L’Oréal brings exclusivity to the makeup chair in 2023.
The beauty giant announced on Jan. 3 that the brand will launch the world’s first hand-held applicator designed for people with limited hand and arm mobility.
L’Oréal-owned Lancome will pilot the ultra-precise application computer, called HAPTA.
The tool was recently unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023 in Las Vegas.
“For L’Oréal, the future of beauty is inclusive,” said L’Oréal Groupe CEO Nicholas Hieronimus he wrote in a statement.
“And that future will be made more accessible by technology.”
A press release from L’Oréal said that around 50 million people worldwide live with fine motor skills disabilities, which can make everyday gestures such as applying makeup “challenging”.
A Baltimore-area woman whose mother struggled with Parkinson’s disease said a tool like L’Oréal would “give my mother her dignity.”
She said, “My mother sold Avon cosmetics and was always dressed to the nines and had her make-up done beautifully every morning. When her Parkinson’s got really bad, she stopped trying to wear makeup, and I know that affected her mental health — and her sense of self.”
L’Oréal explained that HAPTA’s technology and design will give users the ability to apply lipstick consistently on their own.
“HAPTA is inspired by Haptic Tech — it’s the technology that can create a tactile experience by applying forces, vibrations or movements to the user,” the company told Fox News Digital.
“HAPTA will incorporate the technology originally created by Verily to stabilize and align utensils to enable people with limited arm and hand mobility to eat with confidence and independence,” L’Oréal also said.
The company said the key to HAPTA’s technology is its integrated smart motion controls and customizable components.
L’Oréal added that these attachments provide precision fit and “enhanced range of motion” to “help individuals feel confident, independent and enjoy the self-expressive power of beauty.”
The company said the projected price for HAPTA will be between $149 and $199.
Barbara Lavernos, L’Oréal’s deputy managing director responsible for research, innovation and technology, shared in a statement that “inclusion is at the heart of our beauty innovation and technology strategy.”
He also said in the same statement, “We are dedicated and passionate about bringing new technologies that power beauty services that enhance and fulfill every individual’s ultimate desires, expectations and unmet needs.”
L’Oréal specified that the applicator’s magnetic attachment allows for “360 degrees of rotation and 180 degrees of bending.”
The applicator also has a click function that tells users where to lock the tool into the perfect position.
It also comes equipped with a built-in rechargeable battery.
“For years, Lancome has strived to provide every woman with beauty solutions tailored to her needs,” Lancome global brand president Françoise Lehmann wrote in a statement.
“Beauty technology has enabled us to fulfill this mission in an even more powerful way, revolutionizing the way we develop beauty products and services and enabling greater personalization.”
Lehmann also said, “With HAPTA we are taking beauty a step further by making it more accessible, because everyone should have equal access to it.”
L’Oréal confirmed with Fox News Digital that HAPTA will be available to consumers in late 2023.
L’Oréal also wants to develop a version of HAPTA for people with hand tremors, Engadget reports.
“We hope that maybe this will be the start of many precision applications,” L’Oréal told Fox News Digital via email.
“Our position is always to solve problems. And this is a problem that no one has solved today. To give these people access to beauty that they couldn’t have before.”
In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) national committee co-chair Valerie Pieraccini expressed how much she “loves the empowerment” that HAPTA will bring to people with disabilities.
Pieraccini, also an occupational therapist and a “woman who loves her makeup,” explained that cerebral palsy is a “lifelong disability that slowly compromises the body’s ability to move and function by doing the simplest tasks in life difficult”.
But L’Oréal’s new technology has recognized this struggle and provided a “powerful” solution.
“L’Oréal’s use of technology in smart makeup application devices gives every person with physical limitations the opportunity to take care of themselves,” he said.
“What a beautiful thing for a woman to be in control of not only her beauty but how she chooses to face the world,” she said.
“It’s comprehensive and it’s powerful,” he added.
