L’Oréal has been deeply interested lately with using technology to come up with the best products for your skin. We recently mentioned the Sun Exposure Tracker Patch that detects UV rays when exposed to the sun but what if you could monitor your skin at all time?
Electronic flexible patches could be the next big thing for skin care and L’Oreal USA has collaborated with a group of engineers at the University of Illinois to use flexible wearable electronics to collect and transmit data from the human body to help you develop a healthier skin.
These wearable sensors can measure blood flow and skin hydration so L’Oreal is already using them in its research and development of new products. The next thing would be to bring the sensors directly to the consumers by selling them for example with a cosmetic product or skincare lotion. That way, consumers can easily know what type of skin they have, the hydration state of their skin and how much product should they apply.
The circuits, which are made of narrow strands of metallic conductors interwoven with and embedded in “nanoribbons” of silicon, are flexible and can be easily worn on any part of the body while the data collected can be sent via Bluetooth to any nearby smartphone or computer.
To get consumers to wear them in visible locations of the body, the engineers have experimented with covering the patches with a design to make them look like temporary tattoos. For now, L’Oreal didn’t indicate exactly when they will start selling these wearable sensors but it could be as soon as the start of next year.
