Natural Beauty Meets Artificial Intelligence

The global cosmetic products market is expected to climb to US$863 billion in 2024 — an impressive CAGR of above 7 percent. Leading industry players and startups worldwide are exploring emerging digital technologies to help develop products and services that will make their customers look and feel more youthful, healthy and attractive. AI-driven tech has shown it can provide highly personalized services and open new opportunities for brands to engage with the public.

Artificial Intelligence is already involved in the beauty industry. When a customer contacts a cosmetics company’s customer service department for example they may be communicating with an AI chatbot rather than a human. The beauty product recommendations that customers receive via email or other methods are likely generated by a recommendation algorithm based on their preferences, habits and search and purchase records. And when people use beauty cameras such as Meitu to snap a selfie, the photos are automatically beautified by AI-powered techniques.

But there is much more going on at the nexus of beauty and AI.

L’Oreal Augmented Reality + AI solution

In 2018 French cosmetics giant L’Oréal acquired the AI and augmented reality (AR) beauty company ModiFace to help match customers with tailored cosmetics and coach them on the step-by-step application of makeup products based on the shape of their face. The L’Oréal marketing department realized that although many female customers tend to buy cosmetics based on recommendations from YouTubers or shopping mall guides, those products may not be suitable for their own unique needs. The company developed a facial recognition technology that can detect the position of facial features, allowing their customers to virtually test everything from blushes and contouring to eyeshadows and winged eyeliner.

Proven Skincare’s AI Algorithm Gives Customer Personalized Regimens

Y Combinator-backed startup Proven Skincare (motto: “One beauty brand that stands out in the sea of swag”) is a skincare company that’s riding the personalization wave in the beauty industry. Proven’s simple philosophy is that different people have different skin types, hair types and want to achieve different styles; and so certain products work for certain people and certain products do not. To make the distinction Proven analyzed more than 20,000 ingredients as well as 4,000 peer reviewed scientific articles on skin, ingredients and correlation between individual’s skin situation and ingredients; and then developed a AI model to provide tailored treatment solutions for specific skin problems such as oily T-Zone or skin allergies.

CareOS Technologies’ Smart Mirror

CareOS Technologies developed a smart mirror which provides a visual try-on function that captures users’ faces in a 360 degree view and is also equipped with AR tutorials to coach people in real-time on hairstyle or makeup choices. The smart mirror is designed to be user-friendly, with a voice-controlled interface that can be used to control the mirror as well as lights, shower and other connected devices on their journey toward optimal makeup, skin, hair and even tooth care.

In the past, people tended to choose beauty products by identifying brands with good reputations or seeking advice from consultants. Now, as the cosmetics industry leverages AI to provide more personalized and automated services, people are able to select beauty products based on their individual specific needs and preferences. Customers will also see product recommendations evolve along with their own skin and hair conditions as new high-tech devices steer them away from off-the-shelf cosmetics and toward tailored solutions.

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Author: Leyi Hu | Editor: Michael Sarazen