Innovative skin care and AI, by David Manzano (R&I Manager)

The use of Artificial Intelligence is unleashing a new era in the cosmetic industry and innovative skin care, enabling groundbreaking developments and pushing efficacy levels to new heights. As both companies and consumers incorporate AI tools into their lives, these technologies are increasingly accepted and in demand. In fact, data from Mintel (2024) reveals revolutionary shifts in this area. For instance, 49% of Chinese buyers think AI-generated suggestions are more authentic and reliable than those provided by humans (38%). 

As Artificial Intelligence makes its way into a growing number of innovative skin care projects, Provital’s own Research and Innovation Manager, David Manzano, sat down with Project Manager Clara Vigo to discuss some of the most exciting developments in this area, with a focus on our multi-awarded active ingredient, Altheostem™. A conversation that is part of our podcast series Provitalks on beauty trends and innovation in cosmetics. In this conversation, the experts discuss the newest advances in cell senescence, senolytic in vitro quantification and a particularly exciting example of how the cosmetic industry is applying Artificial Intelligence to revolutionize ingredient efficacy and innovative skin care.

Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing every industry, and the cosmetic industry is no exception. In what ways is Artificial Intelligence applied in cosmetic science today?

Today and in the future, efficacy will increasingly be understood from a more holistic point of view. We now know skin is a complex system that coexists with others such as the human digestive system, the brain and even our lifestyles. This transformation will guide the cosmetic industry’s work in the short, mid and long term, as Big Data Analysis and Artificial Intelligence are generating improved predictive studies and customization possibilities. In this regard, some promising applications of AI in cosmetics include augmented reality tours, apps for self-evaluation of skin condition combined with customization tools and different skin testing possibilities to evaluate parameters such as fine lines, dark spots, pore size, pigmentation or dullness. 

Moreover, the analysis of facial structure and even the prediction of age based on image analysis represent other fascinating applications of this technology. For this reason, at Provital, we have been investigating the use of different AI-based testing technologies to expand ingredient efficacy and generate broader and more exhaustive claims in cosmetics.

Could you highlight any successful findings that involve both innovative skin care and Artificial Intelligence that have already taken place?

Our well-aging product Wonderage™ represents the perfect example of this increased capacity for science-backed claims. We conducted a neurostudy study on a panel of women with mature skin. While the women were responding to questionnaires (which are called neuro-surveys) on their appearance and how they felt as they watched a video, their facial expressions (facial coding) were analyzed using Artificial Intelligence technology. Then, the differential results of the conscious mind responses could be compared to those of the subconscious mind with scientific rigor, translating results into emotions.

So neuroscience is being applied to cosmetics thanks to Artificial Intelligence, how fascinating! But tell us more about how AI was used in the case of Altheostem™, the senolytic ingredient that we talked about in our previous conversation.

The case of Altheostem™ is yet another compelling example of innovative skin care that uses AI tools to reach new levels. In this case, we used an innovative tool to estimate the visual apparent age of the volunteers based on Artificial Intelligence analysis. The age prediction study was carried out through an age-estimation module based on AI. To this end,  we used a machine learning system that, based on image data, is able to predict the age of the subjects in a controlled environment. In this particular case, the goal was to evaluate the effectiveness of Altheostem™ to promote a rejuvenating effect. First, the age detection model was initially trained using 5,134 images from 13,617 subjects with ages ranging from 15 to 77 years old. Once the model was validated, we used our data to estimate the age of the subjects from the study. We analyzed more than 200 videos showing the evolution of the volunteers at day zero, day 21 and after 56 days of use. These videos were recorded at full HD and 50 frames per second, resulting in more than 200,000 images to analyze. During the recording of these videos, the subjects were requested to turn their heads and display different facial gestures. In order to create an efficient system for apparent age estimation, an assemblage of different convolutional neural networks (CNN) that worked together to extract information from each of the analyzed frames. First, a face detector isolates and crops the subject’s face from the image, with the purpose of eliminating any potential background noise. Then, this portion of the image containing the subject’s face is fed to three different models that estimate the orientation and the age of the subject. In conclusion, and after analyzing this data, the artificial intelligence study revealed that after 56 days of using Altheostem™, the apparent age of volunteers was 3.26 years less when compared to the placebo group.

This presents multiple implications for innovative skincare developments, opening the door to an enhanced thoroughness and more exhaustive testing. But apart from this enhanced thoroughness, what are other implications of this innovative study for the cosmetic industry?  

Just like with any other scientific study, it is essential to demonstrate your hypothesis through complementary experimental approaches that collectively lead to a conclusion. In this particular case, this AI tool serves a valuable and complementary approach to prove efficacy for our active ingredient Altheostem. In our clinical study, we have first shown a rejuvenating effect of Altheostem™ by analyzing more conventional instrumental parameters. For instance, we observed statistically significant improvements in parameters such as glow, skin elasticity, skin thickness, and reductions in wrinkle volume and depth. By using these parameters, we were able to further analyze the rejuvenating effect of Altheostem™ and quantify its age-reversing impact through the rejuvenating effect. Additionally, the same parameters were assessed through the volunteers’ self evaluation, demonstrating that Altheostem™ efficacy surpasses the placebo treatment with statistical significance. In this sense, the age estimation AI tools based on image analysis further confirm this rejuvenating effect, providing a different approach that adds robustness to the study’s conclusions in an innovative manner. 

Would you say these tools act by measuring what the human brain detects visually when we perceive aging?

Yes, somehow, but not exactly. Let’s say AI has the ability to detect the differences of aging based on image analysis, although this process may not function exactly like the human brain. AI may consider combinations of parameters that differ from what we typically observe, but there’s no doubt that it possesses excellent capabilities in this regard. 

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Want to finish the interview?

This interview was transcribed from an episode of Provitalks, a podcast series developed by Provital on beauty trends and innovation in cosmetics featuring the top experts in each category and topic. Listen to this or all the other episodes on our website and discover more about the newest advances in innovative skin care and cosmetic science.

All in all, this exciting development confirms the revolutionary potential of AI when applied to innovative skin care. From enhancing consumer experiences to developing innovative anti-aging assets, Artificial Intelligence will continue to push the cosmetic industry’s frontiers in search of enhanced efficacy and groundbreaking claims. 

As such, and matching our relentless pursuit of cosmetic excellence, at Provital we continue investing in tech-based innovative skin care, pushing towards a new era of natural cosmetic ingredients where science and technology meet.