Could Artificial Intelligence Be the Secret to Acne-Free Skin?
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AI for Acne?
Skin savior or sneaky VC data grab? Tech-driven skin care is here to cure our breakouts in just a few simple steps — but there's a catch.
By Lexy Lebsack
Allure / Soleil Summer
The term "artificial intelligence" might always remind us of Black Mirror or The Matrix, but there's no denying that the once-futuristic tech has infiltrated our lives in nearly every way. The iPhone's photo roll can pick you out of a lineup, genealogy results get more accurate with each person that submits their blood, and TikTok knows just how to make hours melt away in the blink of an eye. All of this is powered by machine learning: Computer algorithms that get more and more effective with every piece of information they collect, called data points. Now, tech-minded skin-care founders are using machine learning to tackle concerns like acne… but is it too good to be true?
"The skin-care industry is very marketing driven and product development is based on trendy ingredients," says Meghan Maupin, CEO and cofounder of Atolla, customized skin care designed to become more effective with each monthly shipment, thanks to subtle reformulations powered by customer feedback and a patented algorithm. "Our approach is to let the data show us patterns across different customer groups, and what formulations might work best for each... machine learning is the start of the skin-care industry becoming more data-driven."
Atolla collects its data points through a quiz that covers the participant's skin goals and history, allergies, current product routine, medications, and lifestyle; a mail-in skin test that seeks to measure hydration and sebum levels through a blotting paper-like tool; and a selfie that helps remote aestheticians assess concerns. (Since Atolla's products are over the counter, it employs skin experts to educate the consumer instead of doctors able to treat skin issues, Maupin explains.)
Its algorithm then compares your data to other users who have similar skin concerns — seeing what worked for them — and scans for ingredient conflicts in your routine before generating a customized serum, which it will auto-ship to the customer for $39 a month or bundle with a cleanser and moisturizer for $69 per month. "For customers with acne or breakouts, we're able to titrate your dosage of active ingredients up or down each month in response to your skin progress," Maupin adds.
Atolla
Atolla is just one of many new companies that understand the monetary value of data, the appeal of bespoke personal-care products, and the power of a subscription model. In some respects, there's a data-driven beauty gold rush happening. You may remember Proven founder Ming Zhao pitch her bespoke skin care on Shark Tank — products formulated based on environment, diet, age, and dozens of other factors — or heard of Singapore-based Yours skin care, which offers custom products for acne, pigmentation, and many other concerns.
Then there are brands, like Curology, which use the expertise of medically-trained providers (doctors, physician assistants), to create unique formulations that target breakouts, fine lines, and other skin concerns. Similarly, there is Docent, which employs medical doctors to assess a makeup-free selfie and vanity shelfie before shipping your skin prescription.
Machine learning is even being used to improve the subscription box model. "We use data to connect customers to products that work and curate high-performing skin-care routines that they never would have assembled on their own," says Katrina Moreno Lewis, founder and CEO of Kura Skin, a quarterly subscription box that offers a complete, bespoke routine — from cleanser to sunscreen — that starts at $99 or can be purchased as a one-off.
Yours Skin Care
Curology
Quickly and effectively calming redness, fading melasma, and beating breakouts with the help of technology sounds like a dream, but this data-driven trend brings up important questions. First, can an at-home quiz really unlock the secret to healthier skin?
"Self-reported data has limits," says Corey L. Hartman, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist based in Birmingham, Alabama, explaining that the very language we use to describe our skin concerns is up for interpretation. "There aren't very many specific parameters or criteria for some of these terms that we put a lot of credibility on."
For example, he says the reason why medical papers don't use the terms "dry," "oily," or "combination" is that they mean different things to different people. "These are things that we talk about in beauty spaces and marketing, but in terms of real scientific data, there's nothing that's tied to that, so what does it really mean?"
Another question to consider is how our personal health data is being stored and used. Margaret Foster Riley, a health privacy expert and professor of law at The University of Virginia, raises a few red flags about this growing trend. "Sometimes you'll see companies will assert that they'll never sell or use your data improperly but what's unclear is what happens in a succession context," she says, noting that your data might not be protected in a bankruptcy or acquisition (both common with startups).
