
The complexion of Japanese women is on average 10 percent lighter than it was in the early 1990s, a comparison of data by Shiseido Co. has found. For women in their 30s, facial skin tones have become even lighter--20 percent more so than for women of the same age bracket in the early '90s, Shiseido found. The study by Shiseido researchers compared data on the skin color of women's cheeks from about 1,900 women aged 20 to 59 over three periods: 1991-1992, 1999-2002 and 2004-2006. Overall, facial skin tone was 10 percent lighter in 2004-2006 than it was in 1991-1992.