DNA test to sell personalized skin care products: Scam or science?

DNA game x COMP PV

What’s being billed as the future of skin care starts suspiciously like a visit to the dentist: with a mouthwash gargle. That’s to eliminate debris that may interfere with a good saliva sample, from which DNA will be extracted and serums tailored to one’s genetic blueprint.

The test is from a company called GeneU (pronounced “gene you”) and performed at its nine-month-old shop on New Bond Street, which looks like a cross between a science fiction movie set and a silver-gray-and-red-dipped Apple store — perhaps fittingly, because the DNA test is done by a flash-drive-size microchip. It’s administered by one of a handful of improbably dewy-skinned beauties who also happen to have Ph.D.s.

Unlike other DNA tests, which are sent to labs and take at least two weeks to complete, GeneU’s in-store test is done in 30 minutes. Currently, it looks only at variations in two genes: one that contains instructions for how fast your body degrades collagen and the other for antioxidant protection.

The theory behind GeneU is that out-of-the-box (or really, jar or pot) skin care may be loaded with potentially beneficial ingredients, but they are not necessarily what your skin specifically needs. If you are, say, someone whose MMP1 gene is programmed to degrade collagen slowly, GeneU’s theory is that it’s a waste of time (and money) to spend years slathering creams that claim to boost its production; doing so won’t turn the clock back at warp speed (if at all), and may even clog your pores or cause other damage. It seems that in skin care, as with medicine, more is not necessarily better.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Using DNA Tests to Personalize Skin Care

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