“beauty tech” is revolutionizing our routine

Gone are the days when we were recommended beauty products after a simple online questionnaire. Today, it is possible to analyze the signs of skin aging on your face from your smartphone with the Skin Screen skin diagnosis from Lancôme, or acne marks with the Spotscan from La Roche-Posay. You can also create your own lipstick color with Chanel’s Lipscanner app or Yves Saint Laurent’s Rouge Sur Mesure device. And soon, we will even be able to find the shade of foundation that perfectly matches our skin tone in Sephora stores. “All of these products and services are based on artificial intelligence (AI), which has spread enormously to the entire cosmetics industry in recent years,” says Julien Romestant, director market intelligence in charge of the Cosmetic 360 conferences in Paris, which put AI in the spotlight at its last edition, at the beginning of October. “To optimize personalization, it is necessary to cross a maximum of personal data, which is the new black gold of the economy. Coupled with artificial intelligence, they offer ultra-precise diagnostic possibilities,” he says. Some major industry players are already exploring this prospect, such as L’Oréal, which has been combining science and technology since 2018 to develop skin diagnostic tools within its brands.

The challenges of made-to-measure

“From a simple image annotated by dermatologists and an algorithm that we have trained, we are able to analyze up to 17 clinical signs of skin aging,” says Stéphane Lannuzel, Beauty program director Tech from L’Oreal. “To go even further, we have set up a partnership with BreezoMeter, which provides all the environmental data such as humidity, temperatures and pollution. We can add lifestyle, smoking, etc. We also work with Clue, a start-up that helps women manage their menstrual cycle. The ability to aggregate all this data allows us to better understand an individual client and offer them an à la carte routine”. This service is accessible both from a smartphone camera, in its simplest form, and at points of sale with more sophisticated equipment. For example, in Kiehl’s stores, the Derma-Reader device takes three photos of our face, front and side, with a tripolar light, before sifting through skin characteristics visible and invisible to the naked eye.

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Thus, the beauty expert can recommend the products that will best treat our “problem”. You still have to agree to share your personal data and play the machine game. “Like all industrial revolutions, some fears related to new technologies remain. We imagine that humans will be replaced by robots like the Matrix or Terminator, as depicted in science fiction”, jokes Julien Romestant, who nevertheless suggests “facing these fears” in order to turn them to our advantage: “On the contrary, these technologies will enable us to meet the challenges of tomorrow in the cosmetics industry, in particular that of preserving the environment. Thanks to this collection of data, we can now calculate the ecological impact of an entire product, from the cork to the pump, through the production of the juice, or even the extraction of the ingredients. We can also analyze its life cycle, its carbon impact or its contribution to global warming, even before mobilizing resources. This is what is looming for the future.” At L’Oréal, for example, environmental issues, and in particular digital sobriety, are “key subjects”. Besides, a data scientist ensures that algorithms are optimized to reduce their environmental footprint.

A home institute

Chloé Arjona, head of the beauty division of the trend firm NellyRodi, also notes the rise of “beauty tech” at home since confinement and with the development of teleworking: “All of this progress makes hyper-sharp and quite expensive, which were previously reserved for professionals. Depending on age, interests diverge, but the trend is quite transversal. Young people love to test the latest playful gadgets, while more mature women find the institute at home, ”explains the expert. Among the latest innovations, hygiene and facial care are in the spotlight. You can start your beauty routine by clearing your skin with Foreo’s Luna 4 cleansing brush, which has pulsations that stimulate collagen production and improve lymphatic drainage. It is available in a new version adapted to the skin condition of the moment (drier skin in summer, acne during menstruation, bags under the eyes after a bad night, etc.). Or with that of NuSkin, which dialogues with a dedicated application by exchanging data captured over use, while offering video tutorials according to our needs. To boost the effectiveness of creams, you can then rely on multifunction devices like TheraFace, which targets the deep layers and facial muscles by emitting microcurrents, percussion and light therapy.

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“Certain brands take the opposite view, such as myBlend with its futuristic patented and super high-end mask”, remarks Chloé Arjona, referring to this impressive device with red and infrared LED lights, which stimulates the production of collagen, oxygenates the cells and promotes blood circulation. “It’s a smart positioning, because unlike brands that tend towards simplicity and accessibility, this protocol makes you want to come back to an institute for even more expert care. Thus, we create a complementarity between the two beauty routines. After proving its worth on the face, the Lightinderm light therapy device, developed with Cochin Hospital and a CNRS medical researcher, is back to revitalize and relieve fatigue around the eyes by combining LEDs, photo-active treatments and expert gestures created by facialist Chantal Lehmann. On the hair side, hairdressing tools with multiple “Swiss army knife” tips are making the buzz on TikTok by accumulating millions of views, such as the new Dyson Airwrap or the Style iQ from Shark. Something to liven up your bathroom. When is the R2-D2 hairdresser?

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