the latest, Recent melanin synthesis ability can be obtained. When the measurement period is in the past, the melanin synthesis ability of the target person in the past period is calculated. The measurement period can be one week to several months, preferably about one month.

(Melanin content measurement process)
An image of a person's corneocytes photographed by the image photographing device 2 is sent to the melanin amount measurement processing unit 51. The melanin amount measurement processing unit 51 measures the melanin amount by performing, for example, a segmentation process and a binarization process on the received keratinocyte image.
The segmentation process is a process of distinguishing a corneocyte part from a non-keratin cell part. Specifically, the green component histogram of an image is modeled by a plurality of normal distributions, and is dynamically changed according to normal distribution parameters. This is a process of distinguishing the keratinocyte part from the non-keratinous part. The binarization process is a process of dividing a melanin portion into a portion where melanin is present, and specifically, a portion classified into keratinocytes of an image by a segmentation process is present according to a threshold value. The parts that do and the parts that don't. Thereby, the ratio of the part in which the melanin which occupies for the part of a keratinocyte exists can be calculated | required as a melanin amount.
In the melanin amount measurement step, the melanin amount is measured at least twice (two days) for one person. In the melanin amount measuring step, the measured melanin amount, the measurement date (the collection date of keratinocytes), the keratinocyte image, and the like can be recorded in the customer information database 62 in association with a person (person number, name, etc.). .

(Melanin synthesis capacity calculation process)
FIG. 2 shows the flow of the melanin synthesis capacity calculation process (S20) performed by the melanin synthesis capacity calculation process. In the melanin synthesis capability calculation process S20, the melanin synthesis capability of the target person is calculated from the amount of melanin measured twice for one person and the ultraviolet irradiation amount recorded in the weather database 61.
First, melanin amount data measured on two measurement dates (A, B) for the target person is acquired from the customer information database 62 (S21). For example, FIG. 3A shows a change in the melanin amount of the target person with time (date). If melanin amount of the target person in the previous measurement date A is m _A, the measurement date B after the amount of melanin was m _B, between the measurement date A measurement date B (measurement period T0) The amount of melanin change is (m _B -m _A ).

On the other hand, the ultraviolet irradiation amount in the measurement period T0 is read from the weather database 61 (S22), and the integrated value U of the ultraviolet irradiation amount in the period is obtained (S23). For example, FIG. 3B shows the fluctuation of the ultraviolet irradiation amount for each day on the same time axis as that of FIG. In this case, by integrating the daily ultraviolet irradiation amount in the measurement period T0, the ultraviolet irradiation integrated amount U of the period is obtained. Whether or not to include the measurement day (A or B) in the measurement period T0 may be set as appropriate.
Since the ultraviolet irradiation integrated amount U is preferably the ultraviolet ray amount received by the target person, the value of the ultraviolet irradiation integrated amount U may be corrected according to the internal factors of the target person (daytime outdoor activity time) or the like. .

Then, from the melanin change amount (m _B −m _A ) and the UV irradiation integrated amount U in the measurement period T 0, the change rate of the melanin amount per unit UV irradiation amount is determined as the melanin synthesis ability M (M = (m _B− m _A ) / U) (S24). From the value of the melanin synthesis ability M (the slope of the change in the amount of melanin), the stage of the subject person's melanin synthesis can be determined.

In order to obtain the UV irradiation integrated amount U in the measurement period T0, an average value of the monthly UV irradiation amount may be used. For example, FIG. 4 is a graph showing an example (2003) of a monthly average value of the daily integrated UV-B amount in each region (Sapporo, Tsukuba, Kagoshima and Naha) published by the Japan Meteorological Agency. The UV-B amount is an integrated value (unit: kJ / m ² / day) of ultraviolet intensity having a wavelength of 280 to 315 nm, and this monthly average daily integrated UV-B amount is expressed as “ultraviolet irradiation per day” of the month. Amount "(hereinafter referred to as" average UV irradiation amount "). When the measurement period spans two or more months, the average ultraviolet irradiation amount and the ultraviolet irradiation integrated amount U in the measurement period can be obtained from the number of days belonging to each month and the average ultraviolet irradiation amount of each month. The same applies to the case where the average ultraviolet irradiation dose is calculated for other periods.
In the above example, “amount of melanin change per day” (hereinafter referred to as “average amount of melanin change”) in the measurement period T0 is ((m _B −m _A ) / (number of days in the measurement period)). . Therefore, simply, the melanin synthesis ability M may be obtained by the following equation.
Melanin synthesis ability = average melanin change ÷ average UV irradiation

It is preferable to accumulate and store the ultraviolet irradiation amount for each region in the weather database 61 and calculate the melanin synthesis ability based on the ultraviolet irradiation amount in a region close to the living area (living region) of the target person.
For example, FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the average ultraviolet irradiation amount in March of the year shown in FIG. 4 and the latitude for each region. Thus, it is found that the ultraviolet irradiation amount in each region is higher as the latitude is smaller, and the ultraviolet irradiation amount and the latitude are in a substantially constant relationship. Therefore, in order to calculate the melanin synthesis ability for each person, it is preferable to use the ultraviolet ray irradiation amount in the area where the latitude of the person is closest to the latitude. Further, for example, the average ultraviolet ray irradiation amount (y) in the person's residence area (latitude x) can be estimated using the regression equation shown in FIG.

