To Capture Your Current Skin Quality
Your Epigenetics Tells a Better Story
Epigenetics is the study of biological mechanisms that can activate or inactivate your genes, which affects how cells read them and in turn produce functional products such as proteins. The SKINTELLI test measures DNA methylation, a well-characterized epigenetic mechanism, of genes strongly correlated to skin quality factors and ultimately cosmetic properties.
Epigenetics Accounts For
The Environment's Role
The degree of active or inactive states of your genes is dynamic and can be impacted by your skin’s exposure to the environment including the sun and, especially, the ingredients contained in skincare products. Epigenetic changes are naturally occurring as you age, but are also potentially reversible through proper environment stimuli.
The Latest in Technology
Real Science For Your Skin
We use our proprietary STAMP™ (Skin Targeted Amplification of Methylation Panel) technology to detect DNA methylation levels of skin-related genes to profile your current, unique skin quality. Combined with next generation sequencing analysis, STAMP™ enables your profile to be highly accurate.
With use of an AI-based algorithm and STAMP™, responses from our questionnaire based product are quantitatively matched to the methylation levels of numerous skin quality-related genes trained from large numbers of samples to predict biological skin quality.
Buy NowWe Test for 8 Key Quality Indicators
We’ve narrowed down thousands of research papers and selected 40 epigenetic marks that are strongly correlated to 8 key skin quality indicators. Click an icon to see one of many example research papers.
AGING
Discover the true age of your skin, which affects all areas of cosmetic appearance including wrinkles, dryness, firmness, and more. 
SKIN REJUVENATION
The ability to effectively refresh skin cells can prevent wrinkles, age spots, dryness, and other cosmetic degradation.
FIRMNESS & ELASTICITY
Collagen and elastin proteins hold your skin together to maintain elasticity, reducing wrinkles, excess looseness, and thinness.
SENSITIVITY RESPONSE
Skin with normal sensitivity is less likely to react to stimuli that would cause appearances such as redness.
MOISTURE RETENTION
Moisture is maintained by water transportation proteins and is essential for smooth, bright skin as well to prevent tightness and cracking.
ANTI-OXIDATION
Low levels of oxidation leads to less free radicals, and thus less visible signs of age spots, wrinkling, and sagging.
SUN PROTECTION
How well your skin holds up to environmentally-induced impact from excessive sun exposure can slow down cosmetic deterioration.
PIGMENTATION
Smooth and even coloration of the skin is dependent on a balanced amount of melanin present in the skin.
How SKINTELLI Compares
Genetic Profiling
- Static genetic predispositions
- Ignores environmental impacts
- Generalized advice
- One-time static test
- Tested indirectly from saliva
Epigenetic Profiling
with SKINTELLI- Profiles current skin quality
- Factors in environmental impact
- Actionable product matches
- Repeatable test to measure progress
- Tested directly from skin
Survey Profiling
- Solely questionnaire-based
- Relies on product reviews & advertising
- Inaccurate or biased recommendations
- Regimen progress not quantifiable
- No scientific test
Questions? Answers.
Ordering the Test
SKINTELLI is a direct-to-consumer personal epigenetic test developed by New York-based biotechnology company EpigenCare Inc. The purpose of the test is to discover the best matched skincare products on the market for the current quality of your skin. We provide three tiers of assessment solutions for your skin quality: (1) AI algorithm based on skin quality-related gene methylation levels of lab tested data sets and correlated to individualized responses to a carefully curated questionnaire, which provides a preliminary but robust prediction of skin quality; (2) STAMP technology based detection of DNA methylation levels of skin quality-related genes, which more accurately profiles your current and unique skin quality, especially skin age; and (3) next-generation sequencing of your DNA, through which we assess a comprehensive cosmetic appearance of your skin at the epigenetic level.
Current buying decisions for skincare products are based on glamorous, mass marketing and sales consultants, which is far too general. This leads to you receiving the same blanket recommendations for taking care of your skin as everyone else. Even dermatologists typically only make skincare product recommendations based on what can be visually detected on a superficial basis. With SKINTELLI, you will gain not only insight into the current quality of your skin but also be matched with existing products on the market, ranging from brand name to indie boutique, based on the best-suited combination of ingredient compositions.
