AI skin analysis: what it is and why experts warn against it

What is AI ‘skin analysis’?

Asking online tools to assess your skin’s health isn’t exactly new, but it’s gathering momentum with the rise of AI. Increasingly, platforms - especially those backed by beauty brands - promise that simply uploading a selfie can provide a comprehensive skincare analysis.

Dr Anjali Mahto, Consultant Dermatologist and Founder of Self London, UK, says that ChatGPT’s ‘Skincare Analysis’ is the latest tool riding this wave of popularity.

“This trend involves users uploading a portrait of themselves to ChatGPT and asking the AI to generate a full, dermatologist-style skincare analysis graphic,” she explains. “Instead of a standard text reply, the AI produces a highly polished visual report detailing perceived skin type, texture, hydration levels, and product recommendations.”

Mahto adds that a person’s selfie is transformed into a clinical-looking document, complete with a magnified face layout, comparison zones, and charts. The tool uses concise labels and icons to visually dissect the face, highlighting microscopic details such as pores, fine lines, and skin texture.

“This is designed to look like a premium medical consultation sheet, which gives it a false sense of clinical authority,” she warns. “But essentially, people are using a chatbot as a diagnostic tool for their selfies, which, as a dermatologist, I find deeply concerning.”

Dr Anjali Mahto

The ‘skincare analysis’ craze is spreading on social media, with users enthusiastically sharing their AI-generated visual reports and comparing them as if the results were medically accurate - which they are not.

Mahto notes that while people once used AI for simple photo edits, it is now being used as a personalised visual guide for daily skincare routines.

“The polished, shareable format of these graphics makes them highly viral, encouraging more people to scrutinise their own faces in the same way,” she says.

“The main danger of using a chatbot to clinically dissect a selfie rather than seeking professional help is that it triggers an extreme, unhealthy hyperawareness of entirely normal facial features. A chatbot lacks the medical training to understand the nuance of human biology, meaning it often pathologises completely healthy skin.”

Mahto adds that relying on AI for diagnoses can also delay people from seeking real medical help for actual skin conditions that require prescription treatments.

Using AI-generated ‘health reports’ for your skin doesn’t mean you’re consulting a qualified professional who can distinguish between real skin conditions and normal skin features. For this reason, skincare analysis tools can not only misdiagnose you but also make you believe that perfectly normal aspects of your face are flaws.

Mahto emphasises that AI cannot distinguish between normal, healthy biological features and actual dermatological conditions.

“It often treats a visible pore with the same level of 'correction' as a severe case of acne,” she explains. “This is why diagnosing skin requires years of medical training and hands-on experience with actual patients, not a clever algorithm. It actively treats natural biological necessities as flaws that need to be ‘fixed’ with products.

“For example, it will highlight visible pores, minor texture, and natural hydration fluctuations as issues requiring intervention. Pores and slight imperfections are entirely normal and essential for healthy skin function, yet the AI frames them as problems.”

Unlike AI, dermatologists focus on treating real skin conditions - such as cicatrici da acne, rosacea, and severe pigmentation - rather than normal biological features.

As Mahto explains, their main goal is to help people maintain healthy, functional skin.

“We do not seek to erase normal biological features such as pores or natural texture because we understand they are vital to the skin's ecosystem,” she says.

“Consumers must remember that an AI is generating recommendations based on an algorithm's critique of a 2D image, not a medical understanding of your skin's health.”

Mahto advises that before you spend money on AI-suggested serums or cleansers, it’s worth considering whether you are addressing a genuine skin concern - or simply chasing an impossible, AI-driven standard of perfection.

“Always consult a qualified professional for real concerns," she concludes. "You should never trust a chatbot with your health."