L’Oréal on Monday unveiled a new device called L’Oréal Cell BioPrint, which is designed to use a non-invasive approach to provide personalised skin analysis within a few minutes. The company claims that the Cell BioPrint can tell users the biological age of their skin, predict how some active ingredients will work with their skin, and even ‘forecast’ cosmetic issues such as dark spots before they are visible. The device will be available in Asia later this year, according to the firm. 

L’Oréal Cell BioPrint Performs Skin Analysis By Identifying Protein Biomarkers

The company says that the L’Oréal Cell BioPrint was developed using Korean startup NanoEnTek’s patented microfluidic lab-on-a-chip technology, that is designed to analyse a user’s skin by measuring unique protein biomarkers within a five-minute period.

The non-invasive process to analyse a user’s skin starts with the application of a strip of facial tape, which is then added to a buffer solution. This is added to a cartridge, which is placed in the L’Oréal Cell BioPrint for analysis. During the five-minute process, a touchscreen device will prompt users to answer a few questions, while capturing images of their face.

L’Oréal says it shrunk its technology for the Cell BioPrint to the size of a credit card
Photo Credit: L’Oréal

L’Oréal claims that the Cell BioPrint device can calculate how quickly a user’s skin is ageing, while providing advice that is tailored to their skin type. It can also predict how a particular product could respond to ingredients — such as retinol, or vitamin A, which is used to treat acne and slow down the effects of ageing.

The company also says that the tabletop device can also “predict potential cosmetic issues” that aren’t present on a person’s skin at the time, such as enlarged pores, or hyperpigmentation. L’Oréal didn’t specify whether the feature would also provide skincare advice for issues detected using this feature.

It’s worth noting that these devices are not a substitute for a qualified dermatologist, and L’Oréal has yet to provide any details of scientific studies that can offer conclusive evidence (in the form of scientific studies) that show all the device’s features function reliably. Users might have to wait for a while until the device is commercially available — the company says it will pilot the device in Asia with one of its brands later this year.