There are a huge number of skin care products on the market, and if you’ve ever wondered which one is right for you, L’Oréal claims to have the answer. For CES 2025, the company introduced a gadget called Cell BioPrint that can biochemically analyze your skin and provide advice on how to make your skin look younger.
The company partnered with a startup called NanoEntek, a South Korean manufacturer developing microfluidic lab-on-a-chip technology. To use this system, place a facial strip on your cheek and transfer it to a buffer solution. It is then loaded into a Cell BioPrint cartridge and inserted into the machine for analysis. During the process, the device also takes an image of your face and asks you to fill out a short questionnaire about your skin concerns and aging. The company says all of this takes just five minutes.
In an interview with Engadget, L’Oréal’s Guive Balooch said that SkinStrip can be applied near the jawline and that it won’t affect the results if someone is wearing sunscreen.
By analyzing the data using what L’Oréal calls proteomics, Cell BioPrint provides advice on how to improve the appearance of your skin. It can suggest how sensitive you are to certain ingredients, such as retinol, and predict potential beauty issues like age spots and enlarged pores before they become visible.
That all sounds great and reasonably science-based, but L’Oréal cites no peer-reviewed studies that could prove the effectiveness of this machine. Still, with skincare awareness exploding lately thanks in part to the coronavirus, influencers, and Sephora, it seems like a good time for a product like this. This generated a lot of new information (and misinformation), and L’Oréal was able to step in and save the day by using science to hypothetically solve the problem.
In any case, the BioPrint machine is not yet available to consumers. Also, I want to be clear: the first version of this device is not intended for home use. Pilot testing is scheduled to begin at stores in Asia in 2025, but no official release date or price has been decided at this time. By appearing first at the counter of one of L’Oréal’s luxury brand’s flagship stores, Baruch signaled that the company will follow a similar rollout pattern to other technology products it has launched in the past. Over time, it may penetrate more mainstream segments.
