Can you trust AI to treat your skin?

There’s no getting around the fact that AI is everywhere. From our smartphones to even our fridges, it seems like all modern gadgets are equipped with AI that promises to make life easier.

AI has also been steadily gaining traction within the beauty industry. Whether it’s an app that scans a selfie to determine potential skin issues or a pair of straighteners that use AI to adapt its temperature to your hair type, the guesswork is being taken out of skincare and beauty.

But can you really trust AI to correctly diagnose a skin issue and provide you with the right advice? Or is this just another elaborate marketing scheme to get consumers to buy from certain brands?

How can AI help with skincare and beauty?

I think many can agree that finding the perfect skincare routine is a pretty tough task. Despite there being plenty of recommendations out there, a product that works for one person may simply not work as well for another – even if you share similar skin concerns. 

I’ve spent more money than I’d like to admit on products that either friends or TikTokkers (I know) swear changed their lives for the better, only to find that they didn’t really work for me. In fact that’s sometimes the best case scenario, as I’ve even got a blacklist of products that did the exact opposite of what they promised and made me break out. 

I’m not alone in this, as L’Oreal reported in a survey of over 2,000 skincare users, it was revealed that almost 80% relied on “trial and error” to find their holy grail – and usually took around seven products to do so. 

In an ideal world, the perfect thing to do would be to visit a dermatologist who can diagnose and offer expert advice based on your exact needs. But seeing a dermatologist takes time and, usually, a fair bit of money too. So that’s where AI comes in. 

There are countless apps and services available that promise to assess your skin needs and offer so-called personalised product recommendations, all through a simple selfie or face scan. Cetaphil offers one of the fastest AI skincare tools I’ve used, and doesn’t require any registration. Instead, you simply take a selfie and it gives you a mark out of 100 based on factors like hydration, blemish and redness, oiliness, dark circles and wrinkles, to name a few. 

You can even click through all the different factors and see all the “issues” mapped out on your face. 

From here, you’re provided with a handful of Cetaphil products that are chosen according to your results. So, for example, my report said my skin was shiny – though I prefer the term “glowing”, but whatever – so I was advised to try Cetaphil’s oily skin cleanser. But is that really the best product for me, or is this just Cetaphil trying to get me to invest in its products?

It’s not just skincare that AI has infiltrated. Brands like Dcypher promise to create a shade of foundation specifically for your exact skin tone and undertone. 

I recently went on an epic forage through the streets of London in an attempt to find a new foundation shade, after discovering my tried-and-tested formula was recently discontinued. Discovering Dcypher sooner could have saved me both time and, unfortunately, money, as I’d made the silly mistake of buying a few bottles that looked good in-store but didn’t quite sit right in the broad light of day.

Limitations of AI skincare

But how accurate are these AI apps? At surface level, while they might note wrinkles or detect spots, can they really assess the root cause of the issues simply by looking at your skin alone?

Personally, I like the idea of L’Oreal’s Cell BioPrint, which was unveiled at CES back in 2025, but is yet to become readily available. Essentially, the Cell BioPrint is a tabletop device that provides users with a personalised skin analysis. To receive your analysis, you need to put a facial tape strip on your cheek, place it into L’Oreal’s buffer solution and then load this into the machine to receive an analysis. 

While it’s processing, the device will then take images of your face to correspond with the sample. 

Will AI become a regular part of our skincare routines?

I’m not convinced that AI should be an integral part of our skincare routines at this stage. Yes, apps and scanners can detect obvious potential skin concerns, but I don’t think that’s particularly groundbreaking – yet. 

Until AI-powered skin tools can assess the root causes of conditions, and offer more in-depth advice on how to help your skin, rather than just providing general product recommendations, then I don’t think it should be something to be relied on. Having said that, it’s fair to say that if you’re not sure where to begin with a new skincare routine, then using an AI scanner could be a good place to start.