On a dark November day, I was driving from Boston to a large corporate development in Beverly, Massachusetts. I walked down a long, narrow corridor and entered a medium-sized white room with a clinical feel, full of robot kiosks. I was there to visit him SmartSKN Labsand these robots are going to make me a hyper-personalized, completely AI-created skin care line called K-AI.
I am always on the lookout for the best, most effective products. I love potent ingredients and effective delivery systems. I love science, and so does everyone else, according to the glut of innovation-based skin care in the a $182 billion global market. Demand is off the charts. Unsurprisingly, this is where artificial intelligence enters the conversation.
The role of artificial intelligence in personalized beauty is not new. Skincare brands like Proven and haircare brands like Prose are already using AI algorithms to help consumers optimize their routines. SmartSKN is doing something I have yet to see – using artificial intelligence to produce itself, on demand – and if it catches on, it could revolutionize the beauty industry while improving the health of our skin and reducing our carbon footprint.
At the Beverly Lab, Val Neiku, co-founder of SmartSKN Labs, shared big dreams for the future of robots. First, I wanted to see what they could do.
How it works
Everything starts with Dermascope Muilli AI. This intelligent device examines the skin at a microscopic level with 60X magnification and captures high-resolution images of its surface to later analyze with the help of artificial intelligence. Honestly, no one should suffer ego death from seeing their flaws so magnified, but alas, beauty is pain. With dermoscopic photography comes something called a bioimpedance measurement, which measures the moisture and oil levels in the skin and plays a key role in the overall analysis.
The Dermascope at SmartSKN Labs that will develop my skin care products with the help of artificial intelligence.
Then, in the SmartSKN app, I filled out a short questionnaire about my skin type, concerns and lifestyle. This helped the Smart SKN AI better understand my habits so that it could effectively create my personalized skincare line. It is also wide ranging; this system is trained on 150,000+ different skin profiles worldwide — all skin types, tones and genders — and growing every day.
Finally, thanks to the trifecta of dermoscopic photography, bioimpedance measurement and skin health questionnaire, I received the results of my skin analysis. Measures sensitivity, pigmentation, wrinkles, redness, pore size, oil level and dryness.
The line consists of essence/serum, ampoule and lotion. When finalizing each product in the robot kiosk, I had the choice to add additional ingredients that could enhance benefits such as brightening or firming. Then the robot, which somehow looks like a bionic arm, started working.
He selected the bottle, mixed and poured my unique formula into the bottle, then screwed on the top. All this takes about five minutes. The robot then dropped my unique product into a bowl for me to pick up, as if I had received a toy from a claw machine. The robot also printed my labels, which contain a QR code with my unique profile, as well as instructions for entering the package.
Skin assessment results in the SmartSKN app.
Where do robots come from and where do they go?
The AI robots, of which SmartSKN has exclusive rights, are manufactured in Korea and use powerful ingredients popular in Korean skincare brands for each personalized formula. For those unaware, the K-Beauty industry was estimated at 91.9 billion in 2022with an expected compound annual growth rate of 9.3% between 2023-2030. Korean skincare's reputation for using effective, high-quality ingredients is legendary. You can explore SmartSKN's Rolodex of ingredients here.
The SmartSKN team is extremely careful with their formulas, Neicu is clear about its place in the industry. “We're not a skin care company, we're a technology company,” she said. Robots can also make other products. While they haven't dipped a toe into hair care yet, it's not off the table. Neiku explained to me that SmartSKN's current offering is to “show people what we can do.” In the next phase, they want to license the technology so that companies can use Muilli's analysis function and AI component for their own ingredients.
“Just as we developed a catalog of 150 ingredients in this machine to create our skin care lines, (other brands) could use their own ingredients,” she said. “They could take their line to the next level if they had their own adaptive foundations and could formulate based on specific skin types.
Neicu believes that skin care brands would have less churn and improved loyalty if they could better customize each formula. “A product can be great, but not great for me. The active ingredients may work, but the foundation may be too oily or too drying. The foundation is 90% of the product experience.” She spoke passionately and as I listened I couldn't help but see the potential not only for smarter skincare, but solutions for a more sustainable future.
“We don't need more products. We need better products”
Don't get me wrong: I do love shopping for skin care. I collect serums like kids collect Funko Pop Toys. But I also recognize that excessive product hoarding — product junkie culture, as it were — isn't great for our skin or the planet.
Think of the last time you walked into a beauty store, surrounded by walls and walls of products. What happens to the product that is not purchased? Next, consider what the brand needs to do to keep up with the market: Make more products, not necessarily because there's a hole in the market, but to survive. Novelty is one hell of a drug.
Neiku sees a more sustainable future. “Imagine walking into a (beauty store) and there are no more shelves. Every company has a robot. There is no waste, they are streamlining their inventory, there is better management of the production process and they could serve people better. “
This also got me thinking about my own time and money. With every new product I have a wait and see period. Will this work for me? Sometimes I break out, sometimes I don't. If it doesn't work, have I wasted my money (again)? What if I can't return it? When I say the silent part out loud, it sounds borderline silly that in 2024, we're just under assumption a product can work for our incredibly unique skin type. We can customize our coffee and our cars, but when it comes to the health of our skin, we'll just… keep guessing.
Products are formulated on demand from your skin assessment in an effort to reduce waste.
“We're throwing money at a product because, what? Do the bottles look nice? Neitsu said. “Because an influencer told me to buy it?” Because this company released a new product? He needs to be better.”
She also points to the possibility of an epidemic of sensitive skin. “Obviously we know there are a lot more products on the market than there were 20 years ago. What is directly proportional to the rise of products is the health of people's skin. “Seventy percent of Americans report having skin sensitivities.” Neiku believes she has given herself acne and sensitivity problems by using too many different products over the years.
“People are chasing products, especially with the influencer frenzy on social media. There is a great lack of education, especially for the younger generation. Plus, it seems like every celebrity has a skin care line. We don't need more products. better products are needed.”
SmartSKN wants to simplify skin care for everyone. Personally, I like a routine that takes a minimum of 5-10 minutes to complete. (It's “me time,” okay?) Smart SKN streamlines the skincare experience for those who don't like a 6-12 step nightly routine. Neiku said their consumer runs the gamut, but noted that men, in particular, are drawn to both the innovation of AI-powered mode and its simplicity.
An intuitive interface allows you to have a say about the weight of the product and other qualities.
Visit the lab or try it at home
SmartSKN is fairly new, which means they are still figuring out how to get their technology in front of people. Currently, the only way to experience the robots in person is to drive to Beverly. The company is working on setting up pop-ups in major cities. “People need to see how this is done,” Neiku said.
Your other option is to purchase the Muilli AI dermascope and download the SmartSKN app. It's not cheap, but the benefit of owning a Muilli is that it tracks your skin's changes over time, accommodating things like seasonal changes and lifestyle changes. With each scan, your personalized skincare line adapts to your current skin condition.
Robots know best
After using my personalized skin care, the thing I noticed the most is that my skin feels perfectly balanced, whereas before I felt a little oily some days and dry others. It's worth noting that I use gentle, hydrating cleansers; regular peeling with chemical and physical peeling; use vitamin c daily and i often end my nighttime routine with a light oil to lock in moisture. I did all that before my trip to the SmartSKN labs.
Today, my skin looks and feels healthy, clean and hydrated, and I think I have some robots to thank for that.
The opinions expressed by CNET Voices contributors are their own.