The 60-second rule that shaped our skin analysis onboarding

What earns a slot

A question stays only if the answer changes the routine. Skin type changes the cleanser and moisturizer weight. Sensitivity changes the pacing of actives. Budget changes the recommended band. Goals change which treatment step leads.

That is a strict test, and it removes most of what typical skincare quizzes ask. If two different answers produce the same output, the question is decoration — it makes the product feel thorough while costing the user real attention.

• Skin type — cleanser and moisturizer weight
• Sensitivity — how fast actives are introduced
• Goals — which treatment step leads
• Budget — the price band shown, not the quality of advice
• Current routine — what to keep rather than replace
• Selfie — visible texture, shine, and tone cues

What got cut

Age ranges, climate, water hardness, and detailed product history all made the first output marginally better and the completion rate meaningfully worse. They now live in the dashboard, asked after you have a routine worth refining.

We also cut every question whose honest answer is 'I don't know'. Asking someone their barrier status or their Fitzpatrick type produces a guess, and a guess entered with confidence is worse than no data at all.

Why the selfie replaces ten questions

A photo answers questions people cannot answer accurately about themselves. Self-reported skin type is wrong often enough that we treat it as a hint rather than a fact — dehydrated skin is routinely described as oily, and combination skin is described as whichever zone annoyed the person most recently.

The image is used for cosmetic appearance cues only: visible shine, texture, tone evenness. It is never used to identify a condition, and it is stored privately in your account so you never have to upload it twice.

Progressive depth beats a long form

The analysis is the beginning, not the interview. Saved routines, shelf scans, and weekly progress photos deepen the picture over time — and each of those is a choice you make after seeing value, not a toll before it.

This is the same principle behind good software onboarding everywhere: show the output first, then earn the right to ask for more. A skincare routine you can read in ninety seconds creates the motivation to answer the harder questions in week two.

• Minute one — six questions, one photo, a full AM/PM routine
• Week one — save the routine, start the checklist
• Week two — add your shelf, refine what to keep
• Week four — first progress photo comparison

Completion rate is a feature, not a metric

A routine nobody finishes generating is worth nothing, regardless of how sophisticated the model behind it is. We treat drop-off in onboarding as a product defect with the same severity as a broken page.

The practical consequence is that the bar for adding a question keeps rising. Each new one must beat the marginal user we lose by asking it, and that trade gets worse every time we win it.

Frequently asked questions