Artificial Intelligence has become the latest dressing table expert. It checks out selfies, recommends acids and serums and diagnoses breakouts. Hell, it can do anything if you ask it. But does the machine really know more than a living, breathing expert?
These days, the machine, or AI, delivers skincare routine advice faster than most people can book an appointment with a dermatologist. But is cheap advice the right kind to follow? That’s the big question.
Dr Judey Pretorius, a biomedical scientist and founder of Biomedical Emporium, said the growing reliance on AI skincare advice is exposing a challenge of accessibility and affordability within the skincare industry itself.
“Many consumers simply cannot afford regular consultations with dermatologists or medical aesthetic practitioners. As a result, people are turning to free or low-cost digital tools for answers.”
People are turning to cheap AI answers
She said younger consumers were increasingly gravitating toward AI because traditional healthcare systems often felt financially inaccessible, intimidating or dismissive of concerns tied to confidence and mental wellbeing.
“Social media and AI platforms offer immediacy, convenience and a sense of empowerment,” she said. “The challenge is that accessibility does not always equal accuracy.”
Pretorius added that people are mistaking accessibility for expertise. She warned that AI-generated skincare advice often strips away the realities of how complex skin health is, particularly in a country like Mzansi with wildly different climates and skin concerns.
“Skin is a living organ, influenced by genetics, hormones, environment and lifestyle,” she said. “AI tools are not yet equipped to fully understand these nuances, especially when they rely on limited inputs such as a photo or a brief description.”
Pretorius said she had already seen an increase in patients arriving with damaged skin barriers after following advice from TikTok trends, beauty apps and ChatGPT-style skincare platforms. She noted that over-exfoliation has been one of the most common problems emerging from algorithm-driven routines.
“Consumers are layering active ingredients such as retinol, glycolic acid, salicylic acid and vitamin C without understanding how these ingredients interact,” she said. “I have also seen people attempting to treat serious conditions like cystic acne, rosacea or hyperpigmentation with trends that are not medically appropriate for their skin type.”
Bad advice could lead to challenges
She said the speed at which misinformation spreads online had become concerning because repetition was now mistaken for scientific credibility.
“Many people assume that if advice appears repeatedly, it must be safe or scientifically accurate,” she said. However, Pretorius said AI was not necessarily the villain in the skincare conversation. She said that the technology was magnifying problems that already existed inside an industry saturated with influencer marketing, miracle claims and contradictory advice.
“The skincare industry has long blurred the lines between science, trends and commercial interests,” she said. “AI accelerates this because it can instantly aggregate and reproduce information from across the internet, including content that may not be evidence-based.”
There are also growing concerns about bias in both skincare science and the datasets that feed AI systems. Pretorius said melanin-rich skin has historically been underrepresented in dermatological research, creating dangerous blind spots that technology may worsen rather than solve.
“We have already seen cases where skin cancers, eczema, psoriasis and pigmentation concerns present differently on darker skin but are not recognised as accurately,” she said. “If the underlying science lacks diversity, the technology will reflect and potentially amplify those gaps.”
Despite her concerns, Pretorius said that artificial intelligence could still play a meaningful role in skincare if used responsibly and under professional oversight.
She said AI-assisted imaging and diagnostics already have value within dermatology practices when used as support tools rather than replacements for medical expertise.
“AI imaging tools may help identify patterns, track changes in lesions or support early detection of certain skin conditions,” she said. “The problem begins when technology becomes the primary decision maker.”
‘Technology becomes the prime decision maker’
Pretorius said that the reasons for not replacing professionals with algorithms are manifold, but so is the argument that finding ways to combine technology with genuine medical insight is quite valid.
“A machine cannot fully understand human behaviour, intuition or the psychosocial impact of skin conditions,” she said. “The future should be about integrating technology responsibly to improve access, education and outcomes while keeping human expertise at the centre of care.”
