Skin DNA Testing

Wouldn’t it be magical to gaze into a crystal ball and see your future face look right back at you? Wouldn’t it then be even more magical to refine what that face looks like? Well, your crystal ball and magic wand are both here.

Your looks are inherited. So are your skin’s unique traits.

As some of the most valuable advances in science become more approachable and accessible, you have the unprecedented opportunity today to uncover your skin’s deepest secrets. DNA testing, once the preserve of forensic and legal investigators, can now hold up a mirror to how your skin looks, feels and acts. It can indeed inform – and transform – your skincare regime.

Think genetic makeup.

Skin DNA testing uncovers your skin’s unique genetic code, and armed with that knowledge, your dermatologist can address your skin problems even before they show up. Now that is a revolutionary idea within itself. Since the risk factor for various skin issues can now be gauged, the root of a forthcoming problem can be tackled even before the problem manifests itself.

A DNA analysis of a saliva swab sample from your cheek can help garner data required to address the specific genetic needs of your skin. Single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs found in the DNA can reveal vital information about your skin hydration and elasticity. It can also throw light on the sun, antioxidant and inflammation protection factor of the skin. All of these are skin health markers and are predictors of your skin condition in the future.

A genetic predisposition to collagen degradation may be smoothened out by a more comprehensive anti-aging skincare regimen to prevent lines, wrinkles and folds. Or a predisposition to developing skin cancer can be partly mitigated by a skin care regimen loaded with sunscreen and antioxidants to help prevent free radical damage.

Skin DNA testing. It’s actually all about you.

Added to the potential of going to the very root of a skin problem, is the ability to follow a customised skincare regimen that’s been designed with your specific genes in mind. It helps to make an informed choice regarding which products, from the thousands available, would make ideal choices for optimising skincare benefits by helping identify precisely what works for you individually.

Skin DNA testing can take the guesswork out of skincare by giving the blueprint required to personalise your skin-health care regimen.  It recognises that you are unique. And can help you look like one in several billion.

Written by: Dr. Vandana Rajesh Kadam