Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 3, 2026

Using Facial Electromyography to Assess Facial Muscle Reactions to Experienced and Observed Affective Touch in Humans
Published on: March 15, 2019
Continuous Dark Chocolate Consumption Affects Human Facial Skin Surface by Stimulating Corneocyte Desquamation and
Natalya Chalyk1,2,3,4, Viktor Klochkov1,2,3,4, Louise Sommereux1,2,3,4
1Dr. Petyaev and Mr. Kyle are with Lycotec Ltd. in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
Background: Nutrition can influence skin health. Dark chocolate possesses health promoting properties, but its consumption can exacerbate acne vulgaris in young people. Objective: We evaluated effects of continuous dark chocolate intake on morphological characteristics of the residual skin surface components (RSSCs) collected from the facial skin of young and middle-aged men. Methods: RSSC samples were taken from 17 young and 16 middle-aged men before and after a four-week consumption period of dark chocolate (10g per day). Lipid droplet size, corneocyte desquamation, and microbial presence levels were measured in the collected RSSC. The project was registered as ISRCTN89815519 in the ISRCTN registry (https://www.isrctn.com/). Results: Chocolate consumption caused a significant increase in corneocyte desquamation only in the group of young men, whereas Gram-positive microorganism presence significantly increased in both the young and middle-aged men, though this effect was noticeably stronger in the young men. Conclusion: Dark chocolate consumption appears to affect the facial skin of young men by enhancing corneocyte desquamation and promoting bacterial colonization of the RSSC. These changes might potentially contribute to acne development.
Related Concept Videos
The Eukaryotic Promoter Region
The Colonization of Land
Dark Triad and Person Perception
Bacterial RNA Polymerase
In most genes, the transcription site is a single base present upstream of the coding sequence. Though RNAP is a catalytically efficient enzyme, it does not recognize...
Muscles for Facial Expressions
Facial Feedback Hypothesis

