Future tech geekery...

...packed with the sort of tech that will dominate the beauty industry in the next few years, plus crowd-pleasing (and inexpensive) daily sun protection and my top travel tip...

Every year about this time, the CES trade show takes place in Las Vegas. CES used to stand for Consumer Electronics Show but presumably because that sounds a bit outdated and 1980s it’s just called CES now and is basically about consumer tech. And beauty tech is a massive part of that. Sometimes it feels a bit pointless to be getting excited about the beauty that’s showcased there because often it’s prototypes that never end up on the shelves, or it’s months — sometimes years — before you can get hold of them. But I think it’s a useful insight into the overall direction beauty is taking — things like LED masks, smart mirrors and virtual makeup try-ons all premiered at CES way before we saw them on the shelves — and so I thought I’d do you a quick rundown of what was going on there as it doesn’t often get extensively covered in consumer press.

Sadly I didn’t make it out to Vegas myself — maybe one day — but, from a bit of virtual digging, here are what I think are some of the most interesting beauty technologies that were showcased there…

The next generation hair tool

L’Oréal’s Light Straight + Multi-styler uses glass plates and near infra-red light to straighten hair at temperatures that don’t exceed 160C. According to their tests, it means three times faster straightening and leaves hair twice as smooth when compared to “leading premium hair stylers”. You’d better believe as soon as I can get my hands on a prototype — probably not until 2027 sadly — that I’ll be putting it head to head with my ghds and the Dyson Corrale.

The smart manicure

According to iPolish, these digital stick on acrylic nails make changing your nail colour “as easy as changing the song on your playlist.” By the looks of things they’re tiny e-ink screens that are applied to each nail and the colour can be changed by using a “wand” (connected to an app) that delivers a certain electronic message that changes the colour of the nail. Change them all to match your outfit — or have each one a different colour. This is the sort of tech that The Jetsons would have had — but you can get your hands on it from June this year. My slight concerns are that the nails look insanely long and that unless they’re reusable or easily recyclable, they’re massively un-environmentally-friendly. But also HOW COOL?!

The upgraded everything shower

Take two bottles into the shower? Nope, if you’ve got Ceragem’s Balance AI Shower Rejuvenation System, you just look in the mirror and get your shower water bespoke to your skin’s needs. Apparently the mirror assesses hydration, oil levels, elasticity, and pigmentation, then the system adjusts the pH of your shower water and adds in the necessary vitamins and skin actives you need that day.

While I quite like the idea of stumbling bleary-eyed into the shower and having someone else decide what my skin needs that day, this feels a bit gimmicky. Would you really notice the difference in your skin? (Because I cannot believe the pH is going to fluctuate that much) and the mirror needs to be REALLY good (previous “smart mirrors” like this have been a bit of a damp squib.)

The ageing predictor patch

How your skin is going to age is largely down to what you do every day so Korean big hitters, Amore Pacific have worked with MIT to track exactly that using Skinsight. It uses a sensor that can be worn for 24 hours and is used to track UV/blue light, temperature, moisture, and mechanical deformation (or how your skin and face move). AI then uses this information to work out which aspects are going to contribute most to that individual’s skin ageing and can then recommend targeted products based on this.

I mean I am a data NUT and would 100% geek out over this information but I’m still not convinced that this sort of individualised prescription will give better results than say, a retinoid plus daily broad spectrum sun protection. What it might do is encourage people who need a gentle nudge to prioritise one aspect of skincare over another, so maybe it’s the psychology of personalisation that will make a difference rather than the bespoke regime.

The no needle injection system

Skinbooster JET is an interesting one because it’s a technology that L’Oréal, the company behind it, says allows them to deliver active ingredients into the skin via “high velocity micro-atomisation”, so kind of like a high pressure jet wash of tiny particles. They say clinical trials show improvements of between 30% and 100% (which is quite a wide range) in radiance, transparency, evenness, plumpness, and smoothness compared to just applying to skin without this gadget — and that benefits can last up to 8 hours. It’s aimed at the professional beauty space and promises, “medical-grade efficacy through safe, non-invasive cosmetic technology”. I’m fascinated by L’Oréal looking like they want to play in the clinic space as it doesn’t feel like their natural home. But I can very much see this sort of thing having a role in red carpet facials etc.

The new UV wearable

UV wearables aren’t brand new — L’Oréal’s My Skin Track UV sensor came out in 2019 — but what I like about this battery-powered pendant from a startup called Loox, is that it is really focusing on incidental UV exposure, so the stuff you get when you’re sitting by a window, sitting by a lamp (yup), or driving a car. I also like that it’s got a more nuanced approach to UV, recognising the importance of getting enough UV eg to synthesise vitamin D and regulate your circadian rhythm, so it’s not just about demonising the sun. Interested in finding out more? Take a look at the website where you can also sign up to be the first to buy (at a discounted rate of $179 — about £133 — when it launches later this year.)

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I promised every issue would have at least one recommendation so, in case you missed it on my notes…

Since we met I have been encouraging my husband to wear daily sun protection (or as he prefers to call it, “moisturiser with SPF”). His favourite to date has been La Roche-Posay’s HyaluB5 Aquagel SPF30 (and TBH if it was an SPF50 it would be my favourite as well, it’s got a dreamy texture that melts into the skin and leaves no trace) BUT it’s £40 (!) so I had high hopes (for a cheaper dupe, let’s be honest) when another brand from the L’Oréal stable, Garnier, brought out Hyaluron Daily UV Invisible SPF 50+ which is a much more pocket-friendly £12.99. It’s not quite as pleasing texture-wise but it’s still light and non-greasy, and crucially, he liked it enough that when I was away last week, that he went out and bought one for himself as he’d run out of moisturiser. So if you’re looking for man-friendly (for which, read “non-sticky, non-greasy, easily absorbed”) daily SPF, I hard recommend these two.

Also on my notes this week was my love of Apple AirTags - one in my suitcase saved my sanity when I waited FOR EVER for my suitcase to appear at Heathrow, at least I knew it was somewhere in the airport. The best deal I’ve found on them is four for £85 at Amazon, which makes them £21.25 each as opposed to £35 on the Apple website. Come for the beauty geekery, stay for the tech bargains, I say.

That’s all for now. As ever, let me know your thoughts. Have you tried these SPFs? Do any of these future tech gadgets excite you? Do you have a beauty tech dream that you’d like to see a reality? Let me know in the comments. Until next time…

Note: I only write about products I really rate, but I can earn commission on products I mention here. If you hate the idea of this, please let me know, as this is very much a work in progress and nothing is set in stone.