Is artificial intelligence the secret to better skin?

It might sound unlikely that the answer to all your skincare questions is a selfie, but artificial intelligence is increasingly making that a possibility for women looking to improve their skin. Skin analysis applications that use AI-technology, like Olay's Skin Advisor, can provide you with a skin assessment in the click of a (camera) button, by analysing a picture of your face, alongside a short questionnaire about your skin concerns. This analysis can help take some of the guess work out of your skincare choices, by highlighting the areas of your face you may want to focus on (for example, smile lines or forehead wrinkles) and the perceived age and quality of your skin. Most applications also recommend targeted skincare products that might be suitable for you, cutting out some of the trial and error of searching a crowded beauty hall. Olay have dubbed their web-based platform a "personal at-home beauty advisor" and the process is certainly accessible, with most of the online and app-based programs that use AI-technology available completely free and on-the-go.