BeautyExplorer, Sony’s latest innovation.

The gadget connects to your smartphone, on which it gives you a comprehensive analysis of how oily or dry your skin might be and the likely cause of other conditions such as irregular skin’s pigmentation.

The BeautyExplorer gives an up-close at home analysis of your skin. © Courtesy of Sony

It can also tell you how much melanin your skin has taken on, an indication of how much sun you’ve been getting. According to Sony, it is also capable of detecting conditions invisible to the eye by peering just under the surface.

Sony said the product would incorporate a technology the company developed two years ago called Smart Skin Evaluation Program (SSKEP). The technology is said to offer high-speed, ultra-accurate analysis of skin texture, blemishes, pores, brightness and colouring using back-illuminated active pixel sensors that Sony adapted for consumer use in 2009.