I’ve seen a lot of differing reviews of skin analysers, especially of the rather cheap ones made in PRC. I’ll tell you how I use mine, and what you can expect from yours if you decide to buy one, and how to interpret the data you get.

So, first things first: a skin analyser won’t tell you anything about your skin but numbers. Said numbers will tell you your skin’s moisture and oil levels. Is that able to tell you anything? If you’re the type who wants clear-cut answers and solutions, very likely not.

Sorry, there’s no shortcut!

skin analyser directions
How the display looks when you turn it on, plus the booklet.

You need to track your skin for some time to get some valid answers, and even if you tracked it for, like, a month, all the data is open to your interpretation. There isn’t a little skincare fairy inside, whispering to you that you need to buy Sunday Riley’s CEO and all your skin issues are solved. Sorry. That’s what Allure Magazine is for.

First steps

The skin analyser comes with a little booklet in Mandarin and English. It’s a bit difficult to understand the schematics, but it gives you a guideline how to measure the moisture and oil levels in your skin. The given numbers are for the Beijing area of China, which is rather dry and has some extreme temperature fluctuations. (It’s also polluted as hell.)

Talk numbers to me, Baby!

In spring and autumn, your face’s moisture levels should be between 35-55%.
During summer, they should be between 40-60% (keep in mind, it gets HOT there in summer – these aren’t Mid-/Northern European levels), and during winter it’s between 30-50%.
Oil levels between 23-33% are considered normal.
The little smiley or non-smiley face indicates the ‘softness’ or ‘roughness’ of skin.

How does that thing work?

skin analyser instructions
The little nubs you press to your skin. (Remember to clean them from time to time!)

Electric current goes from one little metallic nub to the other. The easier the current flows, the more moisture is in the skin. (Body fat scales work the same way.) For that reason, never use the device on wet/partially wet skin. I always use it around 30 minutes after I’ve applied something to my skin to be on the safe side. (I also test when I’m wearing makeup and it doesn’t seem to make a difference.)

How to/where to hold

It’s important to apply enough pressure when you use the device. Don’t jam it into your skin, but just holding it to your skin won’t be enough. Hold the device perpendicular to your skin. It’s ready to use when the display has blinked twice and you heard two short beeps. Clean the little metal nubs in-between use, or wipe with a Kleenex. I usually clean it with alcohol once a day (right now, I use it three times a day to get some conclusive data).

Other helpful pointers

My skin analyser came with Chinese characters instead of Latin ones. Upper numbers are for moisture, and lower numbers are for oil levels. If your skin analyser has the English words water/oil on them, it’s the other way around.

The display will flash red when the moisture/oil balance isn’t right. The oil level is, in fact, irrelevant for the colour/smiley face of the display.

Why use it?

why use a skin analyser
Not exactly a good result…

You can find your exact skin type, like dermatologists do. For that, clean your face, and wait for two hours. Test then. How’s your skin? Dry? Oily? Just right? There’s your skin type without any interference from products. (I found out that my skin isn’t as much combination as I thought – all areas are somewhat similar when I tested it!)
Do you want to implement a new active in your regime, or up the number of times you use a potentially drying products like retinol or acids? How’s that new cleanser doing? The skin analyser will be great to track how your skin reacts to that.

Find out what your skin needs

Also, if your skin is dry, you can find out what it needs. More oil, or more moisture? I like to track my moisture levels throughout the day, and act accordingly. (If my moisture levels sink under 30%, I usually add Hada Labo’s Toner into my routine. The hyaluronic acid is truly excellent for boosting moisture levels. I knew that on an academic level, but now I’ve seen the proof in the display!1)

What I do with it

boosters for dry skin
How to pimp my moisture levels, part one: moisturising toners. (Hada Labo, cosrx and Klairs.)

I find it truly excellent to get to know my skin and my skincare better. Let me give you an example – one morning, I had truly dismal moisture levels. The evening before I had used a sheet mask that included both alcohol denat. and fragrance, but seemed very moisturising. Because of that moisturised feeling, I skipped my usual toner and serums and just put moisturiser on when I removed the mask. Conclusion? Apparently, that was a mistake.

Find solutions that fit my skin

I’ve already realised that trans epidermal water loss is no joke – I can tell when I used my eye mask, or slept with my face smushed into the pillows. My skin will be exceptionally dry in that case. On the other hand, my moisture levels will be excellent if I use a sleeping pack that’s occlusive enough to keep all that moisture where it should be.

Worth it?

TEWL what to do
My ultimate weapons for dry skin: sleeping masks with occlusive properties to fight against transepidermal water loss.

You need some basic understanding of how your skin and skincare works, though, and you’ve to test at least some time continually to see how your skin reacts to things. You’ve to immerse yourself in numbers, and interpret them. If that’s not for you, then a skin analyser is 10€ not well spent. On the other hand, truth in skincare is hard to come by, and in the end, you’re your own test subject. Isn’t it good to find some hard data, just for you?

Where to get it

I got mine from Amazon, for about 10€.

Please note that this review is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods, or money, for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.