Abstract: The present invention pertains to methods of characterizing the effects on the skin of skin-molding agents and to methods of characterizing the physical behavior of the skin-molding agents themselves. A preferred embodiment of the present invention uses a non-invasive, in vivo form of digital image speckle correlation to track deformation of human skin caused by the application of a skin-molding agent, in particular, an immediate-effect skin molding agent. The skin-molding agent may or may not be part of a composition. The application to the skin of a skin-molding agent may or may not be part of a treatment regimen. The present invention may be applied to any surface of the human body, to non-humans and to inert matter. Unlike in vitro methods and unlike invasive, in vivo methods that tension the skin with an apparatus, the present invention relies on the applied skin-molding agent to create before and after deformation images.

Abstract: The present invention comprises the use of Digital Image Speckle Correlation (DISC) to map facial deformations due to voluntary and/or involuntary, often subtle, facial expressions. The facial expressions may be the result of a response to internal or external stimuli. It is possible to develop quantitative and qualitative characterizations of the individual's response. The techniques of the present invention can be used to extend and improve the FACS, which includes assigning human emotions to facial expressions. It is also possible to use test subject feedback to correlate facial expressions to human emotion.