This WAY to trackable skincare: Your new, portable dermatologist

Ever wonder if all those lotions, moisturizers, and serums you apply to your face day-in and day-out actually do anything? Me too.

Since tracking your skin’s health inherently defies the sort of instant gratification other health monitoring can provide, it can sometimes feel as though you are throwing money to the wind on the myriad of products constantly flooding the market.

This is where WAY comes in. A portable dermatologist in the form of a little donut-shaped device, WAY hails from South Korea as the next-big-thing in skincare.

Here’s how it works: the little donut harbors three sensors that measure UV index, humidity level, and a general skincare analysis (which it reads when you hold it up against your face at an angle). Based on these factors, it sends individualized recommendations to a companion app on your phone, prompting you to put on more sunscreen or moisturizer. The app provides a graph of your “skin age,” which also factors in how your water intake and menstrual cycle are affecting your skin.

“We felt it was important to include readouts of the environment, because that’s inextricably tied to the skin’s health. For instance, a moisturizer might be very effective in delivering hydration, but if the air is bone-dry and robbing the skin of its water content, what’s the point? WAY would remind you to reapply or use a barrier cream to lock in moisture,” CEO Jason Moon told Refinery29 in a recent interview.

One of the coolest features of WAY is its ability to monitor moisture and oil levels on the different skin surfaces of your face; since skin is not uniform on any given person, it is silly to think that we use products aimed at any one ‘skin type’. This means that we can finally track the efficiency of the skincare products we buy. “We want to give everyone a convenient and affordable way to make smarter skin-care decisions,” says Moon. “Since you can’t visit the dermatologist every day, WAY is the next best thing.”

WAY has already doubled its $50K goal on Indiegogo, with several days to go. Early birds can throw in $99 for a November shipment; if you are frequently at the dermatologist’s office, you may want to hop on that ASAP. Those who miss out can expect to pay around $150 retail.

It’s hard to say whether South Korea’s preoccupation with beauty makes this product more or less trustworthy, although the fact that it was engineered in part by a dermatologist certainly helps. We are certainly excited to see initial product reviews.