Ever wondered how much exposure to UV rays your skin gets? L’Oréal has a solution. With their new super-thin stretchable skin patch, you will be able to know more about UV rays and recommendations about skincare for free.
2016 is the year of new wearable technologies, and cosmetics and beauty giants are no exception. L’Oréal is joining this trend with a new innovative product called My UV Patch that will be launched under the La Roche-Posay brand. L’Oréal presented the skin patch at CES in Las Vegas last month.
How does it work?
The patch is as simple to apply as a Band-Aid or a temporary tattoo. Then, once you download the appropriate app on your smartphone and it accesses the camera on your phone, you take a photo of the patch. The app measures the UV exposure, analyzes it and creates a graph based on analytics.
Complex technology
My UV Patch has photosensitive dyes that can change color with exposure to the sun. Although it might appear simply as a heart in pixels, the technology behind it is much more complex. Each square has a different dye that reacts to sun exposure differently, so it measures sun exposure in different time intervals (for example, 20 minutes, two hours, one day or five days) using a mathematical algorithm. It can be used for a maximum of 5 days before the dyes become photo-oxidized.
The patch consists of five layers. One of the layers uses NFC technology to transfer data to the smartphone. In order to do so, L’Oréal partnered with the stretchable electronics company, MC10, and the Irish design firm PCH.
Why?
L’Oréal developed this product to create awareness about sun protection, since the sun is known to be the main cause of skin cancer. Although the app sends notifications to check the app hourly, it is not intended to be used simply as a reminder to reapply suncream. L’Oréal is also planning to give lifestyle and/or beauty tips through the app. Moreover, it will allow the company to collect data through the patch and develop better skin products for the future.
When & Where?
L’Oréal is not planning to charge for this service. It will perhaps be given as a promotion with La Roche-Posay skin care products. The patch will be launched in 15 countries later this year (including the UK and the US). A mobile app will be both available for iOS and Android.
The pros are that it is stretchable, free, very thin, waterproof and disposable. The cons are that you need to take a photo of the patch and that it only comes in a heart shape.
Sources:
http://www.loreal.com/media/press-releases/2016/jan/loreal-debuts-first-ever-stretchable-electronic-uv-monitor
http://www.fastcompany.com/3056231/loreals-latest-beauty-secret-its-acting-like-a-tech-company
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35238636
Photo credit: Tobias Lindman via Flickr, CC 2.0
