Skin care & technology special: part I

With the ability to try on products without leaving the house and virtually visit stores for personalised consultations from AI assistants, technology is propelling the skin care industry in a number of new ways…

“The beauty industry is undergoing a rapid transformation with the integration of advanced technologies such as AI, AR and smart devices,” commented Scarlet McNicol, a metaverse expert at trends and market intelligence firm Kantar.

With previously unmatched innovation and investment being channelled into this space, it seems that cosmetics consumers are as enthusiastic about the latest developments as forward-thinking beauty and personal care brands.

“The beauty business is becoming increasingly tech-powered, with new solutions offering custom cosmetics at a level previously unseen. It is telling that 43% of consumers would rather shade-match their beauty products using online AI tools than shop in-store,” shared Olivia Houghton, who is deputy creative foresight editor and beauty & wellness lead at strategic foresight consultancy, The Future Laboratory.

“In skin care, businesses are currently exploring how data, online searches and conversation relating to public moods could help to foster faster innovation in skin care needs development. This trend for EQ-Commerce is something that L’Oréal’s Skinceuticals brand is currently experimenting with,” continued Houghton.

“One of the group’s newest concepts, the SkinCeuticals A.G.E. Interrupter Lab, was launched in Haitang Bay in Hainan, China, as a popup to test out a much more personalied experience for customers. The activation showcases the brand’s anti-ageing innovation, Advanced Skinscope, which effectively brings a medical-grade diagnostic service to travellers,” she explained.  

In this two-part special, we will examine the various ways that technology is being integrated into the skin care industry, starting with the use of AI…

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in beauty​

Valued at $2.7bn last year, the Global Beauty and Cosmetics Artificial Intelligence market is expected to reach $13.3bn by 2030, according to a report published by the British Beauty Council and tech company Revieve.

Currently, the core use of AI in skin care tends to be the use of smart devices for skin assessment.

This insight allows consumers to gain a more accurate understanding of their specific skin needs and then allows brands to offer personalised product recommendations.

However, many brands are moving quickly, looking beyond skin-deep considerations. One example of this is the recent development of a microbiome analyser​ by The Ponds Institute.

“The beauty and wellness sector is already deemed to be personal, but now brands are leveraging AI to meet consumers’ increasingly idiosyncratic needs and desires, while driving for internal efficiency and efficacy,” suggested Houghton.

“Artificial intelligence is having huge impact on the skin care industry, driving hyper-personalisation and in-depth skin analysis,” added McNicol.

“A great example is La Roche-Posay's Spotscan+, an AI tool developed with dermatologists. From photos of your face, the tool analyses your skin and recommends the most suitable products to address your specific needs. This personalised approach builds consumer trust, as for consumers the ‘for all skin types’ label is no longer sufficient. Everyone's skin is unique and requires tailored solutions.”

The sophistication of the latest devices allows for increased accuracy and hyper-personalised result, which is likely to appeal to the 49% of global respondents want products and services that are uniquely tailored to them, according to Euromonitor International’s Lifestyle Survey via The Future Laboratory.

"People want to understand their skin better"​

“At  VivaTech Paris, L’Oréal Group’s​ Giorgio Armani Beauty launched an AI-powered Meta Profiler, a tool that allows skin scanning and analysis to be carried out by beauty advisers. The hand-held tool can image skin with 10 times the magnification of the human eye, while replicating precise clinical lab measurements capturing texture, pigmentation and tone. Spotscan, another diagnostic tool, from La Roche-Posay – another L’Oréal Group brand – is specifically designed to study acne and give tailored recommendations.”

There are many other ways that AI technology is impacting the way that skin care companies operate. For example, earlier this year, skin care company Clarins trialled an AI customer care bot​ on its direct-to-consumer website, while at Viva Tech in Paris, the French beauty multinational LVMH awarded a Chinese company, FancyTech​, for its innovation that uses generative AI to generate videos from 3D product models and creative briefs.

AI also has the potential to educate consumers on their skin health, offering customers a chance to take an active role in their skin care journey. “From a consumer’s perspective, AI for skin analysis and skincare try-ons is engaging and interactive,” said Anastasia Georgievskaya, CEO & co-founder at skin care technology startup, Haut.AI.  

“People want to understand their skin better, but expert insights are often hard to access. Our technology offers a level of understanding that’s both accessible and easy to use, all from their personal device in the comfort of their home. This convenience, paired with valuable insights, makes the experience even more appealing.”

This type of innovation is particularly well-matched to suit the needs of the skin care consumer. “SkinGPT stands out​ because it’s the first of its kind to offer such advanced, realistic visualisations. While makeup try-ons and apps have existed for some time, skin changes are far more complex to generate,” explains Georgievskaya.

"Hyper-realistic images"​

“Many apps that claim to show ageing effects use filters that feel artificial, and don't provide an accurate representation. Our technology, however, generates hyper-realistic images. For example, if a product is aimed at reducing pigmentation, the image will only remove non-chronic pigmentation while leaving natural skin features like lines and birthmarks untouched. The level of realism is so precise that it moves beyond typical filter-based editing, making the experience far more trustworthy and scientifically grounded.”

“AI has proven to be extremely effective at visual recognition tasks. There are multiple studies which show AI outperforming human dermatologists in the identification of melanoma,” Pippa Harman, co-founder of Renude, a brand that utilises AI to combine skin analysis with multi-brand recommendations explained.

“You can think of AI as similar to a human. Initially, without experience/data, it can’t perform many tasks well, but with lots of experience/data, it can perform tasks very well. For example, an individual human dermatologist might see 10 patients in a day, 250 per year, and 2,500 over 10 years, and would have a lot of experience to assess the skin and recommend the right products with high accuracy. “

She continued: “With AI, you could train this on 100 times more examples than a human expert could ever see in a lifetime, so this is a fundamental reason why AI is able to perform certain tasks more accurately than a single human expert.”

“We recently launched our new AI SkinChat, which uses the latest advancements in conversational AI combined with our existing skin analysis and product recommendations to offer on-demand advice to consumers, 24/7. This means that consumers can interact to ask any skin care related question to receive personalised advice,” she concluded. 

With all of these advancements, there is no doubt that artificial intelligence is already dramatically transforming the entire beauty and personal care industries and skin care is one of the most impacted categories.

Look out for part two of our skin care technology special this Thursday, where we will delve into the details of augmented reality, at-home-use beauty devices and digital personas in skin care.  ​​