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Simulation of Skin Aging and Wrinkles with

Cosmetics Insight

Article · January 2000

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-7091-6344-3_2

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 Simulation of Skin Aging and Wrinkles with Cosmetics
Insight
Laurence Boissieux*, Gergo Kiss*, Nadia Magnenat Thalmann*, Prem Kalra+
*
MIRALab, CUI, University of Geneva
24, rue du General-Dufour, CH-1211, Geneva, Switzerland
Email:{boissieux, kiss, thalmann}@cui.unige.ch
+
Visiting from Department of Computer Science and Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India
Email: pkalra@cse.iitd.ernet.in

Abstract

This paper briefly reviews the existing approaches employed in computer animation for skin
modeling, wrinkle formation and aging process and proposes our approach. Two models have
been proposed, one is image-based for rapid prototyping and instant results and another is
model based an extension to our earlier work. In the model-based technique skin is considered
as a volumetric substance, as opposed to an elastic membrane, having layers of different
materials and a finite element method is used for computing the deformation.

The ultimate aim is to devise a practical system, which can enable modeling of skin of an
individual person using empirically acquired biomechanical parameters such as Young
Modulus. Further, the system is capable to simulate the visual effect of external treatment on
the skin, e.g., use of the cosmetics, and exposure to the sun. An application software to this
effect has been developed in collaboration with L’Oreal, a renowned cosmetic producer.

Keywords: Skin aging, wrinkle simulation, skin deformation, facial cosmetics.

1 Introduction

The skin is a continuous external sheet that covers the body. Due to its outside
visibility and aesthetic value people tend to give a lot of attention to skin. It is a
challenging task to accurately model skin appearance and its behavior with details.
This has variety of applications from entertainment to cosmetics, to plastic surgery.
Though the problematics of skin modeling and aging holds for the entire body, a
particular attention is given to the facial skin as face being the most important body
component. Facial features including skin form essential elements to recognize
individuals, interpret facial expressions, and communicate with others. Furthermore
appearance of wrinkles due to facial expressions and aging add realism to the
modeling and the animation.

This paper focuses on the skin simulation concentrating on both the visual and
biomechanical aspects of the skin. First we give some background on the skin and
wrinkle physiology, which we believe is necessary to study and analyze for devising
an appropriate computational skin model. Next, we give the related work done in skin
modeling and simulation of wrinkles in the domain of computer animation and
simulation. Our approach towards skin and wrinkle simulation is given in Section 4.
We address both image and model based methods employed to this effect. Finally, we
conclude with future work.

2 Skin and Wrinkle Physiology

Though our intention here is not to model and simulate the exact biological form and
functions of human skin, it is, however, important to study and analyze skin’s
physiology to determine the relevant properties that are necessary for realistic skin
modeling and simulation.

2.1 Skin Composition

The skin accounts for about 16% of the body weight1. It has surface area of typically
1.5 to 2.0 m2 in adults and its thickness from 0.2 mm (eye lids) to 6.0 mm (sole of
foot). The skin consists of three layers: the epidermis, dermis and hypodermis. It is
observed that the general appearance of skin and the wrinkles and other lines are
determined by the combined effect of the three layers.

2.2 Skin Surface Structure

The outer skin surface consists of a geometrical structure that manifests the form of
visible skin. A close-up of the skin surface depicts a common micro structure with a
rather well defined geometrical form resembling a layered net-like pattern. On the
other hand, the visible lines, wrinkles, creases and folds constitute a distinct macro
structure that may be specific to one part or region of the body.

2.3 Mechanical Properties of Skin

The important mechanical properties of the skin are extensibility, resistance to

friction, and response to lateral compressive loading1. Skin properties vary with
species, age, exposure, hydration, obesity, disease, site and orientation. The other
material properties of skin are: non-linearity, anisotropy and visco-elasticity,
incompressibility and plasticity2.

