Huang Nan, Mi T, Xu S, et al. - To take advantage of the difference in occupational exposure, researchers conducted this population study to concentrate on taxi drivers employed in urban and rural areas. For biomarker study, the skin conditions of 100 middle-aged male taxi drivers from urban Shanghai and 66 from rural Chongming were assessed using facial tape strips. In urban taxi drivers from Shanghai, trans-epidermal water loss values before and after tape stripping were significantly higher. Findings suggest that air pollution caused by traffic may deteriorate the physical and antioxidant barrier of the body, whereas factors such as photo-exposure may be overwhelming against appearance aging. Therefore, in addition to photoprotection, for people with high exposure to air pollution, skin barrier treatment should be considered.