2. Beauty advice method and beauty advice system The beauty advice method according to the present embodiment is a beauty advice method using the melanin synthesis ability evaluation method, and internal factors in the measurement period input for each person are used as person data. A customer information input step of storing and storing in the customer information database 62 is provided. Further, the person data stored in the customer information database 62 and the weather database 61 are stored with the period before the previous year corresponding to the measurement period in which the amount of melanin was measured for one subject as a reference period. Based on the amount of ultraviolet irradiation, a suitable information search step is included for extracting one or more persons whose reference melanin synthesis ability is at least close to the melanin synthesis ability of the subject as a reference person. Furthermore, based on the person data stored in the customer information database 62 and the ultraviolet irradiation amount stored in the weather database 61, with the period before the previous year corresponding to the predetermined future period of the subject as the future reference period. And a future prediction step of extracting, as an influence factor, an internal factor that has a high influence on the melanin synthesis ability in the future reference period.

Moreover, the said future prediction process can be comprised including a melanin amount prediction process. The melanin amount predicting step extracts a person whose internal factor in the future reference period is high in similarity with the internal factor of the subject among the reference persons extracted by the matching information search step, This is a step of predicting the amount of melanin in the future period of the subject based on the change in the amount of melanin in the future reference period.
In addition, the future prediction process may include an advice creation process. The advice creation step is a step of creating cosmetic advice for suppressing the amount of melanin for the subject based on the influence factors extracted in the future prediction step and the internal factors of the subject.

  The beauty advice system 10 (see FIG. 1) according to the present embodiment includes a weather database 61, a customer information database 62, a melanin amount measurement processing unit that performs the melanin amount measurement step, and a melanin that performs the melanin synthesis ability calculation step. A synthesis capability calculation processing unit; a customer information input processing unit that performs the customer information input step; a matching information search processing unit that performs the matching information search step; and a future prediction processing unit that performs the future prediction step. Can be configured.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a period to be processed in the beauty advice method. Dates (dates) A and B shown in FIG. 5A represent the date (measurement date) when a keratinocyte was collected for a new person (subject), and the previous measurement date A and the subsequent date The interval between the measurement date B is a “measurement period” T0. For example, if the measurement date A is May 1, 2010 and the measurement date B is June 1 (today), the measurement period T0 is 32 days from May 1 to June 1 (measurement date A And B).
The date C shown in FIG. 6A is a future date, and the period from the measurement date B to the future date C is defined as a “future period” T1. The length of the future period can be set as appropriate. For example, the future date C can be one month later, three months later, six months later, and the like.

FIG 6 (b) to indicate the date B _P, A _P and C _P are each in the previous year of age, the measurement date B, and day corresponding to A and the future date C (month each same day) is there. In a year before the previous year, a period corresponding to the measurement period T0 is referred to as a “reference period” T0 _P , and a period corresponding to the future period T1 is referred to as a “future reference period” T1 _P. Whether or not the measurement dates A and B are included in the number of days in the measurement period T0 may be set as appropriate. The same applies to the number of days in the future period T1, the reference period T0 _P, and the future reference period T1 _P. it can.

  In each step of the beauty advice method, the melanin amount and internal factor score of the person in the reference period and the future reference period are acquired from the customer information database 62, and necessary processing is performed. However, the date when the amount of melanin of a person was measured before the previous year may not correspond to the measurement date (A, B) of the subject's melanin amount. In such a case, in the matching information search step, the amount of melanin change of the person in the reference period can be estimated based on the measurement date of the person and the measured amount of melanin. Moreover, in the said future prediction process, the internal factor (internal factor score) of the said person in a reference period can be estimated based on the internal factor (internal factor score) between the measurement days of a person. In the advice creating step, the amount of melanin and the internal factor (internal factor score) of the person in the future reference period are estimated based on the internal factor (internal factor score) during the measurement date of the person. be able to.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of a customer information input screen displayed on the input device 3 in order to obtain state information for each customer. Customer age, residential area, skin quality, daytime outdoor activities, UV protection (Awareness of UV, sunscreen, hat, parasol, etc.), sunburned skin, lifestyle (as shown here) Smoking, drinking, disorder of eating habits, occupation, exercise, sleeping time), facial esthetics, menstrual cycle, stress level, morning and evening skin care (lotion, milk lotion, cream, massage, drinking supplement), etc. It can be cited as a factor item. The degree and frequency are input for each item, and the internal factor items to be evaluated and analyzed can be arbitrarily selected.

An internal factor score is created by digitizing each acquired internal factor from the acquired customer state information. The internal factor score can be generated by scoring the degree and frequency of each internal factor. The points can be scored in the order in which the amount of melanin is generally increased or the order in which the amount of melanin is not suppressed with respect to the degree and frequency of each item.
FIG. 8 shows an example of scoring in five stages for each internal factor. For example, “drinking” is considered to be a factor that increases the amount of melanin. Therefore, the higher the frequency, the higher the score (5). Moreover, since “double face washing” is considered to have an effect of suppressing the amount of melanin, the lower the frequency, the higher the score (5).

