• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, January 8, 2018

Beauty brands are getting ready to flex their digital strength at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, with L’Oréal  unveiling a battery-free wearable that measures sun exposure, and Johnson & Johnson-owned Neutrogena introducing a SkinScanner that tracks small changes in skin quality.

The introductions come as consumers have increasingly high expectations for digitally adept beauty brands, from augmented-reality “try before you buy” features to steady content from celebrity social-media influencers. 

L’Oréal, the brand behind CES’ buzz-generating smart hairbrush last year, is introducing both UV Sense, the first battery-free wearable electronic UV sensor, and a limited-edition of it My UV Patch, each aimed at giving people more information about individual ultraviolet exposure levels. Both technologies are from L’Oréal’s La Roche-Posay brand.

The company launched the first version of the My UV Patch back in 2016 and has since given away more than one million in 37 countries, collecting data on its use. It says the device effectively changed people’s behavior, with 34% of users applying sunscreen more frequently and 37% seeking out shade more often. 

But it says consumers want a wearable that’s smarter, longer lasting and that provides real-time data, leading to the development of the UV Sense. It describes it as the first battery-free wearable electronic sensor and says it measures individual UV exposure and stores up to three months of data, and can be worn for up to two weeks on a thumbnail. As a bonus, it even believes the thumbnail will be more appealing because of the surge in nail art.

Using near-field communication-enabled tech, an app then translates user data into sun-safe feedback.

And Neutrogena, well aware that women spend billions on skincare products and then wonder, “Is this stuff even working?,” is using CES to launch a $50 skin analysis tool it claims is as good as what you’d find in your dermatologist’s office. The Neutrogena Skin360 app and SkinScanner powered by FitSkin track skin health, giving users customized advice, as well as a method to track skin's progress over time.

The Fitskin tool fits over a smartphone, capturing “key metrics of skin health that are invisible to the naked eye,” it says in the announcement, using 12 high-powered lights and magnification of 30 times measure the depth of lines, wrinkles and pores, and assesses dryness. The data is then relayed to the app, providing changing recommendations and an overall Skin360 score, which users can use over time to determine whether or not a product is improving their skin.

Both the L’Oréal and Neutrogena products are expected to be available this summer.