BeautyTech
BeautyTech
Author: Jenna White | San Francisco Hairstylist
December 19th, 2021
December 19th, 2021
Welcome to the apex of technology and beauty, where breaking changes are being made around how beauty products and services are made accessible to the right consumers. The shift in demand for innovation across multiple product and service categories can be seen in 2021. Covid-19 may have hit certain beauty sectors hard, but it has also accelerated the demand for innovation. In this post, I write about the tech advancements that have stood out to me as both a hair professional and a consumer.
The Future of Consumer Wants and Needs
WGSN points out that “With lockdown restrictions being lifted in many parts of the world, consumers are heading back to stores with a vengeance as ‘revenge buying’ – or the post-lockdown spending rebound – hits high streets around the world. Consumers eager to shop in physical stores and from brands they’ve not been able to find online are driving traffic and spend as they compensate for months of lost purchasing.” The merge of at-home and in-person will form the future wants and needs of consumers, along with those of the beauty professionals that influence them.
The Future of Consumer Wants and Needs
WGSN points out that “With lockdown restrictions being lifted in many parts of the world, consumers are heading back to stores with a vengeance as ‘revenge buying’ – or the post-lockdown spending rebound – hits high streets around the world. Consumers eager to shop in physical stores and from brands they’ve not been able to find online are driving traffic and spend as they compensate for months of lost purchasing.” The merge of at-home and in-person will form the future wants and needs of consumers, along with those of the beauty professionals that influence them.
As both a hair professional and consumer, there are four trends I've seen major changes in over the past year that I expect will only continue to accelerate:
- Access to personalized options of products and services
- Faster deliver of remote beauty purchases
- Virtually trying on a product before purchasing
- Beauty products as status symbols in virtual worlds
We can see these concepts ramping up in three oft-mentioned media topics on tech innovation: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).
AI in Beauty
Gartner defines AI as the application of "advanced analysis and logic-based techniques, including machine learning, to interpret events, support and automate decisions, and take actions". Below are some examples I've noticed in hair care and skin care.
AI in Beauty
Gartner defines AI as the application of "advanced analysis and logic-based techniques, including machine learning, to interpret events, support and automate decisions, and take actions". Below are some examples I've noticed in hair care and skin care.
AI Tool |
Industry: Hair Care |
Industry: Skin Care |
Image Recognition |
HairLooks: A service that matches people with barbers and stylists based on images/profiles of their hair. |
Used in Diagnostics and 3D-Printing. |
Diagnostics |
Paul Mitchel Hair AI: Analyzes the hair and scalp via a scanner that fits over the camera of an iPhone. |
Google's Derm Assist: A tool for identifying skin conditions through images a user shares via camera on Android. |
3D-Printing |
Columbia University's Irvine Medical Center Research: Testing the ability to grow human hair via molds that create environments for human hair growth. |
OPTE Precision System: A tool that scans your face and prints the corresponding makeup pigments to cover imperfections and dark spots. Developed with the US DOD. |
AI Tool: Image Recognition | Industry: Hair Care |
HairLooks: A service that matches people with barbers and stylists based on images/profiles of their hair. |
AI Tool: Image Recognition | Industry: Skin Care |
Used in Diagnostics and 3D-Printing. |
AI Tool: Diagnostics | Industry: Hair Care |
Paul Mitchel Hair AI: Analyzes the hair and scalp via a scanner that fits over the camera of an iPhone. |
AI Tool: Diagnostics | Industry: Skin Care |
Google's Derm Assist: A tool for identifying skin conditions through images a user shares via an Android phone. |
AI Tool: 3D-Printing | Industry: Hair Care |
Columbia University's Irvine Medical Center Research: Testing the ability to grow human hair via molds that create environments for human hair growth. |
AI Tool: 3D-Printing | Industry: Skin Care |
OPTE Precision System: A tool that scans your face and prints the corresponding makeup pigments to cover imperfections and dark spots. Developed with the US DOD. |
AR in Beauty
Gartner defines AR as "the real-time use of information in the form of text, graphics, audio and other virtual enhancements integrated with real-world objects. It is this “real world” element that differentiates AR from virtual reality. AR integrates and adds value to the user’s interaction with the real world, versus a simulation." Below are some examples I've noticed in hair care and skin care.
AR Tools |
Industry: Hair Care |
Industry: Skin Care |
Virtual Try On |
Amazon Salon: A London salon research facility experimenting with virtually trying on different hair colors and styles. They're also studying how to best connect consumers with products. Amazon launched a beauty supply division in 2019. |
Technology companies offering virtual try on functionality for brands with consumers. L'Oreal's ModiFace: A consumer products company offering virtual try on functionality for their brands with consumers. |
AR Tool: Virtual Try On | Industry: Hair Care |
Amazon Salon: A London salon research facility experimenting with virtually trying on different hair colors and styles. They're also studying how to best connect consumers with products. Amazon launched a beauty supply division in 2019. |
AR Tool: Virtual Try On | Industry: Skin Care |
Technology companies offering virtual try on functionality for brands with consumers. L'Oreal's ModiFace: A consumer products company offering virtual try on functionality for their brands with consumers. |
VR in Beauty
Gartner defines VR as providing "a computer-generated 3D environment (including both computer graphics and 360-degree video) that surrounds a user and responds to an individual’s actions in a natural way, usually through immersive head-mounted displays. Gesture recognition or handheld controllers provide hand and body tracking, and haptic (or touch-sensitive) feedback may be incorporated. Room-based systems provide a 3D experience while moving around large areas, or they can be used with multiple participants." Below are some examples I've noticed in skin care. I haven't come across hair care in this space yet.