You will gain three types of insights:
- A profile snapshot that quantifies eight major skin quality factors in a 1-100 normalized score format. This score represents how active your genes are, with 100 being fully activated and 1 equivalent to complete inactivation. This calculation is based on an epigenetic mechanism known as DNA methylation, which controls gene activity.
- An in-depth explanation of what each of the eight skin quality factor means, and which skincare product ingredients can help to improve each factor. This general guidance offers you flexibility in making your own shopping decisions for brands.
- Products that are algorithmically matched to your skin profile based on the most optimal ingredient compositions that can optimally address all quality factors as a whole. You will receive 36 matches, ranging from brand name to indie boutique, which are separated into three price tiers.
SKINTELLI does not offer medical, diagnostic, or health condition assessments and is strictly for cosmetic applications. For health concerns about your skin, seek the advice of a dermatologist or physician.
When you purchase the SKINTELLI test, we will ship a sample collection kit to your designated address. The kit contains mildly sticky adhesives that you adhere to your forehead area and the corners of your eyes to collect skin samples. The procedure takes less than 2 minutes and is painless. You will then place the adhesives in collection tubes and ship it back to us in the prepaid postage box. Once we receive your samples, we collect your DNA out of the adhesives and will prepare them for epigenetic-based sequencing. Once the test is complete, we discard your DNA and any remaining samples in less than 10 business days.
If you would like to see progress of your skin quality or regimen, SKINTELLI is a repeatable test. Your lifestyle and products used may affect the speed of which epigenetic changes occur such that they can be sufficiently detected by SKINTELLI. To account for this as well as any statistical deviations, we generally recommend one test every 6 months, although this may differ between users.
If you placed a pre-order for a SKINTELLI or an EpigenCare test prior to February 11, 2019, you will receive your sample collection kit in late February to early April. If you placed a qualifying order during the limited beta release, you will receive the kit within 3-7 business days. Any new pre-orders placed during the limited beta release will be shipped on a rolling basis.
After official launch, you’ll be able to view your personalized report online 6-12 weeks after we receive your collected skin sample, depending on the tier level of the product solution you choose. Questionnaire based solutions will take as little as 5 minutes. We expect this turnaround period to be significantly reduced in the future. During the beta stages, testing may be somewhat slower than our intended regular schedule, at 12-16 weeks.
SKINTELLI is currently available in the USA in all states except New York and Maryland. The test may be made available to NY and MD residents as well as worldwide in the near future.
Yes. Test results will not be sent to the individual who ordered a SKINTELLI test, but rather to whoever registers a sample collection kit in his or her possession. Thus, you may gift an unregistered collection kit to someone else.
Any unopen and unregistered SKINTELLI sample collection kits may be returned for a refund within 30 days. All returns are subject to a $25 processing fee. Once the collection kit has been open, we regrettably can no longer issue a refund. If the kit has been open but is unused and unregistered, we suggest gifting the kit to someone else. Please report any damaged or incomplete kits immediately upon receipt or within 14 days in order to qualify for a replacement. If you purchased a SKINTELLI test but have not carried out the test yet, replacement kits (for sample collection only) can be purchased for $25. If we receive your sample and are unable to obtain sufficient DNA, we will notify you to re-do the collection process up to one time at no additional cost. Additional attempts may be subject to re-collection and handling fees.
