Reference
A dossier is only worth reading if you know what produced it. Six of these markers are measured from your scan, then adjusted by your answers. Eight come from what you told Aura — your water, your sun, your habits. Three cannot be read by any camera at all, so Aura shows them as estimates and says so on the page rather than in a footnote.
What a measurement isSix of these come from your scanThe rest are estimates, and the page says which is which beside every one.Measured from the pixels of your own scan, then adjusted by your answers.
Derived from what you told Aura about your skin, hair, water and habits.
Shown as a labelled estimate, with the instrument that would really be needed named.
How much oil the T-zone is putting out through the day.
Read from the photographThe share of the T-zone patch (lower forehead, between the brows) showing a direct shine in the scan, adjusted for whether you describe your skin as oily or dry. Shine is not a quantity of oil — see below.
Micro-smoothness of the cheek plane, the thing you feel rather than see.
Read from the photographFine-detail variation on both cheek patches in the scan, adjusted for the open-pore concern you report and your age band.
How visible the follicular openings are on the nose and inner cheek.
Read from the photographSurface shine on the T-zone patch in the scan, adjusted for the open-pore and blackhead concerns you report. Pore size itself is not yet measured from the image.
How much light the surface throws back — the difference between dull and lit.
Not measurable from a photographRadiance needs a glossmeter under controlled light. Aura estimates it from how evenly your tone reads and the dullness you report — and deliberately not from how bright your face is, which would score darker skin as duller.
Water held in the outermost layer of skin.
Not measurable from a photographHydration is measured by electrical capacitance at the surface, with a corneometer. No camera can see it. Aura estimates it from your answers and how evenly your tone reads, and labels it an estimate.
How well your skin keeps its own moisture in.
Not measurable from a photographBarrier strength is measured as water loss through the skin, with an evaporimeter held against it. A photograph cannot show it. Aura estimates it from your answers and the redness in your scan, and labels it an estimate.
Baseline redness, and how quickly your skin flares.
Read from the photographThe red-versus-green balance on both cheek patches in the scan, adjusted for sensitivity you report.
How uniformly melanin is distributed, rather than how dark the skin is.
Read from the photographHow much your tone varies across the face in the scan — an unevenness measure, not a fairness one — adjusted for the tone and mark concerns you report.
Cumulative sun load from how you live.
Estimated from your answersYour daily hours outdoors, tanning, and whether you commute by bike or with a helmet.
Current inflammatory activity, as distinct from what it leaves behind.
Estimated from your answersThe active acne and painful lumps you report, weighted a little by the shine in your scan.
Residual marks and post-inflammatory pigmentation.
Estimated from your answersThe marks, dark spots and scarring you report.
How much darker the skin under the eye reads than the cheek below it.
Read from the photographThe luminance ratio between the under-eye zone and the mid-cheek of the same face in the scan, adjusted for dark circles and late nights you report.
Morning puffiness, and whether it settles by midday.
Estimated from your answersThe puffiness and late nights you report.
Collagen-linked resilience, which falls with age on a known curve.
Estimated from your answersYour age band's baseline, adjusted for fine lines you report. Firmness itself is not measured.
Flaking, itch and oil at the roots rather than along the length.
Estimated from your answersThe dandruff, itch, oily roots and helmet use you report.
Shedding set against regrowth — the only hair number that matters.
Estimated from your answersA reported pattern screen: hair fall, thinning and sudden shedding. Aura routes patterned or patchy loss to a dermatologist rather than scoring it.
Breakage, porosity and frizz along the shaft.
Estimated from your answersThe frizz and breakage you report, weighted by whether you wash in hard water.
The limit
Three things are routinely sold as camera measurements and are not. They are measured by instruments held against the skin, and every one of them costs more than a phone.
The water held in the outer skin layer, measured by electrical capacitance at the surface with a corneometer. A photograph of a hydrated face and a dehydrated one can be identical.
Measured as water loss through the skin, with an evaporimeter held against it. A photograph carries no information about it at all.
Measured by absorbing oil onto tape over a fixed interval. A photo shows how much light the surface is reflecting right now, which also changes with sweat, primer, and how long ago you washed. Aura reports surface shine as its own measure instead.
Aura is a wellness tool, not a medical device. It does not diagnose.