Due to their influence on perceived age, spots on the face are aging concerns that many consumers seek to improve. However, few studies have investigated the effect of spots on interpersonal impressions. The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal spot area and degree of reduction necessary to enhance interpersonal impressions, depending on each individual’s desirable interpersonal impression. To achieve this purpose, we investigated the relationship between spot areas and interpersonal impressions using a technique that adds texture features, such as spots and wrinkles, to a standard face created by averaging multiple facial images and incorporating basic skin textures. In addition, we evaluated how impressions varied with reduced spot concentration, serving as a simulation of the effects of spot-improving cosmetics. The results showed that spot care affected a wide range of interpersonal impressions, with area-dependent impression characteristics.
Taguchi et al. (Thu,) studied this question.