"Moisture score 68, skin age 39. I got the result sheet, but I really don't know what I'm supposed to do with it."
"Should I just start with the areas that got low scores?"
This is what people ask most often when holding their diagnosis result sheet.
Hello, I am Kwon Si-jin, representative director of DA Clinic Myeongdong, opening soon ^^
We're getting ready to open in Myeongdong soon, and because so many people arrive holding a printout asking "with these numbers, what should I do?", I wanted to set this down as information first.
What you should leave a diagnosis with is not a score, but a sentence about what to do next. Even on the same day with the same device, the numbers can fluctuate if conditions change even slightly.
That is why, when looking at a result sheet, you should look at what that number actually measured rather than just whether the score is high or low.I hope this article helps you set that standard.
What a skin analyser actually measures
Most skin analysers convert signals obtainable at the surface into numbers.
Methods differ by device, but the items commonly used are these.
- Hydration and oilthe state of the stratum corneum at the surface. The value moves depending on whether you have just washed your face or it has been several hours
- Pigmenta specific wavelength is shone on the skin so that areas where melanin has gathered stand out
- Rednessthe same approach is used to look at vascular signals
- Pores and wrinklescontours are calculated from magnified images
What matters here is that these values move with the conditions of the day.Indoor humidity, the product applied just before, how much you slept — the same person can measure differently.
So rather than declaring a single number good or bad, it should be read together with the conditions under which it was taken.
How to look at the number called 'skin age'
Skin age is not a measurement but a converted value calculated by combining several items.
Because the formula differs by manufacturer, measuring the same face on a different device can produce a different age.That is why people say the number changed when they moved clinics.
So this number is weak as a way of comparing yourself to other people, and useful as a way of seeing change when measured again on the same device under the same conditions.
Turn the direction of comparison away from other people and toward your own previous visit, and the same number becomes far more useful.
Where numbers start to create anxiety
Scores read like rankings.And rankings create impatience.
There is a pattern we see often in clinic.You want to erase whichever item scored low first, and in doing so you end up starting with a treatment that isn't next in order.
For example, if the barrier is weakened and the pigment score is low, going straight to a strong laser may lighten pigment slightly while redness and sensitivity last longer.
Numbers tell you what stands out.They don't tell you what should come first. A person has to decide that order.
A good diagnosis produces sentences
What should be in your hands when a diagnosis ends is not a score sheet but sentences you can act on.
They take a form like this.
- Barrier recovery comes first for now; pigment comes after that
- This pigment is worth managing, but this redness can be left to watch
- This contour isn't in the territory a procedure handles; it's closer to bone structure
Sentences contain both an order and what not to do.A score sheet contains neither.
Ask at least these at your diagnosis
Wherever you have a diagnosis done, asking these four will make the result far more useful.
- "What should come first right now?"this confirms the order
- "What doesn't need doing yet?"whether this answer comes at all is the point
- "Could this value be down to today's condition?"this checks the conditions
- "What should I look at next time?"this sets your basis for comparison
Write down the answer to the fourth, and you can measure change against the same basis at your next visit.
Why values differ between devices
It is natural for the same face to produce different values on different devices.
Measurement methods and formulas differ by manufacturer.Which wavelength is used to look at pigment, how many steps it is divided into, over what range an average is taken — all of these differ.
So when you change clinics, rather than comparing the numbers directly, it helps to bring the explanation of which items were read how, and why.
The interpretive sentences written on a result sheet stay useful longer than the numbers.
When you look at the result sheet again at home
What you hear in the consultation room fades faster than you'd expect.
So that it stays usable after you leave, it helps to write these three in the margin.
- The order you agreed todaywhat comes first
- What you decided not to do for nowand why it was postponed
- What to check next timewhat to look at again in a few months
With these three lines, your next visit continues from here.Without them, you start over each time.
Sometimes a single photograph beats a score
The simplest way to confirm change is a photograph taken under the same conditions.
Same spot, same lighting, same angle, no makeup.Match those four and you can compare without any device.
Items that change slowly, like pigment or firmness, are hard to judge from memory alone, so it helps to keep one photograph at the start and one two or three months later.
In these cases there's no rush to be measured
Honestly, if any of the below applies, this may not be the moment.
- A period when the skin is sensitisedwith redness or flaking present, values come out differently from usual
- Right after a strong procedurea value taken mid-recovery is hard to use as a baseline
- When you have no plan to decide on treatment from the resultif only numbers remain, only anxiety grows
Measuring once the skin has returned to its usual state gives you something you can also use as a baseline.
- What a reading produces is an order, not a score
- The core is what to do first and what to postpone
- Numbers alone do not decide what to do
Frequently asked questions
Q. Does a low score mean my skin is that bad?
A. It's hard to read it that way. Formulas differ by device, and values also move with the conditions of measurement. If an item comes out low, checking the conditions of that day is the first step.
Q. Can I bring a result sheet from another clinic?
A. Bringing it helps.If the device differs the numbers can't be compared directly, but it is used to look at the explanation of which items were read how, and why.
Q. How often should I be measured?
A. Items change at different speeds.Hydration and oil move over short cycles, while pigment and firmness are looked at over months, so measuring often makes differences hard to read.
Q. Can I have only the diagnosis done?
A. Yes.As mentioned, though, coming away with what to do first and what to postpone leaves you with more than coming away with numbers alone.
Order, not a score
The product of a diagnosis is an order, not a score. If what comes first and what isn't being done yet hasn't been settled, the numbers aren't usable information yet.
DA Clinic Myeongdong is set to open soon.We'll share news of our opening and treatment information first on our blog and Instagram ^^
Thank you for reading this far.This was Kwon Si-jin, director of DA Clinic Myeongdong.
This column is an informational article meant to provide general medical information; the effects and side effects of any procedure may differ from person to person. DA Clinic Myeongdong is set to open. (Medical Service Act, Article 56)