I’m unsure if it’s just because I’m trapped in an echo chamber of fellow journalists dystopically theorizing about our industry’s future, but the narrative around AI seems overwhelmingly negative. Naturally, AI centers have significant environmental consequences: the enormous energy and water demands for their operation, along with concerns about AI-driven automation leading to job losses and the spread of misinformation during these initial phases of adoption. These concerns are all perfectly valid, but the train has already left the station. If you want to view AI’s potential more positively, one area that excites me in particular is its impact on skincare—more precisely, skincare tools. They’re on the verge of becoming far more intimate. Still in its early stages, the intersection of beauty, tech, and AI is just beginning to uncover its potential. This includes image recognition for skin analysis, personalized product suggestions, user-adaptive technologies, and virtual try-before-you-buy features. “Thanks to progress in AI and computer vision, the next frontier will let you snap photos of yourself for reliable analysis—not just the ideal product for you, but the best way to apply it,” says Tim Roberts, head of science at Therabody. Cutting-edge devices are continually emerging, bringing clinic-exclusive technologies into everyday life for greater convenience, affordability, and proven, clinically backed results. Current LED masks, RF devices, microcurrent treatments, and body sculpting tools are merely the start. “I believe the future of democratizing dermatology on the medical skincare front will undoubtedly lie with AI – just as it will for many fields of medicine,” states consultant dermatologist and skincare innovator Dr Emma Craythorne. But where do things stand today? Experts say we’re not yet at the stage where AI in skincare tools can analyze skin conditions or detect issues like acne, wrinkles, or pigmentation.