(Customer information input process)
In the customer information input step, a customer information input screen as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the input device 3 or the like, and the customer information input according to the screen can be acquired. The customer information acquired in this way can be digitized for each internal factor as shown in FIG. 8 to create an internal factor score. Then, in association with a person (person number, name, etc.), basic information such as a residential area, age, skin quality, internal factors (internal factor score), information acquisition date, and the like are recorded in the customer information database 62.

FIG. 9 shows a flow of main processing performed by the beauty advice method. The beauty advice method incorporates the melanin synthesis capability evaluation method (melanin amount measurement step and melanin synthesis capability calculation step) and the customer information input step (not shown).
In this beauty advice method, the weather database 61 and the customer information database 62 are used as appropriate, and the fitness information search process (S40) is performed by the fitness information search process, and the future prediction process (S50) is performed by the future prediction process. In the future prediction step S50, an influence factor extraction process (S51) is performed, and further, a melanin amount prediction process (S52) is performed by the melanin amount prediction process, and an advice creation process (S53) is performed by the advice creation process.

(Compliance information search process)
FIG. 10 shows an example of the matching information search process S40. First, the melanin synthesis capacity M0 in the measurement period T0 of the subject is calculated by the melanin synthesis capacity calculation process S20 (S41).
Then, from the person data stored in the customer information database 62, the amount of melanin in the reference period T0 _P corresponding to the measurement period T0 extracts one person being measured (S42). Even if the measurement date of the melanin amount does not completely correspond to the reference period, as described above, the melanin amount in the reference period can be estimated. Moreover, the ultraviolet irradiation amount in the reference period accumulated in the weather database 61 is acquired (S43). Then, melanin synthesis ability (melanin change amount per unit ultraviolet irradiation amount) M0 _P in the reference period T0 _P of the person is calculated (S44). The melanin synthesis capacity M0 _P can be obtained by applying the melanin synthesis capacity calculation process S20.
Then, in the person data stored in the customer information database 62, for all persons amount melanin is measured in the reference period T0 _P, determining the melanin synthesis capability repeat the above steps S42 to S44 (S45).

When melanin synthesis capability M0 _P is obtained for all persons melanin amount in the reference period T0 _P is measured, a person close to the melanin synthesis capability M0 of melanin synthesis capability M0 _P is subject, it is extracted as a reference person (S46). The number of reference persons to be extracted is not particularly limited. For example, a person whose difference between a person's melanin synthesis ability M0 _P and a subject's melanin synthesis ability M0 is within a predetermined range can be used as a reference person. The extracted reference person data is referred to in the following steps.

In step S46, a person whose melanin synthesis ability M0 _P is close to the melanin synthesis ability M0 of the subject is extracted as a reference person from among the persons extracted in step S42, that is, all persons whose data exist in the reference period. However, the conditions for extracting the reference person can be variously changed or combined. For example, a person with similar melanin synthesis ability is extracted as a reference person from people of the same generation as the subject, people with the same skin quality as the subject, people in the same area as the subject, etc. can do. Further, conditions may be further combined to narrow down the reference person. If conditions such as generation, skin quality, and region are appropriately added, a person whose characteristics are closer to the subject can be used as a reference person.

(Future prediction process)
FIG. 11 shows an example of the influence factor extraction process S51 in the future prediction process. First, acquired from the customer information database 62, the every adaptation information retrieval reference person extracted by the process, both to obtain the measurement data of the amount of melanin in the future reference period T1 _P, the ultraviolet irradiation amount for the period from the weather database 61 to, to calculate the melanin synthesis capability M1 _P future reference period T1 _P of the person (S511). The melanin synthesis capability M1 _P can be obtained by applying the melanin synthesis capability calculation process S20. Thus, for all the reference persons of measurement data amount of melanin in the future reference period T1 _P exists, melanin synthesis capability M1 _P is calculated. Also not correspond perfectly with measurement date reference future periods T1 _P weight melanin, as described above, it is possible to estimate the amount of melanin in the future reference period T1 _P.
Further, from the customer information database 62, for all the reference person, and acquires the internal factors score in future reference periods T1 _P (S512). Without recording date fully support the future reference period T1 _P of internal factors scores, as described above, can be estimated internal factors scores in future reference periods T1 _P (average in factor scores) is there.

Then, for every reference person obtains the degree of influence of each internal factors on melanin synthesis capability M1 _P future reference period T1 _P (S513).
The “degree of influence” is not particularly limited as long as it is a numerical value capable of evaluating the degree of association between the ability to synthesize melanin and one internal factor. For example, FIG. 12 is a scatter diagram showing the relationship between the score of one internal factor (horizontal axis) and the melanin synthesis ability (vertical axis) of all reference persons. In this case, correlation analysis finds a significant correlation between the internal factor and the ability to synthesize melanin. Moreover, regression analysis of both can also be performed. That is, the correlation between the melanin synthesis ability of all the reference persons and the respective internal factor scores can be obtained, and a significant correlation coefficient can be set as the “influence degree”. In that case, it can be said that the influence of an internal factor having a large correlation coefficient is high. In addition, a regression equation can be obtained by performing regression analysis between the melanin synthesis ability and the internal factor score for the internal factor for which a significant correlation coefficient is obtained. In that case, the magnitude of the product of the obtained correlation coefficient and the regression coefficient can be set as the high degree of influence.
The internal factor having a high influence obtained as described above is extracted as an influence factor (S514). The number of influence factors to be extracted is not limited and may be selected in descending order of the influence degree. The extracted influence factors are sent to the next process.

