CES 2019: L’Oréal’s newest wearable measures skin pH levels through sweat
L’Oreal has unveiled My Skin Track pH at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show. This is a stick-on wearable that detects a person’s skin pH levels through sweat, to recommend skincare products.
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pH can range from acidic to basic, on a spectrum measured from 0 to 14. There’s always been a known link between pH balance and skin health. Healthy skin is meant to have a pH between 4.5 and 5.5, making it slightly acidic. An out of balance pH is linked to many skin problems such as dryness, eczema, and atopic dermatitis. These conditions affect millions of people around the world today.
L’Oréal has developed the breathable, flexible sensor with its skincare brand La Roche-Posay. The sticker is the first wearable capable of measuring skin pH levels by harnessing microfluidic technology. L’Oréal says it worked with Epicore Biosystems to develop the tech.
Slap the My Skin Track patch onto your forearm and it will capture trace amounts of sweat from skin pores and provide an accurate pH reading. You’ll need to wait until until an indicator dot changes color, which takes between 5 to 15 minutes.
The accompanying smartphone app allows you to see your skin pH readings, it educates you on what these readings mean and – you guessed it – it lets you know what L’Oreal skincare products you need to buy to improve your skin health. The dyes inside the sticker change color, and the app can interpret this to give you a picture of your pH.
“The scientific and medical communities have long known the link between skin pH levels and common skin concerns that millions of people experience every day,” said Guive Balooch, global vice president of L’Oréal’s Technology Incubator.
“Our goal is to use this advanced technology to empower consumers with meaningful information about the … condition of their skin, so that they can find the products that are right for their individual needs.”
My Skin Track pH will initially be available through select La Roche-Posay vendors in the US, with a wider launch expected in the future. L’Oréal hopes to use this technology to conduct new research, deepen the knowledge of the link between skin health and pH, and develop better products.
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