A New Machine Wants to Tell You How Your Skin Will Age
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When I was a kid thinking about the future, I subscribed to a very Jetsons- and Zenon, Girl of the 21st Century-style viewpoint. Everyone would be wearing sleek silver, we’d be flying around instead of driving, and we’d have robots living in our houses. I was not thinking about skin care.
Zenon and Judy Jetson weren’t worried about fine lines, sun damage, and sagging skin, but now that I’m firmly in the “late 30s” box, I certainly am. We may not live on a space station or have talking dogs, but the future is here—and it’s going to tell us exactly how “old” our skin is.
L’Oréal’s new Cell BioPrint device, which the beauty company unveiled at the 2025 CES tech show in Las Vegas earlier this week, is taking beauty tech to the next level with ultra-personalized insights based on specific protein levels in your skin. It aims to give people an up-close and personal look at their skin health: its past, its present, and yep, its future. Oh, and it takes just five minutes.
The device, made in partnership with the Korean biotech company NanoEnTek, is supposed to help you take a proactive approach to your skin versus a reactive one—instead of treating a sunspot or dryness after you notice it, for example, you could start using vitamin C or ceramides preventatively. Your data reading includes insight into both your skin’s “age” and how fast your skin is aging; which active ingredients are best for your skin and which you might as well skip; it even predicts potential issues such as dark spots, so in theory, you could essentially stop a problem before it even begins.
The device itself is a tabletop setup with a main machine resembling a small printer; insights are revealed on a tablet. First, a user puts something called a “facial tape strip” on their cheek—it feels like a piece of Scotch tape—then places that tape into a buffer solution. The solution is then loaded into a cartridge and inserted into the machine. As it processes the sample, the device takes photos of the user’s face, then the user answers a few questions about their skin health and concerns.
The analysis is based on levels of specific proteins—which L'Oréal has been studying for 10 years, including proteins related to collagen, elastin, and the skin barrier—in the skin, according to Guive Balooch, global head of augmented beauty and open innovation at L’Oréal Groupe (he heads up L’Oréal’s tech innovations). While the device isn't available outside of trade shows just yet, it is a fascinating concept. By reading these proteins, Balooch says, the Cell BioPrint device will suggest products that may be a good fit for your skin. These products will, of course, be from the L’Oréal brand portfolio (the exact brand that the device will debut under is still TBD).
If you’re tired of playing skin care guessing games and interested in hard data, the Cell BioPrint device could be your answer—in fact, cutting out confusion is kind of the point. “People are frustrated by doing trial and error because they want the right product for them,” Balooch says. “I think that frustration comes from the fact that people don't want to audition skin care like they do today.” You could also use the device as a guide to change some of your “bad” skin care habits, then come back to it after a few months to see if things have improved.
The idea of a machine telling you what’s going on with your skin, why, and how to fix it is intriguing and cool, but also… maybe a little off putting to some? Does everyone want technology to influence so much of their beauty routine, or should that remain the job of dermatologists? And oh, is this machine calling me old?
When asked for their personal opinions on the matter, Allure editors had similarly mixed feelings about the big tech of it all. “I want to know everything! I'm someone who tracks my steps and sleep avidly. I want to know how my skin is aging—mostly because I know I'm aging well and I want scientific data to prove it!” said Allure’s editor in chief Jessica Cruel.
Others weren’t so sure they wanted to know what was going on in their skin: “What I don’t know can’t age me,” said features director Dianna Singh. "I have a mirror. That is all I need to tell me about how my skin is aging,” added executive beauty director Jenny Bailly.
“I'm only 30 and I already feel enough pressure to spend as much money and time and effort as possible to not get a single wrinkle ever, which is simply not how having skin or being a human works,” said senior news editor Nicola Dall’Asen.
Some editors were intrigued about the potential insights revealed by the machine, and how they could use the data to fine-tune their own skin care routines. “If given the option to know or not know, I'd be too curious to pass it up!” said deputy beauty director Elizabeth Siegel. "I want to know everything. I do not want to get old or look old,” shared commerce editor Angela Trakoshis.
And me? I’m on the fence. As someone with problem skin, I’m always interested in learning what’s really going on beneath the surface, but I’m also easily irritated by too many suggestions, literally and figuratively. But I’ve got time to make up my mind; the Cell BioPrint device is set to launch in the U.S. at the end of the year and will debut with one of L’Oréal’s luxury brands, though the brand and locations where you’ll find the device have yet to be revealed.
L'Oréal Cell BioPrint Device
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Originally Appeared on Allure
