Personalized at-home skincare: L’Oréal launches first-of-its-kind AI technology

06 Jan 2020 --- French beauty behemoth L’Oréal has unveiled Perso, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered, at-home system that is marketed as offering optimized beauty personalization. Developed by the L’Oréal Technology Incubator, the Perso device stands roughly 17 cm high and weighs around 0.5 kg. It also features a streamlined four-step process to deliver “on-the-spot skincare and cosmetic formulas that are optimized for increasing levels of personalization over time.” Perso will be launched in partnership with a leading L’Oréal skincare brand in 2021.

The move comes as personalization is growingly becoming an overarching trend that spans across different industries, including nutrition and personal care. Consumer awareness on the importance of tailored-products to fit individual needs has increased, and with it, the demand for more personalization. For nutrition, apps and platforms that boast personalized advice have been trending for the past few years. This has now crossed over to the personal care industry with leading brands tapping into the trend’s marketing potential. 

Previously, Olay launched the Olay Skin Advisor, an AI skin analysis tool that offers bespoke skincare products that fit each consumer’s needs. In the same spirit, Givaudan Active Beauty recently unveiled the “world’s first” instant microbiome analysis and profiling system, i-MAPS. The technology allows customers to expand their product offerings to include skincare products that are tailored to the unique microbiome of their consumers. The breakthrough boasts improved speed and personalization capabilities. Moreover, it combines microbiome research and technology, which may be a gateway into exploring the tailoring of beauty products involving the skin microbiome, the company says.

“Building on its scientific heritage, L’Oréal is leveraging advanced technology to create smart beauty products and services that answer the needs of our consumers and offer them near-limitless personalization and precision,” explains Nicolas Hieronimus, L’Oréal’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer. “We are committed to making L’Oréal the leader in Beauty Tech – and Perso is the next step in that exciting journey.”

Developed by the L’Oréal Technology Incubator, Perso is an (AI)-powered, at-home system, marketed as offering optimized beauty personalization.The launch took place at the CES 2020 in Las Vegas and represents phase one of the roll out of this first-of-its-kind 3-in-1 technology. The device can also create custom formulas for lipstick and foundation. These capabilities, however, will be launched at a later date, the company notes.

“With Perso, we are putting personalized technology directly into the hands of our consumers,” says Guive Balooch, Head of L’Oréal's Technology Incubator. “We know that customization relies on information about your unique skin and personal preferences as well as your environment and this technology accounts for that. Perso uses AI to optimize the formulas and actually gets smarter as you use it.”

Personalization in the works
Using a patented motorized cartridge system, Perso creates personalized skincare formulas in four steps:

• Personal skin analysis: The user opens the Perso mobile app and takes a photo with their smartphone camera. Utilizing L’Oréal-owned ModiFace technology, the app uses AI to analyze the user’s overall skin condition, including deep wrinkles, fine lines, the appearance of dark spots and pore visibility.
• Environmental assessment: Using Breezometer geo-location data, Perso assesses local environmental conditions that can influence skin, including weather, temperature, pollen, UV index and humidity.
• Product preference: The user enters their personal skincare concerns into the app, including fine lines, dark spots, pigmentation, pore size, radiance and dullness. The user can also input preferred texture and hydration-level to further customize their unique formula of moisturizer, serum and under-eye cream.
• Custom formulation and dispensing: This collective data informs the creation of a personalized blend of high-performance skincare, dispensed in a single dose at the top of the device for easy, clean application. The technology adjusts for morning and evening application, and the device features a detachable mirrored top so consumers have the option of taking a single or larger dose with them on-the-go.

The device’s hardware features a motor system located at the top of the device that moves and compresses the formula from the cartridges at the base of the machine in an upward motion to the dispensing tray above. According to the company, with regular use, Perso’s AI platform will be able to assess skin conditions over time, letting the user know what is working and will automatically adapt future formulas based on personal results.

Cosmetics to come
The cosmetics giant also notes that Perso’s future make-up offerings will have the capability to incorporate real-time trend information, as well as color-matching technology into its personalized product offerings. Consumers would be able to design a lipstick shade to match their outfit, or to opt for a color that is trending on social media. 

As part of L’Oréal's commitment to streamlining the personalized beauty experience, Perso features a seamless automatic refill process that ensures its custom, near field communication (NFC)-tagged cartridges are always stocked and ready for daily usage. Users can manage shipments from the Perso mobile app.

Edited by Kristiana Lalou