As described above, in the reference period T0 _P corresponding to the measurement period T0 of the subject, the reference person whose melanin synthesis ability is close to the subject is extracted, and the melanin synthesis ability of the reference person in the future reference period T1 _P is influenced. A large internal factor is extracted as an influence factor. This influencing factor can be evaluated as having a high possibility of affecting the subject's future fluctuations in the amount of melanin. Therefore, the user of this beauty advice method can use the optimal beauty to suppress the future increase in the amount of melanin for the subject based on the output influence factor and the subject's internal factor score. It is possible to give advice.

(Melanin amount prediction process)
The future prediction step extracts a person whose internal factor in the future reference period T1 _P has a high similarity to the internal factor of the subject among the reference persons extracted by the matching information search step, based on a change in the amount of melanin in the future reference period T1 _P of a person it can be configured to include a melanin amount prediction step of predicting the amount of melanin in future periods T1 of the subject.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the melanin amount prediction process S52 in the future prediction step. First, an internal factor score in the measurement period T0 of the subject is acquired from the customer information database 62 (S521). Further, from the customer information database 62, for all the reference person, and acquires the internal factors score in future reference periods T1 _P (S522). Then, the degree of similarity between the acquired internal factor score of the subject and the internal factor score of each reference person is evaluated, and a person with a high degree of similarity is extracted (S523).
The “similarity” is not particularly limited as long as it is a numerical value that can evaluate the similarity between the internal factor (internal factor score) of the subject and the internal factor (internal factor score) of the reference person. For example, FIG. 14 shows an expression for obtaining the distance between the internal factor score of the subject and the extracted internal factor score of the person. In this equation, for each internal factor, the internal factor score S ^c of the subject, the extracted internal factor score S ⁱ of the reference person, and the correlation coefficient R with the ability to synthesize melanin, The distance D _i is obtained. The distance D _i between the internal factors is set as “similarity”, and it can be evaluated that the similarity is higher as the distance D _i between the internal factors is smaller.
The number of persons extracted above is not particularly limited, and a predetermined number of persons can be selected in descending order of similarity. In this example, one person with the highest similarity is extracted.

Next, the step S523 is extracted by, for the reference person similarity highest of the subject and internal factors score, by referring to the customer information database 62 and the weather database 61, melanin in future reference periods T1 _P The composite ability M1 _P is calculated (S524). The melanin synthesis capability M1 _P can be obtained by applying the melanin synthesis capability calculation process.
Then, using the estimated melanin synthesis ability M1 _P of the reference person, the current melanin amount m _B of the subject, and the estimated value of the ultraviolet irradiation amount in the future period T1, the subject's future period T1 has elapsed. A predicted value of the melanin amount m _C can be calculated (S525). Here, the estimated value of the ultraviolet irradiation amount in the future period T1 is, for example, the average value of the ultraviolet irradiation amount in the past (future reference period T1 _P ) accumulated in the weather database 61, etc. can do.

(Advice creation process)
FIG. 15 shows an example of the advice creation process S53 in the future prediction process. First, an internal factor score in the measurement period T0 of the subject is acquired from the customer information database 62 (S531). Then, based on the influence factor extracted by the influence factor extraction process S51 and the internal factor score of the subject, a beauty advice for suppressing the future amount of melanin is created for the subject. (S532).
As beauty advice, for example, advice words and their importance can be mentioned. Based on the ranking of the influence factors and the corresponding value of the internal factor score of the subject, the importance is calculated, and advice words are created by a method such as selecting and combining the words prepared in advance. be able to.
When creating beauty advice, it can be used as an improvement factor, except for factors that have no room for improvement due to the internal factors of the subject. This is because the internal factor of the subject who is the best score for suppressing the amount of melanin cannot be improved further. Beauty advice can be created based on this improvement factor and the value of the subject's internal factor score.

(Result display processing)
The processing results (information such as keratinocyte image, melanin amount, melanin synthesis ability, influence factor, melanin amount predicted value, beauty advice, etc.) are transmitted to the result display processing unit 56 and output. Can do. The result display processing unit 56 processes the output information from each step and transmits the output data to the output device 4. The format of the output data is arbitrary. For example, HTML, XML, an image, a moving image, an audio file, and the like are possible.
FIG. 16 is an example of a result display screen when the output device 4 has a monitor. On this result display screen, the measurement result of the melanin three times of the customer (subject), its corneocyte image, future prediction of the melanin amount, and beauty advice are displayed. This beauty advice method predicts fluctuations in melanin amount in an arbitrary period such as 3 months or 6 months by modifying the process described above or setting various lengths of the target period. It can be carried out.

  For example, when receiving a command from the output device 4, the history search processing unit 57 searches and processes information on the commanded date from the database, and transmits it to the output device 4 as output data.

