Considering the wide variety of skin and hair types around the world, L’Oréal’s research teams have invested in many studies and developed tools for customized analysis over decades.
Ethnic origin, age, diet, geography and cultural environment: there are many factors that influence skin and hair characteristics. Asian, European and African hairs vary in density, growth rate and curl, as well as in the diameter of individual hairs. Understanding this extraordinary diversity was a real challenge for L’Oréal’s research and innovation team. To use it more effectively, they have conducted extensive research and focused on developing accurate and objective measurement tools.
The new geography of skin tone
Learning more about different skin types and gaining a deeper understanding of the biological mechanisms at play allows us to combat aging and sun damage while providing makeup products that are tailored to individual needs. One such study focused on the actual and perceived color of the skin. L’Oréal researchers assessed the skin tones of women around the world, and through interviews enabled women to match their skin tone to a color chart of 66 shades, as well as measure color using the patented instrument method L’Oréal, the “chromasphere®”. In this way, they were able to create a veritable geography of skin tones around the world. Based on objective factors, the
An accurate approach to hair type diversity
The research and innovation team also developed specific tools to analyze the complexity of hair types around the world. They went beyond the traditional classification of the three hair types (African, Asian and European) and developed a scientific method based on physical measurements of curl: curl diameter, curl index, wave count and tendril count. The study was conducted on more than 7,500 hairs from 23 countries/regions. The result was a detailed classification of the world’s hair types into 8 categories, corresponding to a curl scale from straightest (1) to curliest (8), independent of any ethnic origin. The study, published in a scientific journal, considered the effects of multiracial families and population migration. In a country like Brazil, for a very multiracial population, we found no less than six different curl types. Another example is the tool developed in collaboration with Dassault Systèmes, a 3D model of hair types around the world, which allows to perfectly visualize the different parts of a hair, to understand the biological mechanisms and to establish the links between hair shapes. Hair roots and curls (roots shaped like golf clubs produce curly hair)
Global Hair Research Center
In 2012, L’Oréal opened a Global Research Center in Saint-Ouen, Paris, which is entirely dedicated to hair research and is the center of a global network of six regions. The center brings together all of L’Oréal’s research and innovation capabilities to support three hair-related business lines: hair color, hair care – shampoos and conditioners – and styling, including styling, perming, smoothing or straightening FROM SKIN AGING
ATLAS TO AGING MORPHING
Many years ago, L’Oréal began producing an atlas of skin aging.
For the production of this atlas, 400 volunteers of European origin, men and women, aged between 18 and 70, were recruited to take photographs.
The first volume dealt with European populations facing signs of aging. This was followed by a second volume dedicated to the Asian population and a third volume for the black population of African descent. These works serve as the basis for the aging metamorphosis.
