L’Oréal Is Growing Chinese Skin to Test Products
Testing lab-grown reconstructed skin.
Source: L’Oréal Research & Innovation
The beauty industry is no stranger to seemingly small tweaks that hatched big businesses: Think waterproof mascara, gel nail polish, foundation that filters out UV rays. L’Oréal SA’s latest beauty innovation doesn’t come in lipstick tubes or compact cases but rather in petri dishes. Rows of them in a Shanghai lab hold pale blobs of skin that scientists created to help customize makeup for Chinese faces.
Paris-based L’Oréal is the first cosmetics company to develop reconstructed Chinese skin, which contains living cells from donors. The penny-size dollops allow researchers to develop anti-aging serums, whitening creams, and pollution-fighting cleansers for customers in the company’s fastest-growing market.