Amorepacific unveils AI-powered mapping of region-specific facial ageing 

FRANCE – Amorepacific introduced a novel research breakthrough that maps region-specific facial ageing using AI-driven skin imaging. 

Titled “AI-Driven Visual Skin Imaging Reveals Region-Specific Facial Ageing Patterns in Korean Participants: Wrinkles and Hyperpigmentation,” the presentation introduced a “Facial Ageing Map” from the Amorepacific R&I Centre. 

Built on Korean facial datasets, the map pinpoints when and where signs of ageing appear and how they progress. Researchers used AI to align faces to a common baseline, extract regional data on wrinkles and hyperpigmentation, and merge these layers into a standardized facial composite to visualize aging across age groups.

The study combines AI imaging with a “Standardized-Face Composite Overlay” to show the spatial patterns of ageing across the whole face. 

It found that wrinkles and hyperpigmentation advance along different routes: wrinkles start chiefly around the eyes and spread to expression-prone and structurally shifting areas, while hyperpigmentation begins on the cheeks and under-eye region before spreading outward. 

This full-face approach captures ageing progression more holistically than prior localized methods.

By averaging data within the same age groups to create standardized composites, the team visualized the chronological sequence of regional ageing, highlighting potential for personalized skin research and early, preventive care rather than reactive treatment.

Byung-Fhy Brian Suh, CTO of the Amorepacific R&I Centre, said the work showcases the company’s AI imaging and skin analysis capabilities and that these predictive models will underpin Amorepacific’s “Holistic Longevity Solution” vision.

The research used Amorepacific’s Dr. AMORE® AI skin-diagnosis platform, which powers services like SKIN NOTE on AMORE MALL and My Future Skin at AMORE YONGSAN CITY LAB, enabling customers to anticipate skin changes earlier and plan tailored skincare.

This move comes shortly after Amorepacific recently unlocked a pivotal substance for youthful skin through microbiome science. 

The Amorepacific R&I Centre identified phenyllactic acid (PLA), a metabolite consistently found at higher levels in the skin of young, radiantly healthy Korean women, by integrating analyses of the skin microbiome and surface metabolites. 

The findings were published online in April in the international journal International Microbiology under the title “Integrated analysis of age-related microbiome, and metabolites reveals youth-associated metabolites in young Korean women’s skin.” 

PLA is a distinct microbiome-derived metabolite that universally marks youthful skin environments, and in vitro cellular tests showed it stimulates collagen production, critical for resilience and elasticity, while inhibiting collagen-degrading enzymes, directly linking a microbiome metabolite to anti-ageing effects. 

The study moves beyond viewing ageing as purely chronological, demonstrating that considering microbiota functions and their metabolites yields a more precise read of skin condition and positions the microbiome not as a passive co-existing ecosystem but as an active partner that determines fundamental skin health.

These results are expected to become foundational data for personalized skin diagnostics tailored to individual microbiome-metabolite profiles, and Amorepacific will expand research into next-generation “Skin Longevity” ingredients that help skin stay healthy beyond actual age by leveraging microbiome-derived metabolites like PLA. 

The technologies uncovered are slated for broad application across innovative skincare products, creating a new frontier in functional, microbiome-driven formulations. 

This discovery builds on Amorepacific’s sustained microbiome program, which has mapped microbiota composition and shifts and clarified links between microbes and the skin barrier, immune system, and aging mechanisms.

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