3. FIG. 17 is a block diagram for explaining another configuration of the melanin synthesis ability evaluation method and the beauty advice system. This beauty advice system 10 ′ is connected via a communication network 7, and the customer information database 62 is divided into a customer information database 621 and an influence coefficient database 622. Further, the influence coefficient calculation processing unit 53 ′, the matching information search processing unit 54 ′, and the future prediction processing unit 55 ′ are modified from the respective parts of the beauty advice system 10 shown in FIG. Other configurations are the same as those in FIG. Below, only the point in which the beauty advice system 10 'differs from the said beauty advice system 10 is demonstrated.

  The customer information database 621 stores data relating to past and new customer information. As shown in FIG. 17, the data relating to the customer information includes, for each customer, keratinocyte collection or photographing date, melanin amount of the keratinocytes, customer condition (for example, age, living area). Skin quality, UV awareness (ultraviolet light countermeasures), menstrual cycle, skin care, lifestyle, stress level, etc.).

  In the influence coefficient database 622, past year-round data of a plurality of persons and an influence coefficient for fluctuations in the amount of melanin are recorded. That is, as shown in FIG. 17, for each series, basic information (age, skin quality, UV countermeasures, etc.) of persons belonging to the series, year-round time series information (date, skin care, menstrual cycle, Life habits, stress levels, etc.) and influence factors on melanin change (ultraviolet irradiation dose influence coefficient, skin care influence coefficient, menstrual cycle influence coefficient, lifestyle habit influence coefficient, stress level influence coefficient, etc.) Yes.

The “influence coefficient” is a numerical value obtained by calculating the degree of influence of external and internal factors (multiple items) on the amount of melanin of each individual. There is a value for each. That is, it is a coefficient indicating how the melanin amount of the individual customer varies with respect to external and internal factors. For example, the melanin synthesis ability is mentioned as an influence coefficient regarding an external factor. Further, the influence coefficient relating to the internal factor may be a coefficient corresponding to the influence degree. That is, the influence coefficient is a value indicating the degree of influence of each item of external and internal factors on the individual melanin synthesis of the customer.
The “series” refers to a group of similar persons with respect to one or more items of external and internal factors, or with respect to one or more of the influence coefficients.

  In the influence coefficient calculation processing unit 53 ′, two or more melanin amount data with different keratin sampling or photographing date by the same customer are selected from the customer information database 621, and the melanin change amount for a certain period is determined from the melanin amount data. The change in the ultraviolet irradiation amount for the predetermined period is selected from the weather database 61, the influence factor (melanin synthesis ability) of the customer's ultraviolet irradiation amount is obtained from the ratio of the melanin change amount and the ultraviolet irradiation amount change, and the conformity information search processing unit 54 'is transmitted as a calculation result.

  In the matching information search processing unit 54 ′, the UV irradiation amount influence coefficient of the customer (subject) transmitted from the influence coefficient calculation processing unit 53 ′ and information about the customer selected from the customer information database 621 (for example, age, The most similar series of influence coefficients calculated from skin quality, awareness of ultraviolet rays, skin care, lifestyle habits, stress levels, etc.) is searched from the series group of the influence coefficient database 622, and the search result is sent to the future prediction processing unit 55 ′. Send as.

In the future prediction processing unit 55 ′, various influence coefficients on the melanin change amount of the series transmitted from the matching information search processing unit 54 ′, the ultraviolet irradiation data accumulated in the database 61, and the databases 621 and 622 are stored. A plurality of future melanin fluctuations (patterns) can be simulated using the data of each item of the stored customer information as an element. In this simulation, for example, a future melanin amount is obtained using the following mathematical formula, and the fluctuation is predicted. The prediction result is transmitted to the result display processing unit 26.
Similar to the beauty advice system 10, the result display processing unit 26 can display the prediction of melanin and beauty advice on the output device 4 as a result display screen (see FIG. 16).

_{(Formula) Y = a 1 X 1 +} a 2 X 2 + a 3 X 3 + ··· a n X n + b

  Y is a predicted value of the melanin amount at a specific time (current and future), X is a value obtained by evaluating information on the external and / or internal factors of the customer accumulated in the customer database 621, and a is an influence coefficient database 622 It is an influence coefficient for the derived customer X (a value obtained by evaluating information on external and / or internal factors). b is a constant serving as a reference for the amount of melanin, which varies depending on the customer.

With the above configuration, the beauty advice system 10 '
(1) Using a database created by accumulating information on the amount of melanin in the same single individual and information on external factors and / or internal factors affecting melanin synthesis ability for each individual. ,
(2) From the database, it is possible to extract only the data of another person (single individual) similar to self,
(3) Furthermore, it is possible to provide a beauty advice system capable of deriving external factors and / or internal factors that have the greatest influence on the melanin synthesis ability of the self from the extracted data of others. In addition, the evaluation method of melanin synthesis ability is
(4) It can be set as the evaluation method of the melanin synthesis capability which calculates | requires the variation | change_quantity of melanin synthesis from the measurement of the amount of melanin at least 2 times from which time differs, and calculates melanin synthesis capability from the variation | change_quantity. In the above (1) to (3),
(5) The external factor can be the weather in the area where the individual lives,
(6) The internal factor may be one or more selected from an individual's age, skin quality, menstrual cycle, lifestyle, skin care, awareness of ultraviolet rays, and stress level.

