Beauty and Technology

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT ONE OR MORE TECHNOLOGIES THAT YOU ARE MOST EXCITED ABOUT?

Guive Balooch, PhD: Absolutely. I’m very excited about the future of beauty wear in which the barrier of our fingers and hands to achieve the dream results we have for beauty can be augmented. Thanks to technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and miniaturized devices, one day we will be able to do incredible things with makeup that we couldn’t do with our fingers alone. L’Oreal Brow Magic—which we unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January of this year—illustrates this beautifully.

Today, shaping the eyebrow(s) requires artistry and precision. It is challenging for most people and usually happens in two ways: drawing small lines that look hairlike, which is difficult stencil work and requires a steady hand; or through a professional service such as microblading or other salon treatments that are expensive and take time.

L’Oreal solves this consumer tension through L’Oreal Brow Magic, which offers an accessible way to create perfect brows easily and quickly. It is the first handheld, electronic brow makeup applicator to provide consumers with their most precise brow shape. Using augmented reality (AR) technology and patented AI algorithms, the device scans the user’s face and makes recommendations on the best brow shape, which is then printed in seconds automatically.

WHAT DO YOU FORESEE AS THE CHALLENGES AND/OR PITFALLS FOR BEAUTY TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS?

Dr. Balooch: One challenge that comes to mind is the desire for more individualism. Patients want to have products that are tailored to them, to their biology, skin, and hair, and be able to also look and evolve the products over time based on data.

We also face a challenge in which patients want experiences, not just products. The fact that the experience is a combination of the product plus digital and technology provides new ways to experience them, like the metaverse, and areas where tomorrow maybe we will have more services.

CAN YOU TELL US THE IMPACT AI IS HAVING ON INNOVATION AND RESEARCH?

Dr. Balooch: AI used to be very theoretical, but now there are many applications using AI, and there’s proof it drives value to business. Data are being used to make business decisions, and we are using data in technology to provide and deliver smarter recommendations and services.

AI has the potential to bring personalization to a level that has never been seen before and will be able to create smart devices that can transform people’s beauty results based on the detection of various concerns (eg, a single wrinkle or sunspot). In the next 5 to 10 years, we will see big changes with precision medicine and digital health. People want their smart devices and products to be even smarter, and I’m curious to see how quickly this unfolds.

We have seen consumers shift to wanting more access to smart data and a better understanding of how to create services that give extreme performance—they crave something newer, better, and more customized. With AI and machine learning, we can coach people on the most difficult aspects of beauty. We’re challenging ourselves to bring that experience to a higher level. Our hope is to create delightful tech products every year that make a difference in the beauty industry.

WHO ARE SOME OF THE PEOPLE/ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU PARTNER WITH?

Dr. Balooch: Most recently, we’ve partnered with micro-printing startup, Prinker, to develop L’Oreal Brow Magic, and with Verily, an Alphabet precision health company, to develop HAPTA, a handheld, ultra-precise smart makeup applicator for users with limited hand and arm mobility, offering them the ability to steadily apply lipstick at home.

The best way to foster continued innovation is to become deeply ingrained with partner teams and understand the common goal. Truly transformative technologies emerge when a group of people draw inspiration from and believe in the vision of one another.

HOW DO YOU SEE BRANDS INTERACTING WITH CONSUMERS IN THE FUTURE?

Dr. Balooch: Experience is always on our minds during product development. And as more tech-savvy consumers enter the marketplace and technology continues to evolve, we’re also focusing more on personalization and inclusivity.

Personalization is only growing and is not limited to the luxury space—it is only becoming more precise. In addition to brands becoming more personalized with consumer experiences, inclusivity will remain top of mind. We want to tailor products to be inclusive always, and one of the biggest ways to achieve this is through technology.

WHAT MAKES SOMETHING TRULY INNOVATIVE OR DISRUPTIVE?

Dr. Balooch: Our end goal is to always build great products for our consumers and solve age-old consumer problems. Although we need technology, we also need deep insight into how we can make their beauty lives better. Disruptive technology should improve beauty results. Our approach is to first start with the consumer need, then use the technology that has been clinically tested for 100% accuracy, and through that, build products that are enhanced and augmented to bring experiences to a new level.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT MODI FACE?

Dr. Balooch: L’Oreal acquired Modiface, a Canadian company and world leader in AR and AI, back in 2018. We acquired Modiface to drive our digital strategy forward and ensure all of our 36+ global brands could have access to this type of technology to elevate beauty experiences.

ModiFace has developed advanced technologies for 3-dimensional virtual makeup, color, and skin diagnosis services using proprietary know-how that tracks facial features and color. It is used in many of our technologies, including Brow Magic and Rouge Sur Mesure, among others.

WITH SAVVY CONSUMERS WHO ARE DIVERSE AND MORE DISCERNING THAN PRIOR GENERATIONS, HOW DO YOU CREATE SOLUTIONS THAT WILL SATISFY THE DEMANDS OF MULTIPLE STAKEHOLDERS?

Dr. Balooch: We want to offer everyone the best of cosmetics innovation in terms of quality, efficacy, and safety, and meet the infinite diversity of beauty needs and desires all over the world. It is through technology that we can meet these needs. Thanks to technological developments and integration of the physical and digital, we’re able to create objects/devices that can achieve magical beauty results.

We are always planning 3, 5, and 10 years ahead, so we can always have a cadence of products that make a true difference and solve age-old problems. Our latest innovations deliver on consumers’ desire for at-home personalization, precision beauty, sustainability, and inclusivity, and we’re excited to continue providing solutions such as these for consumers who demand and want more from their experiences and products.

ONE OF THE BEAUTY TECHNOLOGIES LOREAL UNVEILED AT CES WAS THE HAPTA, A COMPUTERIZED MAKEUP APPLICATOR DESIGNED TO ADVANCE THE BEAUTY NEEDS OF PATIENTS WITH LIMITED HAND AND ARM MOBILITY. HOW DO YOU SEE LOREAL PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES FOR PATIENTS WITH DISABILITIES?

Dr. Balooch: Today, we are servicing a large community of consumers when it comes to beauty products. We are the number one beauty company in the world. Thirty million patients have hand disabilities in the United States. It is not 100%, but it is an important population who we have not been able to service with beauty. It is very important to understand that, and we want to build technology that allows them to experience beauty. Also, as the population ages, we are going to see more issues surrounding consumers’ inability to achieve precise results.

We hope that maybe this will be the beginning of many precision applicators and want to continue providing for patients no matter their limitations.

HOW ARE YOU MAINTAINING YOUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY AS TECH GADGETS COME AND GO WITH VARIOUS ITERATIONS?

Dr. Balooch: Sustainability is a huge part of our work. A great example of this is L’Oreal Water Saver.

As the demand for water is expected to increase 55% by 2050, L’Oréal has ambitious sustainability goals. L’Oréal’s Water Saver is an innovative way for salons and consumers to save water, energy, and money by reducing water usage by up to 80%. The system transforms the traditional hair-washing experience through high-power water-optimizing technology with specially designed haircare products that flow directly into the water stream. This technology will be in thousands of salons in the next few years, at which point it will have the potential for remarkable water savings—up to 1 billion gallons of water per year.