L'Oréal, the French beauty giant, generated significant interest at the Viva Technology Paris 2024 event with the unveiling of cutting-edge innovations that accelerate the company's beauty tech leadership

The company showcased a  lineup of innovations, underpinning its dedication to offering "more personalized, inclusive, and responsible" beauty solutions.

The French company's deputy CEO Barbara Lavernos emphasized the importance of embracing beauty tech to stay ahead in the beauty landscape, in a speech delivered on Wednesday at the event.

"To be the leader in beauty today, you must be the leader of beauty tech," said Lavernos, who is in charge of research, innovation and technology at L'Oréal.

"Having pioneered beauty tech for years, we are firm believers that technology can push the boundaries of what's possible for beauty to improve the lives of people around the world," said Lavernos.

An array of innovations was revealed: from skin and hair diagnostics to a GenAI-fueled personal beauty assistant, a GenAI Beauty Content Lab named CREAITECH to augment creativity, a pioneering hair dryer using infrared light technology, a micro-resurfacing device for elevated skincare performance, as well as a human skin-like technology platform for scientific research and product testing.

"Our CREAITECH GenAI Beauty Content Lab is a testament to what a human hand and a GenAI tool can achieve together in creativity," said Asmita Dubey, chief digital and marketing officer at L'Oréal.

She explained that with the group's new brand custom models, they can train GenAI to recognize the unique visual codes of their brands and launch innovative beauty campaigns faster.

"Importantly, we can do so without compromising our principles of responsible AI, which include not using AI generated life-like images of the face, body, hair and skin to support or enhance product benefits in our external communication."

L'Oréal also announced a partnership with Meta and leading content creators. "Meanwhile, with Meta we unveil the New Codes of Beauty Creator Program to empower the next generation of 3D, AR, and AI creators and explore new creative frontiers in beauty," said Dubey.

Guive Balooch, global managing director of augmented beauty and open innovation at L'Oréal, said the company's Airlight Pro hair dryer, introduced earlier this year, "is the first professional hair dryer powered by infrared light instead of high heat to dry hair. It replicates the sun and wind for a more efficient, natural drying process".

Balooch also unveiled the Lancome Renergie Nano-Resurfacer 400 Booster, a beauty device developed to enhance cosmetic penetration into the skin's outer layer, the stratum corneum, and amplify product performance.

"Using over 400 ultraprecise silicon tips, the device produces clinical-grade results without causing any pain, exclusively for at home use," said Balooch.

L'Oréal claims its skin technology, for testing, more closely mimics the vast diversity of real human skin, including conditions such as eczema and acne, as well as the ability to tan and heal from injury. The company is currently collaborating with start-ups and renowned institutes worldwide to further develop the technology to simulate sensory responses.

L'Oréal stresses it has upheld a strict no-animal-testing policy since 1989, underscoring their commitment to ethical practices.

On the same day, CTIBiotech, winner of the L'Oréal Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program French channel in China, and Oriental Beauty Valley, a leading beauty and health industry cluster in Shanghai and an official partner of Big Bang in China, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding at Viva Technology.

This collaboration facilitates CTIBiotech's market entry into China. The Oriental Beauty Valley will deploy its cosmetic element service and research and development platform, Metron Technology, to bolster CTIBiotech's distribution of advanced tissue and cell model solutions in the Chinese market.

"We are thrilled to witness the launch of this partnership during the 60th anniversary of Sino-French diplomatic relations," said Vincent Boinay, president of L'Oréal North Asia and CEO of L'Oréal China.

Balooch said: "Chinese consumers are by far the most open to use beauty tech…the device market is booming. They will use skin care devices, hair care devices, digital services offline and online… and they are incredibly savvy. Not only are we inspired by the Chinese market, but sometimes we are developing products only for that market in beauty tech."