'We are fuelling a modern epidemic' - The skincare mistake you could be making with AI, according to a dermatologist
Experts are warning against this easy-to-do skincare step, and the role of AI in your routine
If you've ever been nudged towards an AI skin analysis tool while browsing your favourite beauty website, or noticed friends and family uploading selfies to ChatGPT and asking it to assess their skin, you're not alone.
The latest AI beauty trend sees users submitting close-up photographs to a chatbot and requesting a "dermatologist-style" analysis for advice on the best hyaluronic acid serums or to narrow down the best face moisturiser for them. The results arrive complete with magnified call-out bubbles picking apart pores, fine lines and texture, alongside a personalised list of product recommendations.
It might sound like a savvy, high-tech shortcut to better skin, something that feels, on the surface, like a clever and convenient way to get expert-sounding guidance from the comfort of your own home, but leading Consultant Dermatologist Dr Anjali Mahto, founder of London clinic Self London, says the reality is far more troubling.
The skincare mistake you could be making with AI
"Social media filters were damaging enough by giving us an impossible, poreless ideal to strive for," says Dr Mahto. "But this new ChatGPT trend takes the danger to an entirely new level. It isn't just smoothing over reality; it is actively pathologising normal human skin."
The trend involves users treating a chatbot as a substitute for professional medical advice, something Dr Mahto says is fundamentally flawed. Unlike a trained dermatologist, AI has no ability to clinically examine your skin, take a medical history, or account for the complex, individual factors that influence skin health. What it can do, she argues, is make you feel worse about yourself.
"By using AI to draw magnified circles around pores, fine lines and microscopic texture, we are triggering an extreme, unhealthy hyperawareness in consumers," she explains. "Pores are a biological necessity, not a flaw to be 'fixed' by an AI-recommended serum. Minor texture is normal. When we allow a chatbot to clinically dissect our selfies, we aren't just getting bad skincare advice; we are fuelling a modern epidemic of skin-focused anxiety and body dysmorphia."
As a dermatologist who treats genuine skin conditions - including acne, rosacea and severe pigmentation - Dr Mahto is well placed to judge what constitutes a real skin concern versus the kind of entirely normal characteristics that AI is now framing as problems to be solved.
She is also clear that the issue isn't simply one of vanity. Turning to a chatbot for what amounts to medical advice carries real clinical risks.
What to do instead
For those who find private dermatology appointments out of reach financially, she has a more reassuring alternative: "Your first port of call should be your local high-street pharmacist. They are highly trained healthcare professionals who can clinically assess minor skin complaints and recommend effective, evidence-based pharmacy staples." For online research, she recommends the NHS website or the British Association of Dermatologists patient hub - both of which offer free, rigorously verified guidance - over any AI tool.
The message from Dr Mahto is clear - your skin doesn't need an AI audit, it needs a little more kindness, and a lot less scrutiny.
