Start in demo mode
Selv opens with a fully stocked sample routine so you can explore everything before entering a single product. Poke around all five tabs — check off routine steps, expand products, take nothing seriously.
When you're ready, go to Profile → Clear sample data. A short setup asks what to call you, your birthday (optional — the app is for ages 13+), and your city, and shows the fine print. Agree, and the app is fully yours: blank, private, ready.
Add your products 🧴
In the Products tab, tap ＋ and start typing — the catalog (everyday staples to prescriptions like tretinoin, all known by their full ingredient lists) autofills the details and, crucially, the active ingredients. That's what powers the safety checks later.
Products live in four places: your routine (used daily, AM/PM or both), treatments (weekly masks and peels), your shelf (backups, not in rotation), and retired (finished — kept as a record of what you used, for how long, and what it cost).
Let the Routine Check work 🧪
This is the part no other tracker does. In the Routine tab, the Routine Check reviews your morning and evening lineup for the things that quietly sabotage results: reactive ingredient pairs (retinoids + acids, vitamin C + benzoyl peroxide, and two dozen more), steps in the wrong order, products at the wrong time of day, doubled-up steps, and missing essentials like SPF.
Each finding comes with a plain-English why and a one-tap fix — reorder, move to PM, or remove. Prescriptions are covered too: the app knows isotretinoin shouldn't share a bathroom shelf with exfoliating acids.
Take the skin quiz ✨
In Discover, a short quiz reads your skin type, concerns, goals, and budget, then builds a recommended AM and PM routine at three price tiers — from drugstore to splurge. If you've marked sensitivities in your Profile (retinoids, acids, niacinamide), clashing recommendations are automatically skipped, and the report tells you why.
Like what you see? One tap — "Use this as my routine" — and it becomes your actual routine, every step editable.
Show up daily 🌱
Check off each step morning and night. Streaks build, points add up, and your Skin Score — calculated entirely on your phone from consistency, streak, routine quality, and essentials — climbs as your habits do. Fixing a conflict literally raises your score.
Home is your daily dashboard: today's routine, your score trend, climate-based tips for your city (21 US cities and counting), and gentle reminders at times you choose.
Quick questions
Is it really free?
Yes — free to download, free to use, no membership tier, ever. That's a founding principle, not a promotion.
Where does my data go?
Today, nowhere — your routine, products, and profile live on your device, with no analytics and no ads. (There's a backup export in Profile for when you switch phones.) As Selv grows, we're building optional ways to share more: community profiles, product reviews, and connections with the brands you already love — think samples, perks, and clearly labeled brand content — never spam. Every one of those will be opt-in and clearly explained. What you share is always your call, and it will never be sold or passed along without you choosing it.
Is this medical advice?
No. Selv Skin offers general cosmetic guidance — helpful, researched, and honest, but never a substitute for a dermatologist. Prescription users should always follow their prescriber's directions. See our Terms & Medical Disclaimer.
Can brands pay to change what the app tells me?
No — and they never will be able to. Ingredient warnings and routine guidance are contractually off-limits to any sponsor. It can't be paid to lie.