  According to the beauty advice system 10 ′, not only can a future change in the amount of melanin be displayed over time, but also by setting temporary personal status data and weather data based on the individual's ability to synthesize melanin, 1 It is possible to simulate and display changes over time in various melanin amounts due to changes over time in melanin after 5 years, 10 years, skin care methods, lifestyle habits, and the like. Thereby, it can be set as the system which advises the skin care and lifestyle for approaching the ideal amount of melanin, or maintaining the present amount of melanin. In addition, because of the characteristic of obtaining individual melanin synthesis ability, it is possible to record (input) daily skin care, lifestyle, and weather data without newly measuring the amount of melanin. The amount of melanin can be predicted, and advice on daily skin care, lifestyle, etc. for the ideal amount of melanin can be given in real time.

4). Examples Hereinafter, examples of the melanin synthesis ability evaluation method and the beauty advice method performed by the melanin synthesis ability evaluation system 1 and the beauty advice system 10 (see FIG. 1) will be described.

In the following steps, the data processing in the reference period / future reference period corresponding to the measurement period / future period of the subject is appropriately estimated as described above. FIG. 18 shows an example of processing when the measurement period T0 of the subject is from May 1 to June 1 and the melanin measurement date before the previous year recorded in the customer information database 62 is different from that. Is shown. FIG. 6A shows a case where the person's previous melanin measurement date was before May 1 and the subsequent melanin measurement date was after June 1, and the previous measurement was performed as shown in the figure. Interpolated from the amount of melanin in the day, the person's melanin amount in May 1 to June 1 (reference period T0 _P ) is estimated, and the average melanin change in the person in the reference period T0 _P based on the estimated value Amount and ability to synthesize melanin can be estimated. Further, when the three measurement values exist with the reference period T0 _P interposed therebetween as shown in FIG. 5B, or when there are a plurality of measurement values within the reference period T0 _P , the reference period T0 is appropriately set. _What is necessary is just to estimate the melanin amount of the person in _P. Data processing is also the same for future reference periods T1 _P.
Further, FIG. 19 shows that the future period T1 for the subject is from June 1 to September 1, and the person's internal factor creation date before the previous year recorded in the customer information database 62 is different from that. An example of processing is shown. The figure shows two cases in which the person's previous internal factor score creation date is before September 1 and the later internal factor score creation date is after September 1. (A) has the same numerical value of the score, and (b) shows a case where the score has changed. In any case, as shown in the figure, by the method such as apportioning the score created later according to the number of days in the period, among the persons from June 1 to September 1 (future reference period T1 _P ) A manual factor score (average internal factor score) can be estimated. May be estimated internal factors score of a person in the future reference period T1 _P appropriately even in the case of other processes internal factors scores for reference period T0 _P is the same.

(Calculation of melanin synthesis ability)
FIG. 20 shows an example in which the melanin synthesis ability is calculated for one person. When the amount of melanin of a person living in Tokyo (subject 1) was measured twice, the amount of melanin on May 1, 2010 was 3.59% and June 1 of the same year as shown in FIG. The daily melanin amount was 3.86%. The average amount of UV irradiation of Tsukuba Tokyo and latitude are close, as shown in FIG. (B), the same year is 19.88kJ / m ² / day, 6 months was 23.64kJ / m ² / day . From these, as shown in FIG. 5C, in the measurement period T0 (32 days from May 1 to June 1), the average melanin change amount is 84.38 (10 ⁻⁴ % / day), Since the average ultraviolet irradiation amount was 20.0 kJ / m ² / day, the melanin synthesis ability M0 of the subject 1 was calculated to be 4.22 (10 ⁻⁴ % · m ² / kJ). The average melanin amount of change, the melanin amount of change per day in the measurement period T0 is set to 10 ⁴ times the value (hereinafter, the same).
For another person (subject 2), when the amount of melanin was measured during the same measurement period T0 as described above, the average melanin change amount was 37.50 (10 ⁻⁴ % / day), and the melanin synthesis ability was 1. It was calculated to be 88 (10 ⁻⁴ % · m ² / kJ).

(Extract reference person)
An example of the result of data processing (extracting a reference person) by the matching information search process will be given. FIG. 21 searches and extracts persons whose melanin amount is measured in the reference period T0 _P (May 1 to June 1 before the previous year) from the person data stored in the customer information database 62. each is the person 148 people (number 1-148), a result of calculating the melanin synthesis capability M0 _P or the like in the period. Melanin synthesis capability M0 _P is calculated average amount of UV irradiation in the reference period T0 _P from the mean melanin variation. For example, the melanin amount was measured in 2002 for the person number 2 living in Sapporo, and the average melanin change amount was 89.34 (10 ⁻⁴ % / day). On the other hand, referring to the weather database 61, the average ultraviolet irradiation amount in Sapporo during the period was 20.46 kJ / m ² / day. From these, the melanin synthesis ability M0 _P in this person's reference period (May 1 to June 1, 2002) is calculated as 4.37 (10 ⁻⁴ % · m ² / kJ). The difference (absolute value) between the melanin synthesis capacity M0 _P of this person and the melanin synthesis capacity M0 (4.22 (10 ⁻⁴ % · m ² / kJ)) of the subject 1 is shown in the rightmost column of the figure. As shown, it is 0.15 (10 ⁻⁴ % · m ² / kJ). In order of increasing difference, 50 reference persons were extracted as persons close to the subject's ability to synthesize melanin (* in the figure). In this figure, only a part of the data is displayed (the same applies hereinafter).

