Mala McAlpin A technological area that is continuing to grow throughout the aesthetics industry is skin analysis, with digital skin mapping and photographing devices increasing in both popularity and technological capabilities.
Historically, consumers would rely heavily on therapists and skin experts to diagnose their skin, recognise any conditions and provide appropriate recommendations, but there is some new tech available for consumers to use in their own homes that could soon be disrupting this reliance on experts, and indeed, the professional industry all together.
Smart mirrors are opening up a whole new world of self-diagnosis for consumers, allowing for skin analysis and progress tracking to be carried out in the comfort of one’s home – without the need for a visit to a spa, salon or clinic.
HiMirror, a tablet-like mirror device out of the US, claims to ‘provide professional results in the comfort of your home to save you time and money,’ and is able to detect a user’s dark circles, lines and wrinkles, dark spots and pigmentation, redness, roughness and pore size. HiMirror’s camera, which automatically adjusts to head movements, analyses skin and stores information so that progress can be tracked over any given period, allowing users to determine current areas of concern, and if their skincare regime is working for them.
The camera also automatically detects surrounding light levels and adjusts white balance, temperature and flash, at any time of day. This is a major point of difference when it comes to most in-salon before and-after-photos, when (often shooting on mobile or tablet) lighting is often out of our hands and can vary drastically unless using a clinical system such as OBSERV 520.
Monthly historical photos can be reviewed and compared on HiMirror too, and graphs are even generated to demonstrate any improvement or decline of conditions. HiMirror will even provide skincare routine recommendations and tutorial videos using its Big Data Analytics system, based on your skin analysis, skin type, lifestyle and personal preferences.
The technology is designed first and foremost for skin analysis purposes, but also comes with other bonus features including magnification, gesture and voice commands, music streaming, YouTube, video and audio message recorder, and linking with sister product Smart Body Scale for additional measurement of body indexes.
HiMirror is not yet available for purchase in Australia, and although the product aims to be an ‘at-home beauty and health consultant’ we can only hope that consumers might enjoy these features in conjunction with (as opposed to in substitute of!) their professional diagnoses and regimes.