2.4 Wrinkle Physiology

Skin changes with age, wrinkles emerge and become more pronounced. Wrinkles
depend on nature of skin and muscle contraction. Wrinkles are most important macro
structures. Two types of wrinkles are considered: expressive wrinkles (particularly
relevant for the face) and wrinkles due to age. Expressive wrinkles also referred to as
temporary wrinkles that appear on the face during expressions at all ages and may
become permanently visible over time. In addition to their visual effects expressive
wrinkles act as an important factor for understanding and interpreting facial
expressions, and permanent visible wrinkles indicate the age of a person.
3 Related Work

Though skin simulation is not restricted to the face, we consider face to be an

important body part for its various role in identification, communication and
beautification. We give some related work in the simulation of facial skin
deformation. Varied models are used to simulate facial animation and skin
deformation for different purposes3. These are geometric models, physically-based
models and biomechanical models using either a particle system or a continuous
system. Many geometrical models have been developed, such as parametric model,4 5
geometric operators6 and abstract muscle actions.7 There are also different kinds of
physically-based models, such as the tension net model8 and the three layered
deformable lattice structure model.9 10 The finite element method is also employed for
more accurate calculation of skin deformation, especially for potential medical
applications such as plastic surgery.11 12 13 Some work based on finite element method
has also been reported on the internet,14 15 however, not much details are given.

Many research efforts have been undertaken for generating textures for animal skin as
well as human skin. Bump and color mapping techniques,16 texture synthesis
language,17 face data recording18 and a micro geometrical model19 are used to
simulate different skin patterns by texture.

There is a few facial animation models with dynamic wrinkles. Viaud et al.20 have
presented a geometric hybrid model for the formation of expressive and aged
wrinkles, where bulges are modeled as spline segments and determined by age
parameter. There are also physically-based facial animation models, where some
wrinkles appear as the outcome of the skin deformation.9 21

4 Our Approach

One can envisage two main categories of modeling skin with wrinkle formation and
aging: image based method and model based method. In image based method, the
image is transformed using image-warping and other image processing operations for
changing luminance and coloration to give impression for the wrinkles and other
aging artifacts. The evolution of such transformation would generate the effects of
aging and formation of wrinkles on the image. This image can be texture mapped on a
3D model. In the second approach a 3D model is deformed using an appropriate
technique –geometric or physically based. This method though computationally
expensive can give more accurate results in terms of deformations to the
geometry/structure of the skin. As follows we give our approach for skin simulation
used in these two categories at MIRALab.

4.1 Image Based Method

Here, some generic masks of pre-computed wrinkles are applied as textures on a 3D

model of a face. The idea is to darken with a certain amount the color of initial skin
texture to give the impression of wrinkle depth, i.e., the luminance of pixels is
modified. The pixel intensity and color are associated with the aging parameters (age
and cosmetics). The motivation here was to be able to visualize instantly the effect of
the use of skin care products on the facial model of a particular person. This however,
does not include the other morphological changes on the face as a consequence of
aging. The method is based on image/texture fitting and mapping on the facial model.

4.1.1 Definition of Generic Masks

The generic masks constitute different types of wrinkle sets to customize for a
particular person with different features. After the analysis of the qualitative data from
L’Oreal, 8 basic masks are generated corresponding to the following criteria:

• gender (male or female)

• shape of the face (round or long)
• expression (often smiling or not)

The gender determines wrinkles specific to a particular gender, for example, females
have vertical wrinkles above the mouth region. The shape of the face also plays a role
for wrinkle features: for a round face, the wrinkles are deeper, shorter, and less in
number compared to a long face. Concerning expressions, a very smiley person will
have more pronounced wrinkles around the eyes and the mouth than an expressionless
face. The design of these 8 basic masks is done on the basis of the extreme case, i.e.,
they correspond to the maximum age (80 years) and without any anti-age cosmetic
correction. Figure 1 shows the 8 masks. These masks have been generated using
samples from the real photos of the aged people.

(a) (b) (c) (d)

(e) (f) (g) (h)

Figure 1: The eight generic masks.

4.1.2 Data Correlation

L’Oreal provided both the qualitative and quantitative data, which has been used in
our simulation process. For example, the data consists of the relative change in the
biomechanical parameters like Young modulus, and skin viscosity. In addition, the
data is provided in terms of change in wrinkle intensity when a particular cosmetic
product is employed. The qualitative data about the amount, shape and intensity of
wrinkles with respect to the gender, facial shape and expression was used for the
design of the eight generic masks described in the section above. Data was also
provided for the depth of wrinkles with age,22 a least-square fitting is used for
obtaining a linear relation. Thus, a simple relation as follows is derived between the
age and the wrinkle depth.

Wrinkle Depth = 2.74 * Age

The wrinkle’s depth changes with the use of cosmetic products such as Mexoryl and
Retinol. This data is also provided and used for the simulation process.

4.1.3 Aging
The process of aging is simulated considering the linear relationship between the age
and the wrinkle’s intensity as derived above. For relative measurements, at age 80, the
extreme case with maximum intensity of wrinkles is conceived. Thus, if a face is to be
generated which has the age of 55, it will be deduced by using the wrinkle parameters
for the age of 55. Figure 2 (see color plates) shows faces of the age 25, 55 and 80.
This is applicable to all the eight generic masks.

