Quantifying Skin Color Appearance in Human Faces and Textured Skin Patches via Color Research and Application

Accurate quantification of skin color appearance is essential across diverse domains, yet it remains unclear how perceived facial color relates to corresponding colorimetric values. This study investigated how observers perceive and match the overall color appearance of facial images and textured skin patches, and how this appearance depends on viewing context and ethnicity. Seventy-six Caucasian and Chinese observers participated in asymmetric color-matching experiments in CIELAB space, with separate observer groups matching facial images or textured skin patches from a stimulus set of 80 Caucasian and 80 Chinese faces.