Cell this! Latest in skin care is all in the genes

DNA profiling revolutionized the way law enforcement identifies bad guys. Now, Mario Russo salon on Newbury Street is using the same technology to identify a whole new set of perpetrators.

The main suspects: collagen breakdown, sun damage, sensitivity, environmental pollution, and free radical toxicity. While all are guilty of robbing skin of its youthful glow, some may be more culpable than others, depending upon your genetic makeup, says Penelope Hoffman, a spa consultant for Mario Russo salon.

The salon is offering a new service called the Ultra Custom Anti-Aging Treatment, which uses DNA testing to identify the culprits accelerating your skin's aging. Based on the results, the salon makes recommendations and provides you with a specially formulated skin cream customized to your genetic profile.

I recently test-drove the service to see if my DNA could unlock the mystery of my crow's feet and dark circles.

Here's my skin CV: I'm 37, have Irish and Italian heritage, and fair skin. Hoffman could tell my skin was sensitive and sun-damaged just by looking at me, but the DNA profile would provide the bigger picture, a blueprint, she said, for how my skin would react to certain treatments.

If you spent your teen years slathered in baby oil and baking in the sun, you're bound to have some damage. But if your ancestors' skin was susceptible to sun and premature aging, yours probably is too, baby oil or no baby oil, Hoffman explained.

Because 99 percent of human DNA is identical, it's the remaining 1 percent, made up of single-nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs (pronounced "snips"), that make people different from one another. They determine not only how you look but how easily you put on weight or how your skin reacts to free radicals, the unstable chemical compounds caused by pollution that can damage skin cells.

So, how does this all work? The $350 service is broken up into two appointments.

At my first appointment, I had an epidermal peel to freshen my skin, and a DNA test, just like you see on crime shows. Yes, Hoffman swabbed the inside of my cheek with an extra-long Q-tip. The sample -- bar-coded to preserve anonymity -- was then shipped off to a lab where a skin cream would be developed based on my genetic profile.

Two weeks later, I had my second appointment, which involved a 20-minute "LED photopulsation" treatment. Hoffman moved a large pulsator light over my neck and face that felt like a cellphone on vibrate, but much less intense. The treatment, she says, uses light to rejuvenate the skin, tighten pores, and even out tone.

My customized skin cream wasn't ready at the time of my second appointment, but Hoffman said it can take up to three weeks. The GeneLink lab, based in New York, destroys the DNA sample after testing but keeps the formula on file so you can reorder your cream, which costs about $160 for a two-month supply.

"Most creams on the market, even the very expensive ones, are still generic," Hoffman said. "While they deliver some benefits, something is always compromised."

Such custom treatments would certainly seem to be the future of skincare. Still, the reporter in me decided to look into the science behind it.

"This scientific approach to skin care is intriguing, but it's important to note that there have been no peer-reviewed, published studies to support its efficacy," said Mathew Avram, director of the Dermatology Laser & Cosmetic Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. "Until such data is published, time will tell whether it's effective."

For me, the proof was in the mirror. After both appointments, I noticed my crow's feet and other fine lines were less pronounced and my skin felt smoother than it had in years.

Still, Hoffman said the message should not be about trying to look 20 years old again, but making the most of what you were born with.