Wrinkles seem to delineate with the use of cosmetic products. As mentioned above, a
relationship between the wrinkle’s depth and a particular cosmetic product is
established based on the data provided by L’Oreal. This can be visually simulated in a
straightforward manner, a method of visual inspection can be employed to validate
the simulation. Figure 3 (see color plates) shows the result of applying Mexoryl to the
face of the age 55.

4.1.4 Customizing to a specific person (cloning and aging)

One of the interesting applications of this approach is to apply the simulation process
to a specific person. This requires first to obtain the model of the particular person
using the pictures or otherwise. A method has been developed at MIRALab for virtual
cloning of people using two orthogonal views (front and side) of the pictures.23 To
apply the wrinkles on the specific model, we use local coordinate system defined on
each triangle of the mesh, which gives the location of point within a triangle. As the
triangle mesh has the same topology, getting the wrinkles on the modified face from
the generic face is straight forward using the barycentric coordinates.24 Once it is
identified to which generic class the particular face matches, the wrinkles are
generated on the selected generic face. The process of cloning and texture fitting are
then employed to obtain the wrinkles on the specific face. A convivial user interface
is provided to perform these tasks. Figure 4 (see color plates) gives an example of
aging on a cloned face.

4.1.5 Limitations
The image-based approach has some inherent limitations. The perceptible geometrical
and structural changes cannot be modeled using this approach. Thus, for certain
applications this approach is not realistic. The current system simulates only the
permanent wrinkles due to aging, however, extension to the temporary wrinkles is
possible. The impact of biomechanical parameters cannot be incorporated directly in
the simulation process.

4.2 Model Based Approach

4.2.1 Elastic Membrane Model

In an earlier approach for facial animation, a three-layered structure is employed
consisting of a skin layer, a connective tissue layer and a muscle layer25. The
deformation of skin is activated by the simulated muscle layer, constrained by
connective tissue layer and decided by a biomechanical model. The skin represented
as a triangular mesh, follows a linear, isotropic, elastic behavior. During the process
of a muscle contraction, for every predefined wrinkle, the system constantly measures
the shrinking of the skin surface along each wrinkle line. Considering one wrinkle, the
direction of measurement is locally perpendicular to its line at every point. Principal
strains are not computed, instead, plain and shear strains are measured along a
specific coordinate system for every triangle. This coordinate system is aligned with
the connected muscle's contraction direction. Skin's incompressibility is not modeled
explicitly, however, its effect is shown by increasing the amplitude of the nearby
wrinkles. The wrinkle formation and rendering details are provided through color,
bump or displacement texture mapping using a layered rendering process of
RenderMan.26 The texture images consist of synthetic patterns as well as real photos.
The dynamics of wrinkle simulation is computed using the strain measures of skin
deformation of the 3D facial model. Figure 5 illustrates the results of the facial
simulation and wrinkle generation.

Figure 5: Facial animation with wrinkle generation.

4.2.2 Proposed Model

The previous model is relatively simple and adequately fast to be used for a practical
application. However, there are some limitations of the model, which may be relevant
for realistic simulations. For example, in the previous model, skin has no real
thickness, it is basically modeled as an elastic membrane. The incompressibility is
treated in a 'loose' manner and the system relies on user inputs at many instances. The
proposed model is devised taking into account some of these issues. In the proposed
model, we consider different layers in skin with given thickness and their mechanical
properties such as elastic modulus and Poisson ratio. The model is intended to provide
the different characteristics of wrinkles --location, number, density, cross-sectional
shape, and amplitude-- as a consequence of skin deformation caused by a muscle
action. The previous approach required specification of wrinkle lines with their
locations. However, for a realistic simulation, wrinkles arise with all of their
properties contributing to the equilibrium state.

Layered Structure
Skin is considered as layers of different type of tissues having different properties as
shown as a cross section in Figure 6. The multi-layer notion corresponds to the
reality. For simplicity only two layers have been considered, where, the upper most
layer modeling epidermis has more stiffness than the layer underneath. The layered
structure give the notion of having substance to each layer and thus allows volume
preservation.

epidermis Thin and stiff

(upper) surface layer

dermis Thick and soft

lower layer

subcutaneous
tissue

fascia

(a) (b)
Figure 6: The structure of the proposed model
The behavior of tissue is controlled by elastic deformation. For a 2D cross section, the
triangle mesh is deformed using a similar mechanism as the surface membrane used
in the previous model. That is, each layer here is considered as a linear, isotropic,
elastic material.

