5 startups that will revolutionize the beauty industry by 2024

According to a survey, 75% of consumers are willing to pay more for personalized beauty products.

The skincare industry is constantly evolving, with solutions ranging from generic, one-size-fits-all products to personalized recommendations based on skin type assessment. However, these approaches often fall short because they fail to account for the unique biological factors that influence skin health. This limitation has led to precision skincare, a revolutionary approach that uses advanced diagnostics, personal analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to customize skincare solutions to meet an individual’s biological needs.

Precision skincare addresses the challenges of the current one-size-fits-all model, offering customized formulas that promise more effective and targeted results. Here are five precision skincare startups to watch.

1. Precision Skin: Providing solutions using AI-based skin analysis

• Founded: 2023
• Headquarters: United Kingdom
• Base financing: Undisclosed
• Latest funding round: Undisclosed
• Website: https://precisionskin.com/

Creating personalized skincare products backed by science faces a host of obstacles. The key hurdle is developing an evidence-based customization system while remaining scalable, profitable, and affordable. This ambition aims to shift the entire skincare landscape toward a more personalized approach.

To address these challenges, Precision Skin offers a customized skincare solution driven by AI-powered skin analysis similar to a clinical setting. The company’s fully remote approach utilizes eco-friendly technology, minimizing carbon emissions and environmental waste.

Precision Skin's products are formulated based on real-time skin analysis of each user and are competitively priced. Precision Skin formulas improve over time and adapt to changing skin care needs, providing a tailored experience for each individual. Precision Skin's model allows for on-demand production, ensuring a fresh and personalized product for each customer.

While very complex and the result of years of research and development, this innovative system enables the creation of high-quality, 'clean' skincare solutions tailored to individual skin using current scientific knowledge. The 'less is more' approach produces affordable, evidence-based products that can be easily customised and manufactured at scale.

Its CEO and founder, Dr Theodora Mantzourani, holds an MSc in Practical Dermatology from Cardiff University.

2. Parallel Health: Using the microbiome to provide skin care solutions

• Founded: 2021
• Headquarters: California, USA
• Base funding: $2 million
• Most recent funding round: $1.2 million
• Website: https://www.parallelhealth.io/

The skincare industry faces a major challenge - a lack of personalized products that are truly tailored to each person's unique skin microbiome and bio-characteristics. It is often difficult for people to find a solution that works for their skin type and concerns. To address this, Parallel uses advanced genomics, skin microbiome science, and machine learning to deliver comprehensive, personalized skin care.

A key ingredient Parallel Health utilizes is bacteriophages, tiny viruses that can selectively target and disable specific strains of bacteria. They recognize bacteria based on matching genetic sequences. This allows the phages to seek out and neutralize harmful bacteria while leaving the beneficial bacteria intact.

Phages are natural antimicrobials and promising ingredients for targeted skincare applications. They help rebalance the skin microbiome by selectively inactivating problematic bacteria. Their specificity makes them a potentially powerful component of a precision skincare regimen tailored to each person's unique skin microbiome. Parallel Health claims that phages are 99.9% effective in treating skin problems.

The company's CEO and co-founder Natalis Kalia Robinson attended Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. Parallel Health has raised $2 million in two rounds of financing, with the latest round of financing occurring on July 31, 2022.

3. Revea: Precision skincare solutions combined with cutting-edge technology

• Founded: 2020
• Headquarters: California, USA
• Base funding: $6 million
• Latest round of financing: Seed round/US$6 million
• Website: https://www.myrevea.com/

The challenge facing the skincare industry is that product development has long relied on superficial assessments and general formulations. This superficial approach fails to provide solutions at a deeper level that are tailored to each person’s unique skin microbiome and biology.

Revea uses precision skincare to address the challenges above. Their proprietary RevTech platform powers the lab and provides meticulous oversight throughout the R&D process. Revea integrates advanced diagnostics, deep skin data analysis, artificial intelligence, and custom formulation chemistry, and emphasizes that no other lab can combine cutting-edge technologies tailored to the development of precision skincare products like they do. Revea maintains meticulous control throughout the research process, enabling it to leverage the latest scientific and technological advances to create personalized skincare regimens, providing a new level of precision for targeting each individual's skin at a microscopic level.

Its CEO and founder, Chaz Giles, has held leadership positions at Procter & Gamble, Citi Ventures, and Estee Lauder Companies. In a seed round of financing on April 21, 2022, Revea received $6 million in financing.

4. Skin Dossier: Connecting consumers with skincare brands through an ecosystem

• Founded: 2022
• Headquarters: New York, USA
• Base financing: Undisclosed
• Latest funding round: Undisclosed
• Website: https://www.skindossier.com

Cosmetics rarely have customized products, making it difficult for consumers to effectively diagnose and address their specific skin concerns. Skin Dossier seeks to address this challenge by creating an integrated personalized ecosystem that connects consumers with skincare brands, retailers, and medical providers. Their platform uses precise skin health assessments to help diagnose, treat, and prevent skin problems.

By integrating customized services and content, they aim to simplify and personalize skincare. Their mission is to enable consumers to personalize and precisely navigate skin care and skin health.

The startup’s facial imaging technology is the only one certified by Cytel for R&D and claims testing in the pharmaceutical, dermatology and cosmeceutical industries. It is using this proprietary technology to pursue innovation in precision skincare and provide enhanced image analysis capabilities to industry partners.

Skin Dossier founder and CEO Sindhya Valloppillil is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology.

5. Avava: Proprietary medical device solutions

• Founded: 2016
• Headquarters: Massachusetts, USA
• Base financing: Undisclosed
• Latest funding round: Undisclosed
• Website: https://avavaskin.com/

Skin pigmentation problems such as melasma and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation can severely impact a person's appearance and self-confidence. These conditions, characterized by dark spots on the skin, are notoriously difficult to treat effectively. Many existing treatments provide inadequate or inconsistent results, frustrating patients and healthcare providers.

AVAVA has pioneered a new class of FDA-approved, non-invasive aesthetic medical devices. These devices feature patented precision technology designed to provide an optimal experience for patients and providers of all skin tones. At its core is AVAVA’s proprietary Focal Point Technology™, complemented by AVAVASite, a high-resolution interactive imaging system. AVAVASite delivers treatment intelligence that unlocks safe and effective treatments through actionable data mapping and guiding real-time treatments.

In 2022, AVAVA received FDA clearance for its first two devices. The MIRIA™ system is a high-energy focused intradermal laser powered by Focal Point Technology™. It precisely delivers energy deep within the skin with extreme accuracy, making it ideal for patients with darker skin tones. MIRIA delivers high doses of cone-shaped energy to the dermis while sparing the sensitive epidermis from unnecessary damage. All while maintaining patient comfort and minimal downtime.

Extensive MIRIA clinical studies have shown it can improve all signs of skin aging, including wrinkles, sun damage and skin quality, as well as reduce acne scarring and large pores. It will help meet the needs of the more than 11.7 million people of all skin tones seeking facial rejuvenation in the U.S. each year.

The company's CEO, Dr. Irina Erenburg, is a graduate of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.