L'Oréal's wearables have thus far concentrated on helping you track your exposure to dangerous UV rays, and at CES 2019 it's taking this a step further.
The My Skin Track pH uses microfluidic technology to measure your skin's pH levels via sweat. Then it uses that information to recommend you a product from La Roche-Posay, L'Oréal's skincare brand, that is better attuned to your skin.
Read this: L'Oréal is making wearables the right way
L'Oréal says the My Skin Track pH can deliver an accurate pH reading within 15 minutes. You'll know it's done because the two center dots will take on color. Then you open up the companion app and use it to take a photo of the sensor.
The app reads the sensor to get your skin's pH and rate of perspiration and runs that information through an algorithm to assess the health of your skin. Then it spits out a product recommendation that will benefit your specific skin condition.
The skin pH level runs from 0 to 14, with health skin having a pH level between 4.5 and 5.5. Things like humidity and temperature will cause your skin to go above or below below that range, which then triggers skin responses like dryness, eczema and atopic dermatitis. Using the wrong skincare products can exacerbate this.
The My Track pH is still just a prototype, created in partnership with La Roche-Posay and Epicore Biosystems, which makes microfluidic platforms and soft wearable sensors, but it has the potential to help people with skin conditions like eczema find products that are better for there skin. There are nearly 36 million Americans with eczema, according to the National Eczema Association.
L'Oréal will introduce the My Skin Track pH at select La Roche-Posay dermatologists in the US with the goal of continuing to research the wearable and its effects before launching a consumer version later on.
How we test
By Husain Sumra
Husain joined Wareable in 2017 as a member of our San Fransisco based team. Husain is a movies expert, and runs his own blog, and contributes to MacRumors.
He has spent hours in the world of virtual reality, getting eyes on Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Samsung Gear VR.
At Wareable, Husain's role is to investigate, report and write features and news about the wearable industry – from smartwatches and fitness trackers to health devices, virtual reality, augmented reality and more.
He writes buyers guides, how-to content, hardware reviews and more.