(Extraction of influence factors)
The example of the data processing result by a future prediction process is given. FIG. 22 shows the future reference period T1 _P (June 1 to 9 before the previous year) for the extracted 50 reference persons, assuming that the future period T1 of the subject 1 is June 1 to September 1. It is the result of calculating the melanin synthesis ability M1 _P etc. in (Monday 1). Melanin amount in future reference periods T1 _P of each person is stored in the customer information database 62, the average amount of UV irradiation in the future reference period can be derived by referring to the weather database 61. For example, the person number 2 who lives in Sapporo, the melanin amount was continuously measured in 2002, and the average melanin change during the future reference period was 12.74 (10 ^-4 % / day). Met. On the other hand, the average ultraviolet irradiation amount in Sapporo during the future reference period was 19.87 kJ / m ² / day. From these, the melanin synthesis ability M1 _P of this person in the future reference period (June 1 to September 1, 2002) is calculated to be −0.64 (10 ⁻⁴ % · m ² / kJ). .

Further, FIG. 23, for 50 people reference person the extracted, a table showing the average internal factors scores in future reference periods T1 _P. The average internal factor score in the future reference period T1 _P for each person can be obtained or estimated from the internal factor score stored in the customer information database 62. For example, for the person with the person number 2, the average internal factor score of the internal factor “double face wash” in the future reference period in 2002 was 2.00.

FIG. 24 (a) shows the correlation coefficient and regression coefficient between each average internal factor score (see FIG. 23) and melanin synthesis ability M1 _P (see FIG. 22) in the future reference period T1 _P for the 50 reference persons. Is the result of In this example, the product (E) of the correlation coefficient and the regression coefficient is used as the degree of influence. However, an internal factor for which the correlation coefficient is not determined to be significant (in this example, an internal factor of correlation coefficient <0.235) is excluded. When the internal factors are extracted as the influence factors in descending order of the influence degree, the result is as shown in FIG. As a result, the influential factors were evaluated as “double facial cleansing”, “stress level”, “smoking”, “morning milk lotion”, etc. in descending order of influence.

(Creation of beauty advice)
The right column of FIG. 24B shows the internal factor score in the measurement period T0 of the subject 1 corresponding to the influence factor. From the internal factor score of the subject 1, the subject 1 has almost no “double face wash”, feels “stress” a lot, “smoking” is everyday, and almost “morning milk lotion” Used daily (see FIG. 8). Therefore, it can be said that there is no room for improvement in the “morning milk lotion” of the subject 1. The same applies to “drinking” and “night milk lotion”. In this example, the internal factor (mark (b) * in the figure) having no room for improvement is excluded from the improvement factor for suppressing the amount of melanin in the subject 1.
Then, as cosmetic advice for the subject 1, the wording and importance of the advice as shown in FIG. 25 based on the ranking of the influence level and the internal factor score of the subject 1 for the item of improvement factor ( "Recommendation") was created.

FIG. 26 shows the six internal factors in descending order of influence on another subject 2 (melanin synthesis ability 1.88 (10 ⁻⁴ % · m ² / kJ)) by the same processing as above. The result extracted as an influence factor is shown. Since the subject 1 and the subject 2 have different melanin synthesis abilities, the selected reference person is different, and the influence factors extracted thereby are also different. The improvement factors in the case of the subject 2 were “morning massage”, “hat”, “parasol”, and “night whitening supplement” in order of importance. In this way, optimal beauty advice can be created for each person.

(Predicting the amount of melanin)
From the 50 reference persons, a person whose internal factor in the future reference period T1 _P (June 1 to September 1 before the previous year) is similar to the internal factor of the subject 1 is extracted, for example of predicting the amount of melanin in future periods T1 of the subject 1 (year 1 June to September 1, 2009) will be described based on a change in the amount of melanin in the future reference period T1 _P of the person.
First, a person having a high degree of similarity between the subject 1 and the internal factors is extracted by obtaining the distance Di between the internal factors shown in FIG. The internal factor score S ⁱ of the reference person i in the future reference period is listed in FIG. Further, the correlation coefficient between each average internal factor score and the melanin synthesis ability M1 _P in the future reference period for 50 reference persons is shown in FIG. 24, and this is used to calculate the distance Di between the internal factors. The correlation coefficient R was an internal factor.

FIG. 27 (a) shows the internal factors score ^{S c} in the measurement period T0 of the subject 1. The distance Di between the internal factors calculated using S ^c , S ^i, and R was as shown in FIG. In this example, the person (person number 89) having the smallest internal factor distance Di is selected, and the person 1 in the future period T0 of the person 1 based on the melanin synthesis ability M1 _P in the future reference period Ti _P of the person is selected. We decided to predict the amount of melanin. This is because the change of the melanin amount in the future period of the subject 1 can be considered to be close to the change tendency of the melanin amount in the future reference period of the person No. 89.

