Here’s how AI will change the face of beauty by 2030

Hi, and welcome to the future: a toasty-warm, carbon-neutral, plastic-free place where your face has replaced your passport and your car drives itself. Weed is legal, alcohol is hangover-free, weekends last three days and we robots do your admin. We can dream.

Ten long years ago, The Face compiled a set of predictions for the coming decade from a star chamber of hotshot experts. That flesh-and-blood editorial team has long since disbanded but their legacy remains. From now until the first day of the new decade we’re sharing some prognostications (as seen in The Face Volume 4 Issue 002) on love, sex, space, AI, cannabis, mental health and plastic surgery (and more) for the years ahead.

“Whether its algorithm-derived personalised formulas, virtual cosmetic skins and real-time filters that allow you to ​‘try on’ a look, or cosmetic 3D printers that allow you to instantly download your favourite look from the Met Gala, artificial intelligence will change the face of beauty by 2030.

“Personalisation will see skincare brands use ​‘data kits’ to track hormonal skin changes and then learn and anticipate what an individual’s skin needs. Using the data science and algorithms to find patterns, the kits will make accurate predictions about the skin and then create the perfect serum. The formula will then be adapted each month.

“Resource scarcity will also have had a huge impact on the beauty industry. For example, the UN estimates that two-thirds of the world will be living in water-stressed conditions by 2025. With water being one of the most used ingredients in cosmetics, beauty brands will have been forced to reduce their reliance on water by creating new products and production processes, and instead develop water-free or low-water consumption alternatives. Expect to see countries restricting certain ingredients we currently take for granted, and legislating to protect them.”