Phase 1:

A framework of 18 terms for frequently assessed skin quality attributes, distributed across three domains (visual, topographical, mechanical), was proposed.

Phase 2:

The framework was refined based on feedback from global advisors to focus on treatable attributes and remove redundant terms describing the outcome of treating an attribute, resulting in 15 consensus terms
distributed across 4 domains.

Phase 3:

This phase consisted of both a qualitative and quantitative segment.

Qualitative segment:
Patient focus groups were used to determine if terminology was impacted by age, gender, or ethnicity. The most consistent terms were dry skin, skin redness, and oily skin, with over 70% agreement across different demographic groups. The least consistent terms were pores, hyperpigmentation, and skin roughness.

Quantitative segment:
Online surveys of over 200 aesthetic providers and over 1,000 patients were conducted to evaluate whether terminology was influenced by provider expertise or the conversational partner (e.g., patient-to-patient, HCP-to-patient, or HCP-to-HCP). The survey showed substantial agreement in provider-to-provider conversations, with a preference for medical terms like dry skin (xerosis) and redness (rosacea). However, terminology diverged significantly between patients and providers. For example, providers might use crepey skin while patients say aged skin, or providers might refer to hyperpigmentation as brown spots, while patients—especially across different ethnicities—more frequently described it as sun damage.