Melanin synthesis capability M1 _P future reference period T1 _P of the person the person number 89 is calculated to be ^{-0.05 (10 -4% · m 2} / kJ) ( see FIG. 22). The melanin amount m _B of the subject 1 at present (June 1) is 3.86% (see FIG. 20A). FIG. 28A shows the average ultraviolet irradiation amount for each month in the past (1994 to 2008) in Tsukuba, which is obtained from the ultraviolet irradiation amount data accumulated in the weather database 61. From the monthly average ultraviolet irradiation amount, the average ultraviolet irradiation amount u1 _P in the future period T1 was estimated. Then, melanin amount _{M C} during future periods T1 elapses of the subject 1 (September 1) can be predicted with _{3.85% (M C = M B} + m1 P × u1 P × ( future periods T1 days) / 10 ⁴ ). FIG. 28B is a graph showing the actual measurement values of May 1 and June 1 and the predicted value of September 1 of the melanin amount of the subject 1.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention depending on the purpose and application.

  This melanin synthesis ability evaluation method and beauty advice method, melanin synthesis ability evaluation system and beauty advice system are used for dermatology, beauty dermatology, esthetic salon, cosmetic sales, etc. It can be widely applied as a method and system capable of evaluating the melanin synthesis ability of a customer and the customer and proposing skin care and lifestyle habits in beauty based on the results.

  1, 1 '; Melanin synthesis capacity evaluation system, 10, 10'; Beauty advice system, 2; Image taking device, 3; Input device, 4; Output device, 5; Information processing device (server), 51; Processing unit, 52; customer information input processing unit, 53; melanin synthesis ability calculation processing unit, 53 ′; influence coefficient calculation processing unit, 54, 54 ′; matching information search processing unit, 55, 55 ′; 551; Melanin amount prediction processing unit, 552; Advice creation processing unit, 56; Result display processing unit, 57; History search processing unit, 61; Weather database, 62, 621; Customer information database, 622; Influence coefficient database, 7; Communication network.

Claims (3)

Measuring the amount of melanin for each person on at least two days, and storing and storing the amount of melanin in the customer information database as person data;
The measurement period is defined as the period during which the melanin amount is measured for one person in the melanin amount measurement step, and the amount of change in the melanin of the person in the measurement period and the ultraviolet irradiation amount stored and stored in the weather database , A melanin synthesis capacity calculation step for calculating the amount of melanin change per unit UV irradiation amount during the measurement period as the melanin synthesis capacity of the person,
A beauty advice method using a melanin synthesis ability evaluation method characterized by comprising:
Basic information on internal factors consisting of age, living area, skin quality, skin responsiveness during sunburn, menstrual cycle and daytime outdoor activity time in the measurement period entered for each person , smoking, drinking, An internal factor score obtained by quantifying the degree of one or two or more internal factors selected from disorder of eating habits, exercise, sleep time, ultraviolet ray countermeasures, skin care and stress level is stored as personal data in the customer information database. Customer information input process to be stored,
Basic information of the internal factor among the person data stored in the customer information database, with the period before the previous year corresponding to the measurement period in which the melanin amount was measured for the subject as a reference period, 2 or more persons who are equal to the person and whose melanin synthesis ability in the reference period calculated based on the ultraviolet irradiation amount stored in the weather database is close to the melanin synthesis ability of the subject A conformity information search process to be extracted;
Based on the person data stored in the customer information database and the ultraviolet irradiation amount stored in the weather database, with the period before the previous year corresponding to the predetermined future period of the subject as a future reference period, For the reference person extracted by the matching information search step, a future prediction step for extracting the internal factor having a high influence on the melanin synthesis ability in the future reference period as an influence factor;
Characterized by comprising,
The future prediction step uses the correlation coefficient between the melanin synthesis ability and the internal factor score in the future reference period as a weight among the reference persons extracted by the matching information search step . A person with a small weighted sum of squares of the difference from the internal factor score is extracted as a person with high similarity, and the person 's ability to synthesize melanin in the future reference period and past ultraviolet rays accumulated in the weather database Based on the average value of the irradiation amount, a melanin amount prediction step for predicting the melanin amount in the future period of the subject ,
In the influence factor, an advice creating step of creating advice for suppressing the amount of melanin for the subject in order of the degree of influence ,
Including beauty advice methods. The weather database stores and stores the ultraviolet irradiation amount for each region, and the melanin synthesis capacity calculation step is based on the ultraviolet irradiation amount for each region stored in the weather database. Calculate the melanin synthesis ability by the amount of ultraviolet irradiation according to the region,
The beauty advice method according to claim 1 . A beauty advice system using the beauty advice method according to claim 1 , wherein the weather database, the customer information database, a melanin amount measurement processing unit that performs the melanin amount measurement step, and the melanin synthesis ability calculation A melanin synthesis capacity calculation processing unit that performs a process, a customer information input processing unit that performs the customer information input process, a matching information search processing unit that performs the matching information search process, and a future prediction processing unit that performs the future prediction process; ,
Beauty advice system characterized by comprising.