About the Webinar

Within skin, the epidermis is of particular importance in cosmetology as it is considered to greatly affect skin’s condition. Spectroscopic techniques have high potential in the measurement of human skin components, where non-invasive measurement is important.

​​​​​​​Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) can be used to visualize water, while spontaneous Raman can be used to analyze water, lipids, and free-amino acids in the skin. For application of Raman microscopy to the molecular imaging of human skin, non-linear Raman spectroscopy, such as coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), which enables faster measurement than with spontaneous Raman, is an attractive technique.

In my talk, I will give examples of visualizing water in 2D using NIR imaging. I will also introduce the latest results on intracellular morphologies and water/intercellular lipid distribution in the human stratum corneum using CARS and SRS.

About the Presenter

​​​​​​​Mariko Egawa, Ph.D. is an executive specialist at MIRAI Technology Institute, Shiseido Co., Ltd. Japan. She received her B.S. degree (1993) from the University of Tsukuba and joined Shiseido in 1993. She also received her Dr. Eng. degree (2004) from Niigata University and Ph.D. degree (2017) from the University of Tsukuba. After joining Shiseido, she became involved in the efficacy assurance of cosmetics and the development of skin measurement devices and evaluation methods. Since 2014, she has expanded her research field to the development of new value by collaborating with dermatological research.

​​​​​​​She has published more than 40 peer-reviewed papers in international journals on topics such as non-invasive optical skin analysis and non-optical skin function evaluation. Her work has been recognized by several awards, including the NIR Advance Award in 2006, the 22nd International Federation of Societies of Cosmetic Chemists (IFSCC) International Conference, the best paper award in 2013, and the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Research Category in 2022.

About the Guest Scientist

Dr. Tomoko Sekine began her career as a research scientist at Shiseido in 1993. She has been involved in the development of new emulsification technologies for skin care products, especially emulsions with unique textures such as multiple emulsions and Pickering emulsions. Now a Senior Research Scientist at Shiseido, Dr. Sekine has been a Member of the International Committee of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Japan since 2020. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Japan Oil
Chemists’ Society from which she received the Women Scientists Encouragement Award in 2013, and where she now works as Chair of the Editorial Board for the journal Oleoscience.

Dr. Sekine holds a BS from Waseda University’s Department of Applied Chemistry and received her PhD in colloid and interface science from Tokyo University of Science. In addition to delivering lectures at universities throughout Japan on cosmetology, she also speaks on  career development.

About the Moderator

Perry Romanowski serves as Chair of the IFSCC Education Committee, representing the Society of Cosmetic Chemists (USA & Canada) on the IFSCC Praesidium. He runs the cosmetic science education company Chemists Corner.