The Science
The SKINTELLI test is a non-invasive epigenetics cosmetic skincare test using an at-home sample collection process and subsequent laboratory-based next-generation sequencing technology. The test report provides measurable results which include information on your skin’s age, firmness and elasticity, moisture retention, sun protection, rejuvenation, anti-oxidation, sensitivity response, and pigmentation. This is achieved by detecting “active” (or expression) levels of genes that are highly correlated to skin quality factors, which can change over time due to natural aging, environmental exposure, lifestyle habits, and especially the products that you use on your skin. This is known as epigenetics, which is a dynamic process best suited for the ever-changing state of your skin. More specifically, the SKINTELLI test detects DNA methylation-controlled activation and inactivation of multiple genes that have been proven to control skin aging and cosmetic appearance. Our method is developed based on accumulation of years of scientific peer-reviewed research results pertaining to epigenetic markers of skincare-related biological pathways, which have been repeatedly validated by cosmetic and aging science research groups at top institutes and universities. The procedure is carried out using our proprietary STAMP™ (Skin Targeted Amplification of Methylation Panel) technology, the most cutting edge of genomic and epigenomic technologies. Once the current quality of your skin is established, we use an advanced matching algorithm to look for products (ranging from brand name to indie boutique) and their ingredient compositions that are best suited towards an optimized regimen for you. The SKINTELLI test is repeatable, and therefore can be used as a means to measure progress of your skincare regimen.
Epigenetics is the study of biological mechanisms that regulate genes by expressing (turning on) or repressing (turning off) them. Because genes provide the instructions for functional proteins to be produced inside the cell, epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation will affects how the genes are read by cells, and subsequently whether the cells should produce relevant proteins. For example, the COL1A1 gene in DNA is present in all types of cells but “expressed” in skin cells to produce Type 1 Collagen proteins. Although epigenetic changes occur naturally with aging, environmental and lifestyle factors such as pollutants, smoking, exercise, diet, and sleep can positively or negatively impact gene expression levels. Because of this, measurement of epigenetic changes is well suited to the ever-changing aspects of skin quality throughout one’s life. In fact, most existing skincare products contain active ingredients which epigenetically impact one or more skin quality affecting factors such as anti-oxidation.
Genetic skincare tests are based on genetic variants (known as SNP markers), which only provide limited information about intrinsic risk or susceptibility to skin conditions within a small, specific population. This is because genetics is established at birth and is not changeable or reversible, and therefore cannot be used as a progress monitor to track your skincare regimen. Your skin is dynamic which is regulated by your interaction with the environment and is controlled by epigenetics, a system of mechanisms that can turn on or turn off your genes. An epigenetic test looks at a biological mechanism called DNA methylation, which regulates the “active” (or expression) level of your genes. High methylation levels will deactivate genes, thereby reducing the ability to produce essential proteins. Because skin can be affected by aging, environment, and lifestyle, DNA methylation is better suited to track the dynamic elements of the skin. In a nutshell, only an epigenetic-based skincare test can truly identify the unique properties of your skin in its current state to determine which skincare products are best suited for you.
Epigenetic levels are different between different types of cells. Saliva contains white blood cells as well as cells from the inner lining of your mouth, which cannot be used to represent skin quality. In order to correctly profile the quality of your skin in its current state, we require the samples directly from your skin. Our painless 2-minute sample collection procedure involves mildly sticky adhesives to self-obtain cells from the surface of your skin.
Data Privacy
When registering the SKINTELLI sample collection kit, you can use any pseudonym to retain your anonymity if desired. However, we do require a working e-mail address so that you can access and view your test results. Moreover, we do ask a series of lifestyle and demographic questions so that we can correlate this information to better product matches. Except for age and ethnicity, most of this information is optional. However, having a comprehensive profile allows us to provide you with more accurate results towards building an ongoing personalized regimen in the event you decide to carry out another test.
To maintain sample security and data accuracy, we use a range of technical, physical, and administrative procedures to protect the privacy information we collect including sample and testing data so that unauthorized access or disclosure will be prevented. All online data transactions are encrypted over SHA-256 standards, and all administrative, technical, and logistics personnel handle your samples by your barcode ID or pseudonym. Moreover, we retain your DNA sample for no more than 10 days after the test is completed (and then it is irrevocably destroyed). Lastly, because we sequence only for epigenetic marks and not larger genome sequences, it is impossible for anyone to identify you by the resulting files. We are constantly exploring new and cutting-edge technologies to strengthen privacy and security measures.
Your DNA and remaining samples are irrevocably destroyed within 10 business days.