More to come: Perfect Corp CEO hints at more AI/AR tech innovations in skin and hair care

At CES 2020, Johnson & Johnson’s and Sally Beauty unveiled high-tech innovations powered by Perfect Corp in skin and hair respectively.

Neutrogena’s Skin360 app eliminates the need for a separate skin analysis tool while Sally Beauty’s ColorView Hair Diagnostic allows consumers to try on hair colours virtually.

Alice Chang, founder and CEO of Taiwan- founded Perfect Corp teased that these new products were just the beginning of more innovations in skin and hair care.

“Beauty shoppers are quickly growing accustomed to the concept of try before you buy and instant personalised recommendations, making interactive beauty AI solutions a convenience they come to expect throughout their shopping experience.​

“These exciting new launches with Neutrogena’s Skin360 app and Sally Beauty’s ColorView Hair Diagnostic mark the first of many major expansions into the SkinTech and HairTech categories,” ​said Chang.

She added that this was being driven by the superiority of mobile camera technology today.

“While we are definitely seeing a surge in innovation in the skin tech and hair tech spaces, mostly due to the improvements in mobile camera technology.”​

With these advancements, the mobile phone lens is now able to provide more precise details and make services like skin diagnosis more accessible.

“AI technology has made it possible for beauty shoppers to get an instant skin diagnostic reading in seconds from their mobile device—something that was previously only possible from a doctors’ visit. This instant skin analysis from your phone has made personalised skincare more accessible than ever before,”​ said Chang.

Aside from skin and hair, the company expects to continue seeing growth in the colour cosmetics space as well.

With the future of all three categories looking bright, Chang is confident beauty tech solutions will become part and parcel of the beauty experience.

“Advanced beauty AI is resulting in expansion across all three categories with more and more brands integrating beauty tech solutions to enhance their consumer journey online and offline. This growth across all beauty categories is solidifying the importance of beauty AI and its permanent place in the customer experience,” said Chang.​

‘Key to mastering a consumer-centric strategy’

Partnered with tools like YouCam Skin Dairy, which allows consumers to measure the efficacy of their skin care products, cosmetic companies can now educate and connect with their consumers in a novel way.

“As we continue to innovate with beauty AI, we’re able to recognize its practical application across the complete beauty spectrum,” ​said Chang.

“​The ability to leverage beauty AI personalized solutions to master a consumer-centric strategy continues to help us best understand and serve the beauty shopper, catering to individual needs and demand for experiential shopping journeys that connect the consumer and the brand in an entirely new, more impactful way.”​

Chang stressed that consumers were no longer satisfied with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions and AI/AR tech empowers brands to offer personalisation on a scale that was not possible before.

“Personalisation is essential… people crave that personal touch and tailored experiences that speak specifically to them and their needs. This level of customisation was not always possible without advanced beauty AI. With technology, brands can understand human behaviour and preferences better than ever before and adapt and deliver a more tailored experience to match,” ​she said.

The human touch

Chang believes the human connection is still important and impactful in the increasing digitalised future.

She said that high-tech solutions were here to support ‘the future of human work’, ​citing the company’s YouCam’s Beauty 1-on-1 service as an example.

This tool allows users to connect with professional beauty advisors instantly though video chat and get the in-store experience.

She said: “This on-demand beauty consultation service marries advanced AI technology with the expertise and personal touch of a professional beauty advisor. We must continue to think of the two in tandem, as marrying these two pieces of the puzzle together had the most impact—that is where the magic happens.”​