The picture was taken at Tokyo's Beautyworld Japan Expo, and it shows a woman undergoing the ReGen Light Treatment system, made by U.K.-based Energist. Says Energist:

This versatile ReGen™ system is a breakthrough in LED technology, delivering a constant stream of rejuvenating light which is proven to have beneficial bio-stimulation effects on the skin to alleviate the damage caused by acne, ageing, and the sun. Powered by an array of high intensity LED's using red and blue light, ReGen™ has the power and flexibility to initiate new collagen production and speed up skin repair, effectively stimulating cellular mechanisms to regenerate the skin.

I always knew those old LEDs were good for something.

Picture by Michael Caronna/Reuters [Wall Street Journal]

Computer scientist Daniel Cohen-Or, lead researcher on the project, said:

Beauty, contrary to what most people think, is not simply in the eye of the beholder. Beauty can be quantified by mathematical measurements and ratios. It can be defined as average distances between features, which a majority of people agree are the most beautiful. I don't claim to know much about beauty. For us, every picture in this research project is just a collection of numbers.

But Cohen-Or's mathematically-precise beauty is based entirely on subjective standards. He his research team surveyed 68 Israeli and German men and women, aged 25 to 40, asking them to rank the beauty of 93 different men’s and women’s faces on a scale of 1 to 7. According to Science Daily:

These scores were then entered into a database and correlated to 250 different measurements and facial features, such as ratios of the nose, chin and distance from ears to eyes. From this, the scientists created an algorithm that applies desirable elements of attractiveness to a fresh image.

So the algorithm simply reproduces the biases of a fairly small sample size of people, asked to rank beauty in a fairly artificial way. But apparently, at least according to the researchers it "works" in that most people think the photographs that go through the beauty machine are hotter than when they went in.

Except one time. Apparently Woody Allen's picture was not improved by the process.

Beauty Machine [via Science Daily]

The researcher claims:

Skin surface irregularity can be improved through the topical application of niacin, while the appearance of fine lines can be diminished through the application of moisturizers containing engineered peptides and over-the-counter retinoids. Skin pigmentation can become more regular with the use of photoprotective ingredients. Furthermore, combining cosmeceutical ingredients in a moisturizing agent can magnify benefits and improve skin appearance.

Cosmeceuticals [Eurekalert]