Then there are potential long-term risks: "A lot of people [who willingly provide their data to companies] are young and healthy and not thinking of the impact that might be with health insurance or, even in some contexts, employment," Riley adds. "They go into it willing to share everything, then, later on, they recognize that if things come out they may have an obligation to share it with a long-term care company or a life insurance company and they weren't thinking about that at the time." It gets more complicated when more-in depth tests are involved, a natural progression of the trend we are undoubtedly going to see increasing.
Veracity Selfcare
Take Veracity Selfcare, the New York City-based startup's process starts with a $149 mail-in spit test, but unlike genealogy companies like 23andMe that look at DNA, it's checking hormones — like estrogen and testosterone — and pH levels. "Our test results give women real insights into the state of their hormones and offer solutions that will improve their skin health, from skin-care products and ingredients they should use to diet and lifestyle recommendations tailored to their unique biofactors," says founder and CEO Allie Egan.
Right now, the tech is geared towards women, but Egan says they plan to expand to men in the future. "We focus on women because we test estrogen and progesterone, which are female dominant hormones, but have had men take the test," she says. "In the future, we'll be able to provide more customized insight for men."
For example, if Veracity's test shows low estrogen levels, which could mean decreased collagen production, its algorithm would then prompt the website to recommend a collagen-boosting serum or something from its own line of products, like its Bioevolve Serum for $85 or Bioevolve Moisturizer for $75.
It sounds great in theory, but Los Angeles-based board-certified dermatologist Karyn Grossman, M.D., brings up an additional point to consider when submitting bodily fluids. "Your hormones fluctuate significantly over a month if you are not pregnant and not using hormone-based birth control," she says. "So, calculating 'abnormal' vs 'normal' levels in women between the ages of 12 and 45 may be somewhat difficult."
Furthermore, Dr. Grossman adds that blood tests performed in a doctor's office are more accurate than spit tests and understanding your hormones is very nuanced, so a trip to the derm could end up being a better bet for clearing your skin. Veracity's Egan agrees that these tests shouldn't replace a visit to the doctor. Instead, they're meant to empower a new mindset of better understanding one's body.
Another thing to understand is that the level of customization is different for each company. Final skin-care formulations should be tested for safety, stability, efficacy, package compatibility, and more, so it's unlikely a truly custom formula will show up on your door at competitive prices. While each brand is different, Maupin describes Atolla's serum customization process as "modular" and says stability testing is done on all components and efficacy testing is performed on the formula's bases. "It's hard to give an exact number [of formulas we've created] since formulas are being added and removed with the data," she says. "Generally, it's in the thousands!"
Of course, if a formula works, does it really matter how custom is custom? Allure spoke to several people who have tried the custom trend and the reviews were mixed. "It got rid of [my] hormonal acne, [and] I have recommended it to other people with problem skin if they can't get into a dermatologist," one woman told us, but another was left disappointed: "The cleanser also was just so basic and soapy and it came way too often."
Still, the vast majority of users thought it was somewhere in the middle. "I was pretty bummed because it was kind of expensive," one man told us after using a service for six months. "[It] felt kind of generic and not as customized as they made it sound." This sentiment was echoed through many interviews: "I did it for two months and saw zero changes in my skin," one woman told us. "Maybe they just went lighter on the ingredients to be safe, but the quiz was very in-depth so I thought it would be at my skin's level."
If you do decide to partake, our experts suggest treating it as a fresh option, not the holy grail. "I think these sound fun, and maybe kind of cool and interesting," Grossman says. "But I don't believe that the current trend is much more than marketing."
If nothing else, we know there's a wave of customized products and alternative care on the horizon — just make sure you read the fine print.
More deep dives on skin-care ingredients:
Meet the Allure Ingredient Index, Our Official Guide to What's in Your Products
Everything You Need to Know About CBD in Beauty Products
Why Tea Tree Oil Is Still Beloved by Dermatologists
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Lexy Lebsack is an award-winning digital journalist with a deep love of face masks and fitness. She's reported on the culture and controversy of beauty from across the globe for her Refinery29 webseries SHADY, was the founding editor of Byrdie Beauty, and has covered the inner workings of the industry... Read more
Keywordsskinskin caretechnologyacneskin-care productdermatologistartificial intelligencefeature