Pooja is an internationally acclaimed expert in the area of natural ingredients. Her research work and formulations that combine ingredients from diverse sciences like Aromatherapy & Ayurveda are well appreciated in the technical lobbies. Pooja pursued her passion and studied cosmetology & Aromatherapy in UK and Canada. She practised the principles of Ayurveda to deeply understand the relevance of ancient science in the present day. A Master’s in Business Administration from one of India’s leading universities helps Pooja lead her organization and team efficiently and dynamically.
The digital world is coinciding more and more with our real world as years pass by. Beauty Industry, like any other industry, is not untouched by today’s technological advancements. Although my work – Inatur, has been chiefly based on Ayurveda, it would be like living under a rock if I didn’t know about the revolution taking place in the industry. The world is marching towards a digitalised future, and so is the beauty industry parallelly moving forward – if not, but robust than ever.
What are some Recent Technologies?
From AR/ VR (augmented reality / virtual reality) to the incorporation of AI into skincare and 3-D printing, the beauty industry is revolutionising at an accelerating rate. With the masses demanding newer and better beauty services, personalisation tailored to individual needs is the key.
Beauty backed by science is the need of the hour. Brands are making innovative strategies to pair consumers with medical practitioners to get personalised skincare prescriptions from cosmeceutical brands – it can be a video consultation with a dermatologist, aesthetic doctor or cosmetic surgeon.
AR & VR in beauty allows for increased personalisation and customisation. These technologies add a rich layer of interaction to online and offline shopping.
Where new-age brands are immersing themselves with their innovative technologies, older brands, too, are re-inventing themselves to cope with the changing times. I have known some of the brands which are the pioneers in their innovative ways and are doing a commendable job in revolutionising the Beauty Industry.
- Automatic Hair Analysis
Germany’s beauty brand – Henkel Beauty Care, is bringing Technology to analyse hair quality. A technology-driven ecosystem for personalising hair care insight, compelling salons towards a digital functioning. This tech involves a hyper-customised arrangement enabled by an all-encompassing use of associated gadgets – a lot of information about the client’s hair can be gathered with concrete logical solutions.
They have developed a hand-held gadget with close infrared and light sensors that assess hair quality, dampness level and genuine hair tone. The star ingredient in the devices is an NFC chip in the machines, which helps them to interconnect.
- Foundation Shade using AI
L’Oreal subsidiary Lancome has recently launched their new product – a machine to find the right match of foundation shade for an individual. A revolutionary technology is used to detect individual skin tones. It creates a one-of-a-kind match, delivering a highly-personalised, freshly blended foundation designed to replicate any person’s unique complexion.
A new state-of-the-art algorithm processes the data and measures skin tone. Their executives blend the formula at the counter with personalised IDs printed on the bottle. The ID is used to store individual data, with which the person can get an easy refill for the perfect, customised foundation.
- Virtual Try Ons
The emergence of augmented reality is a massive hit in beauty brands and retailers. Many organisations, for example, Sephora, are pushing their sales higher by giving potential customers to try their products as an AR filter – just like AR filters in social media.
Many individuals are not used to purchasing beauty care products online. There is a reasonable explanation for that – people don’t want to buy something that might not suit them. Sephora understood their customer pain point and developed the ModiFace app. To make an improved digital experience close to a real-life try-on – the AR app guarantees that Sephora customers can see how the lipstick shade will suit their face through their device camera. What better than to try it here and now!
- Smart Mirror
Smart Mirror – the world’s first voice-interactive intelligent beauty mirror, is a brainchild of Taiwan’s New Kinpo Group. This high-tech beauty tool has an impressive list of features to assist with caring for and beautifying your skin effectively. From skin analysis and product-tracking technology to personalised skincare recommendations – it is all-in-all with in-built access to several social media platforms like – YouTube, Instagram, Google Duo and Facebook). It comes with a high-powered processor and specifications.
- Printed Makeup
A device that would put makeup with precision giving you the perfect no-makeup makeup look.
Devised to look like a pocket-size wand, Opte scans a person’s skin and applies tiny amounts of makeup to the tricky spots to hide age spots, burst blood vessels and other blemishes. It has a small built-in camera which takes pictures of the skin while a microprocessor analyses the scanned data to differentiate between light and dark areas. A micro printer then applies the foundation to your skin.
- Customized Facial Serum
The beauty industry has witnessed personalised skincare products for quite some time now. But the Atolla app took it to a whole new different level.
It utilises a combination of dermatological factors to decode individual skin solutions. Environmental factors, lifestyle, mood, stress, pH, oil measurements, hydration levels and the Fitzpatrick index (measuring how easily one’s skin burns) are intensively analysed to determine the personalised skin problems and create consumers’ most ideal facial serum.
- Customized Make-up Filter
More and more digital makeup artists are blooming and evolving, creating creative, detailed makeup filters. These filters can then be used by their fans, followers or anyone who would want the same makeup look on their digital self.
Even large beauty corporations like L’Oreal Paris 2020 launched ten downloadable makeup filters as their product line. For all the classy women working from home – you got to slay that meeting with your incredible ideas and virtual meeting looks.
- Acne Testing in Phone
These innovations would feel like magic if you asked me a few years back. But it is today’s reality. Acne has been a part of the beauty industry for decades now. Every brand is coming up with newer ingredients and innovative procedures to prove themselves best.
But La Roche-Posay brand and Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group took it up a notch. They launched a mobile application that is said to be the world’s first artificial intelligence-powered mobile acne testing application.
The application creates test reports in light of three selfies submitted to it. It then will provide users with customised skin solutions based on their skin condition. It will subsequently suggest the skincare products and provide links to purchase the same online. The app also contacts the users with a dermatologist if it identifies serious skin issues.
Future Outlook
People are becoming increasingly aware of their bodies and surroundings as they are richly informed and connected at all times.
Future years can expect to see brands ultimately shifting to a sustainable approach towards manufacturing and delivering products through technology, effectively making the process safe. Planet-friendly matters will be more in the discussions.
The digital world will merge more with the natural world, bringing out possibilities never heard or seen before. Beauty is in everything. It breaks down barriers between economic status, cultural differences and gender gaps. The definition of “beauty” will become undefined as consumers increasingly seek to break the rules. Beauty will be more accessible, and the power of culture and tradition will be seen in positivity and representation. Not only females but all other genders will also be inclusive in the future, and the beauty industry can see a substantial market for these population groups.
As I believe, the balance of nature will always be constant and only by being a balance of both the extremities – age-old traditions and new technologies, can we truly benefit.