Carbonylated proteins contribute to the darkness around facial pores

Recently, the unevenness of facial skin color has become a common problem for elderly women. In general, the problem of skin color in elderly women is defined as skin dullness. To date, it has been reported that skin dullness is caused by the accumulation of oxidized proteins, such as carbonylated proteins and glycated proteins [1,2]. In microscopic observations, facial skin sometimes reveals darkness around skin pores, which is different from follicular plugging. That darkness could be thought of as a phenomenon that induces skin color unevenness.