L'Oréal deepens personalized skincare focus with uBiome partnership
AUSTIN, TEXAS — As the demand for personalized marketing and products continues to blossom, L'Oréal announced a partnership with microbial genomics company uBiome this week at the South by Southwest conference.
The partnership from the beauty giant's technology incubator lets consumers submit cheek-swab samples — similar to buzzy genomics biotech company 23andMe — which uBiome analyzes to determine a user's skin health based on the ecosystem of microbes of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microorganisms that live on the skin and can cause acne, eczema and skin irritations when it is imbalanced. Based on the results, a user can make more personalized product choices.
"When it comes to skincare, people often audition product after product to determine what works for their unique skin," said Guive Balooch, VP of L'Oréal's Technology Incubator, during a panel session on Monday. "Our goal is to advance scientific research and leverage new technologies to change this relationship by allowing deeper levels of personalization."
Foundation as a beauty-tech foundation
Reflecting on past iterations of beauty-related tech and skin analysis features, Balooch mentioned the company's first personalized tool around custom foundation shades, which Balooch said addressed research showing 50% of women previously couldn't find the right shade to match their skin tone. But identifying the correct shade wasn't enough.
"If we do all of this and we can't provide a tailor-made solution, then it doesn't really bring the full experience together," Balooch said. "The approach that we first started was, 'it should be like the Home Depot paint. You just go there, you give the color you want and then you get the paint personalized.' But our skin isn't like a wall. Our skin is a biological tissue, so we have so many different skin tones and people react differently to different products."
During the panel, titled "The Future of Connected Beauty," Balooch emphasized the intersection between wellness, beauty and technology, highlighting wearable tech's ability to deliver actionable insights into a person's health and serve up personalized product recommendations that inform a shopper's decision-making process at the store.
"I think that convergence of technology is where everything is going," Balooch said. "If you can create technology to give people information about what they can use, you can solve these kinds of challenges in terms of confidence in everyone's beauty routine."
Not the first rodeo
The uBiome partnership is not L'Oréal's first foray into science-based technology. In November, the beauty giant started selling a button-sized sensor at Apple Stores to help people track their exposure to skin-damaging ultraviolent (UV) radiation. The My Skin Track UV sensor, offered by L'Oréal's skincare brand La Roche-Posay, doesn't require batteries and has a companion app that gives iPhone users personalized tips on keeping UV exposure at a healthy level. The low-cost UV sensor demonstrates how mobile tech can support innovations that help people lead healthier lives while removing a friction point for wearers like charging the hardware.
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