An inkjet printer for your skin

A new beauty system can identify blemishes and then print over them with a serum that evens out skin tone – giving the appearance of flawless skin

Spotted: Procter and Gamble Ventures, the R&D studio that is part of Proctor and Gamble, has developed a device capable of ‘printing’ mineral pigments onto your skin. The device, called the Opté™ Precision Skincare System, can lighten or darken areas of the skin to achieve what it calls a “flawless look”.

To create the wand, Procter and Gamble teamed up with Funai Electric Co, a Japanese electronics and printing company. The new system uses blue LEDs to scan the skin for hyperpigmentation – discoloured areas caused by freckles, age spots, scars, and acne. An integrated digital camera captures around 24,000 images of the skin for analysis by the onboard minicomputer. 

Once the precise size, shape, and intensity of each skin spot has been calculated, the wand uses 120 thermal inkjet nozzles to deposit droplets of Opté Precision Serum onto the skin. The serum is composed of mineral pigments to cover blemishes, spot-lightening ingredients to reduce the appearance of age spots over time, and moisturisers. The goal is an even complexion that requires no foundation.

Leigh Radford, Vice President and General Manager of P&G Ventures, has stated that Opté represents an entirely new category of digital skincare, and Proctor and Gamble plans to have the system on sale in January 2020. The Serum will cost around £5 per application and comes in three different skin cartridges which can match around 98 per cent of skin tones.

Innovations in the beauty space are a common feature here at Springwise. We have recently covered an AI-powered search engine for beauty products, a makeup line for men and a smart mirror that plays tutorials and beauty tips.