Wrinkle Simulation
The model allows simulation of both the temporary and permanent wrinkles. As
follows we provide the basic concept for the simulation of the two types.

a) Temporary Wrinkles
At present, simulations are performed on an abstract, simplified piece of skin. The
process of deformation does not use explicit definition of a muscle in the current
simulation. The positions of the two ends, which may be achieved as the consequence
of a muscle action, act as input to the simulation. The upper surface layer responds to
this compression with bulging out of its original line, whereas, the underlying layer
regulates this deformation. In other words, where the surface bulges up, the
underlying tissue stretches (extends vertically, shortens horizontally), and where the
surface bulges down, the underlying tissue squeezes (shortens vertically, extends
horizontally). These deformations appear in a periodic pattern, ending up with a
sinusoid like line of the surface as illustrated in Figure 7.

Figure 7: The concept of temporary wrinkle generation

Such a sinusoidal pattern shows not enough similarity with a wrinkle. The cross-
sectional curve of real wrinkles has similar hills, but sharp valleys in contrast to these
smooth ones. We achieve this more realistic type of wrinkle cross-section by using a
sinusoidal interface between the two layers (Figure 8). It is also observed in the real
structure of skin that the interface between epidermis and dermis is not flat, rather it is
close to a sinusoidal curve, see Figure 6(a).

Figure 8: Simulation result using sinusoid interface between the two tissues

b) Permanent Wrinkles
Every triangle that the tissues consist of has a shape memory, i.e., its rest shape. We
may introduce plastic effects in this model by constantly adjusting the rest shapes of
the triangles based on the current deformations. This causes a slow adaptation to
deformations. As a result, the overall shape of skin reflects its history. In addition, it is
observed that the wrinkles formed, naturally guide the location of future wrinkles.
Figure 9 illustrates the influence of the plastic factor.
 (a): Remnant wrinkles after contraction-decontraction when using a plastic factor

(b): Recontracting the plastic skin piece

Figure 9: Effect of plastic factor in the formation of wrinkles.

Experimental Results
Several simulations have been performed with different parameters. Figure 10 gives
an overview of the effect of the different parameters. Three parameters are considered
here: Young_surf, the Young modulus of the surface (upper) layer, Young_under, the
Young modulus of the underlying layer, and thickness_surf, the thickness of the
surface layer. The thickness of the underlying layer is given a constant value of 1.3
mm, and the Poission ratio of both layers is taken as 0.5. It was observed that change
in the thickness of underying layer and the Poission ration do not give noticeable
difference in the results.

Smaller wrinkles emerge with lower values of the Young_surf. This is in accordance
with the real-life experience: hydrating cosmetics, decrease the elastic modulus of
epidermis and thus can lessen the wrinkles, whereas, skin having a higher Young_surf
value (dry epidermis) wrinkles are more accentuated. Increasing the Young_under
parameter flattens the wrinkles, while, its lower values give rise to wavy folds (ripple
effect) on the skin. The thickness_surf parameter seems to influence the number and
size of the wrinkles. A thinner surface layer produces denser and smaller wrinkles,
because such a surface layer tends to bend more. In a thicker surface layer fewer folds
appear owing to low bend-ability.

Simulations verify that the model used is independent of the definition of the
resolution and the total length of the skin.
Figure 10: Experimental results with various parameters.
5 Conclusion

In this paper we have presented our approach for skin simulation, wrinkle
formulation, and aging on facial skin. Two methods have been presented: image
based and model based. Image based method employs eight generic mask as
templates, which characterize wrinkles. A process of cloning is involved to customize
the template to a particular person. The image based method enables instantaneous
display of simulation results. In the model-based technique first we consider skin as
an elastic membrane. Further, we extend it and consider skin as a volumetric
substance having layers of different materials and a finite element method is used for
computing the deformation.

The system allows simulating the visual effect of external treatment on the skin, e.g.,
use of the cosmetics, and exposure to the sun.

For the proposed layered skin model, where the experiments have been performed on
an abstract skin, extensions are being made to use the model the face. Computational
limitations of the method suggest to using hybrid approach of generating wrinkles
where, rendering can be enhanced with texture mapping techniques.

Acknowledgements
Authors would like to thank L’Oreal, Paris for furnishing the data, which has been
used for the simulation.

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