The pick of the technology crop, from CES Las Vegas

This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held in Las Vegas January 4 - 8, featured eight companies at the event’s dedicated ‘Beauty Tech’ marketplace space, all demonstrating a variety of advanced technologies. 

Beauty technology has been playing an increasingly important part at the event in recent years, leading to the adoption of the Beauty Tech marketplace presence on the show floor as a means of highlighting new technology that targets the beauty and personal care space. 

Beauty gadgets have come to underline the massive trend for health and wellbeing, by providing technologically advanced devices that help consumers to get the most out of their beauty regimes and the products they use to that end. In evidence this year were a number of devices, apps and app-related technology that continue to stretch the boundaries.

L’Oreal launches digital hair brush

Last year L’Oreal debuted its wearable UV patch at the event, which made a real splash, and this year the company is behind the The Kérastase Hair Coach, a smart brush that has been designed to help individuals get the most out of their brushing routine. 

The brush is battery-powered and relies on a microphone to analyze the condition of the hair, determining whether it sounds frizzy, dry or there may be split ends, and then establishing an optimum hair brushing method. 

In particular, the technology aims to alert users if they are brushing too hard, something that can further damage hair if it is not in optimal condition. 

App prompts complementary device

Apps are one of the hottest areas for beauty technology, and one product that really highlights how this technology is evolving is HiMirror, a smart beauty mirror that aims to help users optimize their skin care regimes. 

The hands-free HiMirror was launched in November last year and with just one clear face pic can analyze the facial skin to determine flaws in the complexion, over-sized pores or sun damage and establish a skin care regime to deal with such problems. 

And at the CES event, the developers of the mirror app demonstrated how this technology is evolving and growing with the launch of HiSkin, a device that connects to the HiMirror to bring skin analysis to a deeper level.

Just by clicking it on the surface of the skin, the egg-shaped device can analyze the skin for cuticle moisture, pigmentation issues, acne scars, dark circles and problems caused by environmental hazards. 

The device then sends all this information to the HiMirror, where it can be analyzed to help develop a skin care regime to best counter any of the flaws that have been recognized.

Skin care taken to the next level 

Also in the skin care category, Samsung demonstrated its ambitions to grow in the skin care devices area with the launch of its S-Skin device, which like the HiSkin, can be used to analyze and track the condition of the skin. 

It differs from the approach of the HiSkin device by using mirroneedle patches that penetrate the skin to take measurements, while simultaneously injecting a formulation to treat wrinkles and blemishes. 

The measurements determine hydration levels, melanin and inflammation, while an associated pod device can then be used to treat the identified skin imperfections with predetermined LED light settings.