CES 2019: Beauty tech

Beauty’s embrace of tech was front and center at 2019’s CES in Las Vegas. L’Oréal showcased its La-Roche Posay My Skin Track pH, a sensor that measures skin pH levels to offer consumers tailored product recommendations from the La-Roche Posay skincare range. And SK-II introduced its Future X Smart Store, which has the core concept of a “phygital” retail environment, blending physical and digital elements. The brand employs AI technology to power innovations such as an interactive skincare wall that analyzes the skin remotely, again offering personalized product recommendations.

Johnson & Johnson brand Neutrogena took to CES to unveil Neutrogena Mask iD, its new personalized 3D-printed sheet mask. The mask is personalized both in its shape—with images of the user taken on a 3D smartphone camera—and in the positioning of its active ingredients. The mask is formulated using data from the Neutrogena Skin 360 system, an app that uses a smartphone camera and skin scanner attachment by tech company FitSkin to analyze the skin’s condition and needs.

Speaking at CES, a Johnson & Johnson company representative said that Neutrogena has always endeavored to “leverage science and technology,” in its products, and added, “I think what’s really interesting now is that as that tech space has really started to evolve, it opens up new places to explore as a brand. If we really are going to deliver the maximum, we need to bring science to the next place.”

The spokesperson described the personalization of skincare as a key area in this mission, explaining that Neutrogena Mask iD is very much driven by consumer desire for personalized projects. “This is talking about your skin health, [giving] the consumer the power in the palm of their hands to have technology that was only in a dermatologist’s office a few years ago. You can now look at your skin, measure your skin, control your skin.”

The representative also notes that the drive to create the personalized sheet mask was born out of the feedback the company received from consumers using its Skin 360 analysis app. “People were excited, and were asking, ‘How do I then get a product that’s personalized rather than just a recommendation for an existing product?’ That’s really where we as a business were challenged. How do you really, truly deliver personalized skin care?”

Neutrogena Mask iD will be sold in the United States on the Neutrogena.com website from the beginning of the third quarter of 2019. When the customer scans their face, six different zones of their skin are analyzed by Neutrogena’s app. The sheet mask is then formulated using active ingredients tailored to their individual needs, custom 3D printed and home delivered. The hydrogel mask is created from cellulose and infused with ingredients that include purified hyaluronic acid to hydrate, vitamin B3 to improve discoloration, feverfew to reduce redness, and vitamin C to brighten skin.