swabofsalivafor
betterskin,adrop
ofyourbloodfora
healthierbody:theeraof
hyperpersonalisedbeauty
andwellbeingisuponus.
As advances in beauty
sciencefilterdowntothe
high street, we are all
becoming increasingly
knowledgeable,demanding
evermoreprecisionfrom
ourproductsandservices.
Hence the rise in DNA -
drivenskincare.Withthe
globalmarketforindividual
DNAtestingpredictedto
hit$45billioninthenext
fouryears,*thetantalising
promiseis thatDNA -driven
skincare and services
prescribedandformulated
aroundyourgeneticcode
will give better, quicker,
moreeffectiveresults.
Butthiskindoftailored
skincaredoesn’tcomecheap.OneSwedishcompany,Allél,
tests 16 geneticvariationsinyourDNAviaa cheekswab.Thecost
forthetestis £115,anda typicalcustomerwillberecommended
fiveproducts,startingfrom£1,4OO.AsimilartestwithLondon-
basedskincareexpertandfacialistLisaFranklinstartsat£52O.
Buttheappetiteisthere,andit’sonlyincreasing.‘Thebeauty
industryisleveragingthedemocratisationofDNAtestingfora
risingclassof“skintellectuals”,whovaluepersonalised,precise
andscientificskincaresolutions,’saysEmilySafian- Demersfrom
trendforecastersWundermanThompson.We’vealreadyseen
thisinotherhealthfields(areyouwearingyourFitbitrightnow?).
It’stransformingthewaywesleep,thewayweeat,eventhe
wayweconceive.Butdownloadingtheapps,trackingyour
everymoveandinputtingyourdailydatacouldhaveimplications
beyondyourcontrol.Inthewronghands,thatinformationcould
beusedtomanipulateyourlifewithoutyouevenrealisingit.
We’veallbeenmadeawareofthemurkybusinessofdata
mininginrecentyears,butit’shardtounderstandhowit can
affectyouonasmallscale.‘Anysingleidentifier–yourage,
name,income,location,ethnicity,religion–combinedwithanothercouldpotentially
be related back to you,’
explainsAilidhCallander
from the charity Privacy
International.Theresultscan
beanythingfromtargeted
advertisingtoarefusalof
services.Theformer(ads
onyourInstagramfeed,for
example)mightseemmore
irritatingthananythingelse,
butthingscaneasilytakea
darkerturn,saysCallander:
‘Ifyoubecomepregnant,the
valueofyourdatarockets
exponentially.Companies
wantthatdatatotargetyou
withproductsandservices.
Butimagineif youlosethe
baby.Youcontinuetobe
bombarded,andyoudon’t
knowwherefrom.There’sno
waytostopit.’
Thingsrampupa notch
whenDNAdatais involved.
Thewayinwhichyouare
targetedcanberefinedendlessly–evenyourmortgage
applicationmightberefusedbecauseyouhavea predisposition
todisease.Oryoumightnotbeabletogethealthinsurance.
Thefuturecouldbringevenmoresinisterdevelopments,suchas
a potentialemployer–orevena romanticpartner–payingto
accesstoyourgeneticdata.It makesthepractiseoftrawling
someone’ssocialmediaaccountsforredflagslooklikechild’splay.henit comestobeauty,arethebenefitsofDNA -based
productsevenworththereward?Rachel,32,forkedout
fora£9OOcourseofpersonalisedproductstocalm
uncomfortablerednessandsmooththeever-deepeningtracks
acrossherforehead.‘Itwasinterestingtoseewhatcameupin
theresults,’shesays.‘ButI slatheredthemonand,thoughI saw
asmalldifference,it wasnothingcomparedtolaterhaving
a face-to-facewitha dermatologist,fora fractionoftheprice.’
Rachelmighthaveditchedthepersonalisedplanbuther
DNAdataharvestedbytheskincarebrandispossiblystillout
there– andvulnerableinthewronghands.Howpersonalis too
personal?That’suptoyoutodecide.A
W
THEGENE- BASEDSKIN CAREINDUSTRYISGROWING.BUTHOWSAFEISYOURDNA
INT HEH A NDSOFABR A ND– A NDISI T WOR T H T HE R ISK?
WORDSbyJENNIFERGEORGE*Market Watch, September 2O18. Photography: Robin Derrick/Trunk Archive.HOW BE AU T IFUL is YOUR DATA?
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Elle BE AU T Y
ELLE.COM/UK May 2020