Boulder Startup Brings Personalized Skincare Diagnostics to Colorado

Dermalyze, a Boulder-based startup, has opened its first diagnostic studio offering detailed skin imaging paired with personalized product recommendations, aiming to bring a more data-driven approach to a skincare market often built on subjective consultations.

Co-founder and dermatology nurse practitioner Sana Okafor says the studio's imaging system captures detailed views of skin texture, pigmentation, and moisture levels that go beyond what a standard in-person consultation can assess. "A lot of skincare recommendations are still based on someone glancing at your face for two minutes," she said. "We wanted to give clients something more precise to work from."

Turning Diagnostics Into a Retail Model

Rather than manufacturing its own product line, Dermalyze uses its diagnostic results to recommend existing products from a curated set of skincare brands, positioning the studio as an independent diagnostic layer rather than a proprietary product company. Okafor says this approach required building relationships with several skincare brands willing to have their products recommended based on objective diagnostic criteria rather than marketing claims.

Clients pay a flat fee for the initial diagnostic session, which includes a follow-up consultation to review results and build a suggested routine. Okafor says roughly 40 percent of clients return for a follow-up diagnostic scan within six months to track how their skin has changed.

Testing Boulder Before Expanding

Okafor says Boulder was a deliberate choice for the company's first physical location, citing the city's concentration of wellness-focused consumers already comfortable paying for data-driven health services. The company is treating the Boulder studio as a pilot before deciding whether to expand to other Front Range cities or take the diagnostic model into a licensing arrangement with existing spas and dermatology practices.

Early feedback has prompted the company to add a shorter, lower-cost scan option aimed at clients hesitant to commit to the full diagnostic package, a tier Okafor says is already outselling internal projections.